History Main / FingerGun

* ''Film/BangkokDangerous'' (1999 original) begins with a little girl imitating shooting someone with a finger-pistol, MatchCut with Aom, the ProfessionalKiller protagonist giving a target the MoeGreeneSpecial. The scene is edited to look like the child's finger-gun shot out a person's eye.

-->'''Popeye:''' (''holding up his pipe like a gun'') I didn't have no gun. I just used me little finger! Bang! Bang!

%% Needs context * The Al Brodax version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' used this trick once.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0VOM7e5Hug This]] unused UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} commercial takes this trope and turns it Up To Eleven.

* A [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' story has [[SpaceWestern Terra-Man]] lure Supes into an AlternateUniverse where magic dominates instead of science. Terra-Man's {{Doppelganger}} there just shoots magical bolts out of his finger instead of using a gun.

!!Examples

** ''Manga/BattleTendency'': Santana absorbs the bullets that he was shot with by Nazi officers, and uses ''his fingers'' to blast them all to smithereens.
** ''Manga/StardustCrusaders'': Jotaro's Star Platinum can extend its index finger to long distances with bullet-like speed and tends to make this pose when doing so.
** ''Manga/StoneOcean'': F.F.'s Stand allows them to shoot plankton as a projectile, typically from their fingers. Later on, their fingers turn into the parts of a gun when they do this.
** ''Manga/SteelBallRun'': Johnny Joestar's Tusk is a bit more literal than most examples, since his finger gun can actually shoot projectiles; namely, [[ImprobableWeaponUser his fingernails.]]

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' gives us a non-comedic version of the "gun actually fires" variant: the Spirit Gun. However, it averts the FingerPokeOfDoom trope, since the Rei Gun requires a lot of the user's spiritual energy. Early on, Yusuke could only use it once per day, but later on, he could increase his limit through training and it also became a lot stronger and bigger as an result. Since it is his SignatureMove, it's basically his most powerful one.
** Several characters do the regular version as well, including a particularly memorable one from Keiko.

* ''Film/{{Kate}}''. Ani steps out into the road in front of the car of a Yakuza boss causing it to brake. When they start shouting at her, she points a finger gun at the driver and 'shoots'. Cue BoomHeadshot She then points her finger gun at the man next to him and we see a green LaserSight on his forehead right before Ani 'kills' him as well. Kate then appears firing a silenced laser-sighted submachine gun to kill off the rest of the boss's bodyguards.

* Several in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' series, namely the psycho on the cover of the game, and bandit lords Krom and Flynt.
** Taken Up To Eleven in Episode 4 of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', when Rhys (disguised as Vasquez) ends up having a massive gunfight with the accounting staff of Hyperion... all with imaginary guns, grenades, and even an imaginary knife throw. Hyperion takes their imaginary guns [[SeriousBusiness incredibly seriously]]. [[spoiler:So seriously that if you refuse to play along, or fail the [=QTEs=], they will pull out real guns and kill you.]] This becomes ChekhovsSkill in the final episode. [[spoiler:Gortys's ultimate HumongousMecha form draws combat data from her pilots. When controlled by Rhys, because of his skill at finger gun fights, she gains the ability to actually fire blasts of energy from her fingers.]]

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Fallout2''. No projectile comes out but Algernon reacts like one did. Not a good idea if you value his services. Poor guy.

* [[FinalBoss Master Hand]] from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' can fire up to three missiles in a row from its finger guns.
** Luigi also does the Finger Gun in one of his taunts, but with no effect. This is also one of his victory animations, too.

* [[TheSmartGuy Gabe Cunningham]] of ''VideoGame/TraumaTeam'' does this, most likely as a ShoutOut to ''Anime/CowboyBebop''.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Rin fires her signature ''Gandr'' spell this way in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''.
* The cover of ''VisualNovel/RoseGunsDays Season 1'' has Leo doing this gesture. He also does it at the end of the opening… [[RuleOfCool and shoots a real bullet from it apparently.]]
[[/folder]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', Lex Luthor trades bodies with The Flash, and while rampaging around The Watchtower points a Finger Gun at a JL staffer, threatening to "vibrate right through and scramble [his] brains".

* The Al Brodax version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' used this trick once.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' had the spectres of the Earps doing this instead of having, uh, ghostly revolvers. Probably the work of MoralGuardians.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''

* The Season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' has a more realistic use of this. While being forced to listen to Harold's long and boring speech about beavers [[DeadpanSnarker Noah]] pretends to shoot himself with a Finger Gun, even making a bullet sound to go with it.

[[folder:RealLife]]

** In ''Metal Gear Online'', players who draw Liquid Ocelot have access to his unique Guns of the Patriots weapon, which is a Finger Gun. He points it at enemies and says "bang", and locks their weapons for a few seconds.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', Liquid Ocelot utilizes this once he [[spoiler:takes down the army surrounding him]].

* Brazilian President Usefulnotes/JairBolsonaro is fond of this trope. The opposition likes to react to negative news with "Do some finger guns and it'll probably get solved".

* Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}} refers to this as a [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Handgun handgun,]] though [[{{Handguns}} we already have a trope with that name]].

For more information, see [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Hand_gun Uncyclopedia.]] Please, ''please'' do not confuse with "Fingerbang", regardless of what ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' tells you.

* The 2007 ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie has an Autobot/Decepticon battle taking place over a crowded freeway. Cut to a car with two boys in it, pretending to shoot at the car next to them. Then the car they are aiming at explodes, followed promptly by two 30 foot tall giant robots engaged in a running gun battle charging by. [[FridgeHorror Try not to guess whether the car they were pretending to shoot at actually held two more friends who were pretending to shoot back.]]

** ''Manga/StoneOcean'': F.F.'s Stand allows her to shoot plankton as a projectile, typically from her fingers. Later on, her fingers turn into the parts of a gun when she does this.

* In ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', Hat Kid gets in to the proper mood for stealth sections by keeping her right hand held up while making a finger gun.

* This is Ocelot's signature mannerism in in ''VideoGame/MetalGear''.

* Reisen from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' was shown doing this (kinda...) on official art, and thus it became her personal gesture in {{Fanon}}. She also actually shoots bullets this way on the FightingGame Spin-offs. Of course, they're not actually bullets, it's magical danmaku.

* When WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] and [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] teamed up for their ''Alone in the Dark'' review Spoony had to resort to this because he didn't have a signature gun like those the two others had.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Warlord", bored Federation guards are shown doing this to [[GovernmentDrugEnforcement drugged citizens]] passing by them on an elevator. They soon gravitate to [[KickTheDog shooting people with real guns just for kicks]].
* The third episode of ''Manga/CaseClosed's'' drama spin-off, ''Challenge Letter to Kudou Shin'ichi'', involves a case where Ran's mother Eri makes a finger gun at a defendant in court -- and said defendant is struck and killed by an actual bullet. Eri proceeds to act as if she really did shoot her with her finger. [[spoiler:Of course she didn't, but touching the real weapon by accident prompted her to act as if the finger gun was real.]]

* In ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', villain Diamondback trolls an idiot underling by miming shooting him with a finger gun, but it turns out it's misdirection, as he used slight-of-hand to draw a real pistol with his other hand, and hip fires it. The misdirection makes it seem for a split second like he shot him with an imaginary gun, which freaks out his other underlings.

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. Martine does this to John Reese as an ImpliedDeathThreat while walking away from their MexicanStandoff in "The Cold War".

* Quark pulls one on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Little Green Men." As part of their attempt(s) to get out of government imprisonment, he threatens to shoot his "hostage" Nurse Garland:
-->'''Gen. Denning:''' With your finger?
-->'''Quark:''' With my ''death ray.''
-->'''Denning:''' It looks like a finger to me.

* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'': Meme Oshino does this once, putting his fingers to his head in the shape of a gun.

* ''LightNovel/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'': To shoot his hellfire as more easily controllable bullets, Flare imitates a gun with his fingers to shoot off a rapid stream of small fireballs in an attack he dubs "Curse Fire Bullets".

** Also in the pilot episode, the mugger sticks up the gorilla with a finger gun.

* ZigZaggedTrope in the Burt Reynold's movie ''Malone'' (1987). The villains suspect Malone is a ProfessionalKiller after he beats up local thug Dan Bollard, so to find out they fill up his brother Calvin with beer, give him a gun and sic him on Malone to [[RevealingSkill see what will happen]]. Malone is having his hair cut, and claims he's got a gun under the barber's gown, nudging it suggestively. Calvin says it's just his finger but when Malone dares him to find out the hard way, Calvin flees. Malone then reveals to the others in the barber shop that it is his finger after all. Outside the man who gave Calvin the gun taunts him for being a coward, so he charges back inside, gun blazing. Malone however has gotten to his coat that's hanging behind the door and removed the [[HandCannon .44 Automag]] from his shoulder holster which he promptly uses to kill Calvin. The incident becomes a BrickJoke at the end of the movie. Malone has [[OneManArmy single-handedly destroyed the villains]] when he comes across the corrupt sheriff who was aiding them. The sheriff cowers away in fear when Malone makes a threatening move, only to reveal he's holding a FingerGun.

-->'''Mr Blonde''': FingerGun, *pew*.

** Luigi also does the FingerGun in one of his taunts, but with no effect. This is also one of his victory animations, too.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "World's Greatest Mom" when Dexter's mother, accidentally imbued with superpowers from one of Dexter's inventions, deals with a bank robber during a trip there. Subverted that [[FingerFirearms the robber's fingers]] ''[[FingerFirearms are]]'' [[FingerFirearms the guns]], but also exploited that Mom thought he was another customer that rudely cut in front of her.