History Main / MeteorMove

* When the Super meter is full in Creator/DataEast's little-known fighting/wrestling game ''Mutant Fighter'', most characters can perform a move where they toss their opponent high into the air, leap up to catch them, and then throw or drive them back down to the ground.

** Since the objective of fights is to knock people away from the stage, meteor moves are a very useful technique. Many characters have moves that, when struck correctly, send the opposing player rocketing downwards. If there's no ground below them, it's K.O. time.

* Gravity is this,[[CaptainObvious obviously]]. If you fall for 12 seconds it'll meteor you to the ground at 120mph/194kph.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* [[http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/birds-rondeau-park.html This awesome picture]] shows two woodpeckers fighting over a nest hole. One of them has grabbed the other's ''tongue'' in its claws and beak and is in the process of slamming its opponent into the ground. [[FeatheredFiend Birds are hardcore, man]].
* Gravity is this,[[CaptainObvious obviously]]. If you fall for 12 seconds it'll meteor you to the ground at 120mph/194kph.
** In addition to that, actual meteors will do this to you if you're somehow unlucky enough to get hit with one while in the air. Size plays a factor in this, though. A big one will meteor you, while a small one will simply pierce through you.
[[/folder]]

* [[CoolOldGuy Augus]] from AsurasWrath does one of the most insane one of these ever. He uses an extendable blade to fling Asura off the moon and ram into the earth at Relativistic speeds, Slams Asura into the ground, and the blade slices through him, [[AbsurdlySharpBlade and the entire planet]], and it keeps going.

** The latest Tekken installments, ''Tekken 6'' and ''Tag 2'' gave Devil Jin (and also Angel in ''Tag 2'') a move that is called Hell's Gate in the in-game movelists. Basically, it's a sidestep into a massive uppercut that sends the opponent skyrocket style into the air, followed by your character teleporting above the foe and slamming him/her into the ground, and finishing with a laser beam at the grounded opponent. It does pretty high damage for a simple 3-hit combo.

* Insecticon of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' pulls a uniquely vicious variation of this move on Megatron: It kicks the Decepticon leader into the air, flies after him and bloodily rips a chunk of his shoulder off with its mandibles ''in mid air,'' then strikes it's victim once more and rains [[MoreDakka a hail of laser fire after him]] as he crashes into the cave-floor like a rag-doll.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Princess Twilight Sparkle]]'' delivers a Multihit Meteor to Tirek in their battle during the fourth season finale, first spiking him into the ground with a blast of magic then following in with a second larger blast as he's lying in the dirt.

* In ''{{Red Steel 2}}'', after the player unlocks "The Eagle" he can send his opponents flying into the air, at which point he has the option of flying up there and obliterating them however he sees fit. (This Troper's favorite technique is the shotgun.)

* A staple of ''Anime/DragonBall Z''.

*** Sent up in ''Anime/YoSonGokuAndHisFriendsReturn!'' Gotenks explicitly [[CallingYourAttacks uses Tenshinhan-san's volleyball attack]].

** Thanks to the re-tooled mechanics in Smash 4 characters launched to the ground with enough force will, instead of just slamming into the ground stunned and sliding from any preserved horizontal momentum, ricochet off the floor and back up into the air. While usually this results in a star/screen KO, if they end up over a pit you can, with good timing, [[NoKillLikeOverkill slam dunk them right back down to their deaths for a double-meteor combo.]]

* As an homage to ''DragonBallZ'', ''SuperMarioBrosZ'' does this quite a bit. Usually, Mecha Sonic is the one doing the spiking, as he's generally a villainous {{Badass}}.

* Similar to the above, the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' fanimation ''WebAnimation/NazoUnleashed'' by Chakra-X also uses this frequently.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''

* Similar to the above, the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' fanimation ''NazoUnleashed'' by Chakra-X also uses this frequently.

* A staple of ''Manga/DragonBall Z''.

*** Sent up in ''Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!'' Gotenks explicitly [[CallingYourAttacks uses Tenshinhan-san's volleyball attack]].
** Goku does a BRUTAL Multihit Meteor (with not one, but ''two'' hits mid-air) on Burter in what is probably the best CurbStompBattle of the Frieza Saga. Him being one of the Ginyu, who were on the verge of effortlessly killing off all the other good characters and Vegeta just a moment ago, makes it all the more impressive.

* Superman deals a Flying Takedown to Doomsday in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX6Fa_bVCro&feature=share&list=PL68F4DAD8993DCE43 this adaptation]] of ''TheDeathOfSuperman'', at about 3:11. [[ForegoneConclusion It doesn't work]], and Superman's pretty winded from the effort.

Because this attack (especially Flying Takedown) implies that the attacker is far stronger than the attacked, it's usually a villain that does the attacking. When it's the hero attacking, it's usually a CurbStompBattle. While you're at it, bring out the WrestlerInAllOfUs by including a powerbomb or the like. Not to be confused with [[ColonyDrop dropping an actual meteor on an opponent]].

A '''FlashStep Spike''' is to simply fly/jump/Flash Step up and spike the airborne opponent.

** Negi himself managed to pull a FlashStep Spike off in the Magic World arc against [[spoiler:Rakan after he turned into lightning,]] then capped it off by dive-bombing right on top of him. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough]].
*** Later in the fight [[spoiler:Negi pulls off a ''Multihit Meteor''. Rakan was bouncing around like a pinball. And it ''still'' wasn't quite enough.]]
*** And of course, in between these, [[spoiler: Rakan pulls a FlashStep Spike by intercepting Negi's aerial dodge, [[BarehandedBladeBlock catching his sword]], and just pounding him back down to earth so hard most of his ''internal organs'' take damage. And yes... it ''isn't enough''. It's just that kind of fight.]]

* The ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokai'' games love to use this in multiple ways. Many of the "Launcher" attacks utilize a FlashStep Spike, but a few move into a painful variant of Multihit Meteor, with the defending character being kicked into the air, punched back down to the ground, and then kicked in the gut right before they hit the ground.

* Mayor Mike Haggar from ''FinalFight'' and Zangief from ''StreetFighter'' both the spinning piledriver: grab your enemy, jump 20 feet in the air and land on the ground, their head first. Haggar has a SuperMove where he throws his opponent and catches them on the way down. Zangief's SuperMove involves consecutive spinning piledrivers. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual,]] the two are official rivals, trying to make fancier piledrivers.

** M. Bison's [[FinishingMove Nightmare Booster]] in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' involves him pushing the opponent into the air with a psycho crusher, using a FlashStep Spike on the opponent mid-air, and then stomping on the downed opponent (Multihit Meteor) as they hit the ground for good measure.
*** Are we forgetting Cracker Jack from EX 2 Plus(where level 3 moves are all Meteor moves, complete with victory icon of the same)? He punts you into the sky, then smacks you with a baseball bat, which, depending on how "accurate" you were with the button press, sends you to the moon, which then bounces you back to earth like the pinball you've become.
*** From the same game as Cracker Jack, Darun Meister. His G.O.D(Gamble of Darun) Meteor move involves him pummeling/pretzel-ling you, followed by launching you into the sky, where he somehow manages to pull off a figure-4 leglock(!), and finishing with a brainbuster(like a vertical suplex, but the opponent is perpendicular to the ground on impact, while he lands comfortably on his back), that leaves the opponent standing on their head for a second before they finally crumple. Note that this move ALWAYS does 100% damage, but only if your opponent doesn't manage to break free during the second to fourth steps of the move(50% chance each time, as they must either match you with a punch if you used punch for the command, or kick if you used the same), AND you manage to pull off all of the steps flawlessly. Just to be clear, the move is performed as 360+PPP>360 P/K(opponent can break free by matching the button, no joystick input needed)>360 P/K(as above)>360 P/K>(last chance to break free)>(now the screen just tells you ???) U(hold)DU. Or just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQa1iNEtVHM
** Hanzo Hattori and Galford from ''SamuraiShodown'' also have a "grab your opponent, leap up and slam his head into the ground" move. Unusual because, at least in the first game, the MightyGlacier types didn't have any throws or grabs outside the basic ones, but these two [[FragileSpeedster lightweight]] {{Ninja}} did. And could leap into the air with all but the biggest one of them.
** Tizoc, the masked wrestler from ''Fatal Fury'': Mark of the Wolves, uses the Flying Takedown attack during his Big Fall Griffon finishing move.
* The ''"Air Superiority"'' attack from ''CityOfHeroes'' is a FlashStep Spike version, a two-handed overhead smash that can turn off an enemy's ability to fly.
* In ''{{Little Fighter 2}}'' Davis' Leap Attack is a low-powered Multihit Meteor. You can also do a FlashStep Spike by following up a Dragon Punch with a Leap Attack.
* [[TheDragon Ruru]] of ''MagicalBattleArena'' uses this for her melee special, using {{Flash Step}}s to pin ball her target around the air with her [[ThisIsADrill drill]].
* [[BadassNormal Ryu Hayabusa]] can do the Izuna Drop in both ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' and ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''. In ''DOA'' he uppercuts the target with his bare hands before {{Flash Step}}ping or teleporting up and grabbing for the drop, while in ''NG'' he rises with his target after a rising slash and hits it three times before grabbing. ''NG'' also has other moves of this sort, like the Blade of Nirrti which is like the Izuna Drop except Ryu somersault-slashes the target down instead of grabbing and spinning.

* [[spoiler: Henry]] of ''NoMoreHeroes'' has one of the most [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNsyofCN-a4 spectacular ones]]: he ''impales'' Travis, flings him off the beam katana into the sky, at a 45-degree angle, jumps into the air and knocks him straight upwards after he's already a good forty feet up, and when he's high in the sky, leaps up once more, grabs him, hurls him downwards with a bodyslam, and finishes it by descending, standing on his beam katana, to impale Travis ''again'', so hard it sends chunks of pavement flying. Needless to say, this is a OneHitKill.
* Several special techniques in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' fit this trope. There's too many to count that fit into the FlashStep Spike variety, and a few Flying Takedown ones (Generally possessed by the Mothman monster and axe wielders).

** Makoto Nanaya has two and Tsubaki Yayoi has one (technically four, but it's the same move with different button inputs), both of them FlashStep Spikes. Taokaka has at least several, with a positively deadly Multihit Meteor being one of them. Valkenhayn has a mix of FlashStep Spike and Multihit Meteor, but only when in his [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Wolf form]].
*** Technically, almost every character has at least a FlashStep Spike, but only in certain combos.
* The ''DevilMayCry'' games allow you to smack enemies into the air and also considers enemy bodies as targets for wall-jumping. Hilarity ensues. For some reason this is far more satisfying to do in the first game, possibly because the game's combo reward system doesn't ''expect'' you to torment enemies like this.

** The aptly named Rising Meteo Inferno launches the target with a kick, catches them, launches them ''again'', then flies after and delivers a FlashStep Spike meteor via a [[Franchise/KamenRider Rider Kick]].

* This is the standard finish of a combo in VideoGame/SonicBattle. It works as FlashStep Spike, though Shadow's is a Flying Takedown.
* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'': Alex Mercer can do a FlashStep Spike by the middle of his game. He can also (if you're good enough, and have invested in the right skills) throw someone, karate kick them in mid-air, and ''ride them to the ground.''

* In the video game for the ''SpiderMan 2'' movie, Spidey can do a FlashStep Spike after webbing up a crook and flinging them into the air. He can also do a Multihit Meteor by grabbing the foe, jumping into the air, and performing a piledriver all the way back to the ground. Especially [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential cruel]] [[CatharsisFactor players]] can perform this move ''off the top of the Empire State Building''.

* Aerial Slam in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is a variation of FlashStep Spike - the player hits their enemy into the air, flash-steps up to them and hits them even higher, then flash-steps to above them and knocks them down.
** In addition to the aforementioned command, ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'' gives Riku the Rapid Descent ability, which allows him to perform a FlashStep Spike on any enemy that's been knocked skyward.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywo6F4xYTvA Superman gives Darkseid a taste of Meteor Move FlashStep Spike]] in the final episode of ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited''.
** Superman isn't the only one. General Eiling, after having given himself super strength and monstrous appearance through an injected serum, does FlashStep Spike to S.T.R.I.P.E in the episode ''Patriot Act'' in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited''.

* And he uses Flying Takedown to end the fight in the ''SupermanDoomsday'' movie.

* ''Anime/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorks''. Berserker does it Flash Step Strike-style in his first fight, knocking Saber into the air and then jumping up and smashing her back down.

A '''FlashStep Spike''' is to simply fly/jump/FlashStep up and spike the airborne opponent.

A '''Multihit Meteor''' is a brutal extension of the FlashStep Spike (and sometimes Flying Takedown) where the attacker, rather than letting his opponent hit the ground, flies once more after him and strikes him as he falls.

* A staple of ''Manga/DragonBall Z''. A spectacular example would be when Cell regenerates from Vegeta's last desperate attempt at vaporising him, kicks him into the sky like a pinball and then pounds him into the earth like a rag doll. A definitive example of a FlashStep Spike Meteor Move.
** Vegeta himself ''loves'' this trope, using a classic FlashStep Spike -- more specifically, pretty much exactly as it's described in the first paragraph of this page -- in pretty much any of his battles with lots of airtime.
** Don't forget Gotenks using it against Buu; somewhat altered, as Gotenks first uses a rather odd attack to bind Buu into a sphere that looks rather like a volleyball, then explicitly mimes volleyball moves.

** Goku does a BRUTAL Multihit Meteor (with not one, but ''two'' hits mid-air) on Burter in what is probably the best CurbStompBattle of the Freeza Saga. Him being one of the Ginyu, who were on the verge of effortlessly killing off all the other good characters and Vegeta just a moment ago, makes it all the more impressive.

* Ryougi Shiki of ''KaraNoKyoukai'' pulls off a magnificent variation of Flying Takedown when she plummets ''after'' the falling BigBad out of a ''ten stories tall building'' [[KatanasAreJustBetter with a katana]], catches him in mid air and lands ''sword first'' into him. Even though this was enough to slay the villain in question, the impact was enough to break the sword in question ''and'' knock Shiki unconscious.
** And even then she was only saved by the BigBad's Mobile Bounded Field (kind of like a shield) taking most of the landing impact (it's slightly implied he activated it on purpose).
* This has also become a staple of action sequences in ''MahouSenseiNegima''; Takahata Sensei in particular seems to be fond of this as a finishing move.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Rock Lee has his "Primary Lotus" attack, which involves kicking the opponent into the sky, jumping alongside him and wrapping his bandages around the foe, adding spin and an assurance that they land headfirst. Sasuke subsequently copies this with his "Lion's Barrage", an attack that substitutes several kicks for the bandage-spinning (as he only saw the first half of the attack and didn't know exactly what Lee was going to do with the bandages), and Naruto then copies ''that'' for his "Uzumaki Barrage", a variant that uses shadow clones to begin pummeling the foe into the sky and following up.
** Upon releasing [[DeadlyUpgrade the Fifth Gate]] in his fight against Gaara, Lee kicks this trope up to approximately 13. He kicks Gaara into the air, jumps behind him and kicks him towards the ground, and then jumps in front of him and hits him ''back into the air'', commencing the game of pinball. Things get rather uncomfortable for Gaara thereafter.
*** Although Gaara is actually [[NighInvulnerability only mildly hurt by the entire process because of his sand armor]]. And pulls himself together very quickly after the fight concludes.
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'', FlashStep Spike is used quite often by [[spoiler:[[IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight the brainwashed Ginga]]]] in her battle against Subaru near the end of the series, delivering heavy blows that send the latter flying then jumping or [[spoiler:[[NotQuiteFlight dashing]]]] after her before she can fall.
* ''ShamanKing'' gives a nice display of FlashStep Spike in the fight with Bailong. (And probably a few other examples scattered throughout the series.)
* ''OnePiece'': Luffy got hit by one of these by Rob Lucci. Understandable since the enemy in question knows [[DoubleJump "Geppou"]].

* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'': Lucemon enjoyed using Flying Takedown in his Chaos Mode, dispatching both [=EmperorGreymon=] and [=MagnaGarurumon=] (one after the other) with a lightning-fast series of punches, followed by a mighty kick into the sky, a leap to the victims, grabbing them and ''piledriving them headfirst into the ground while standing on their arms.'' The first time with [=EmperorGreymon=] Lucemon cracked the moon with the impact; the second time with [=MagnaGarurumon=] [[EarthShatteringKaboom he shattered the moon to pieces]].
** The un-[[HenshinHero morphed]] kids at the time, on the other hand, were just a little bruised.
* In VideoGame/SengokuBasara we have Hideyoshi utilizing the FlashStep Spike against Motochika and Masamune during their fights.

** Since the objective of fights is to knock people away from the stage, meteor moves are a very useful technique. Many characters have moves that, when struck correctly, send the opposing player rocketing downwards. If there's no ground bellow them, it's K.O. time.

** Some characters have grapple meteor strikes. For instance, one of Kirby's grabs have him jumping high into the sky with his opponent and then crash into the ground, and one of Ganondorf's speacials when done in the air has him grab his opponent's face and send then straight bellow, be there ground to crash on [[TakingYouWithMe or not]].

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Rock Lee has his "Primary Lotus" attack, which involves kicking the opponent into the sky, jumping alongside him and wrapping his bandages around the foe, adding spin and an assurance that they land headfirst. Sasuke subsequently copies this with his "Lion's Barrage", an attack that substitutes several kicks for the bandage-spinning, and Naruto then copies ''that'' for his "Uzumaki Barrage", a variant that uses shadow clones to begin pummeling the foe into the sky and following up.

** Upon releasing the Fourth Gate in his fight against Gaara, Lee kicks this trope up to approximately 13. He kicks Gaara into the air, jumps behind him and kicks him towards the ground, and then jumps in front of him and hits him ''back into the air'', commencing the game of pinball. Things get rather uncomfortable for Gaara thereafter.

* Raikages ultimate move in the PSP game ''Naruto Shippuden, Ultimate Ninja Impact'' does a mean Flying Takedown with lightning as well called [[http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Liger_Bomb Liger Bomb.]] In the game he runs towards an opponent (Impact is the type of game where you battle many weaker foes at same time), and grabs him, then jumps, does a sit position to hold onto opponent, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFGeHz6WJ7E#t=02m44s and then bomb drop him to the ground]] [[, whilst also damaging with [[http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Lightning_Release_Armour Lightning).

* FlashStep Spike is used quite often by [[spoiler:[[IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight the brainwashed Ginga]]]] in her battle against Subaru near the end of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=]'', delivering heavy blows that send the latter flying then jumping or [[spoiler:[[NotQuiteFlight dashing]]]] after her before she can fall.

There are three ways this can be done:

A '''FlashStep Spike''' is to simply fly/jump/FlashStep up and spike the airborne opponent.

A '''Flying Takedown''' is to catch the foe in mid air and then [[GroundPound crash both him and the attacker into the ground below]]. This has the advantage of being more powerful, but only if you're completely MadeOfIron. SpinningPiledriver is a subtrope.

A '''Multihit Meteor''' is a brutal extension of the FlashStep Spike (and sometimes Flying Takedown) where the attacker, rather than letting his opponent hit the ground, flies once more after him and strikes him as he falls.

** Upon releasing the Fourth Gate in his fight against Gaara, Lee kicks this trope up to approximately 13 by using all three types. He kicks Gaara into the air, jumps behind him and kicks him towards the ground, and then jumps in front of him and hits him ''back into the air'', commencing the game of pinball. Things get rather uncomfortable for Gaara thereafter.

** Makoto Nanaya has two and Tsubaki Yayoi has one (technically four, but it's the same move with different button inputs), both of them FlashStep Spikes. Taokaka has at least one of each type, with a positively deadly Multihit Meteor being one of them. Valkenhayn has a mix of FlashStep Spike and Multihit Meteor, but only when in his [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Wolf form]].

* Occurs several times in the second season of ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}''. During the season-opening FoodFight Yang punches Ren into the air and leaps up to spike him into the ground. During her second fight with Torchwick Blake blasts him into the air with a Dust explosion and follows up with several midair slashes. Pyrrha does a combination of types during a sparring match with team CRDL, knocking Cardin into the air to then follow up with flurry of cuts, then grabbing him in a flying SpinningPiledriver.