History Main / MexicanStandoff

** The card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=29936 Standstill]] explicitly invokes this trope. Drawing three cards (basically for free) is an ''enormous'' advantage, and no player would want to allow their opponents such advantage. What this card does is that if a player casts a spell, all of his or her opponents draw three cards. The effect is all the more devastating, and the trope most invoked, the more players there are in the game. It often literally ends up in a standoff, with all players waiting to see who will cast the first spell. It's generally held that the "correct" answer is to bite the bullet and immediately set it off, taking the card disadvantage and trying to make it up with tempo advantage from the turns everyone else wasted ''not'' setting it off.

* ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'': In "Gopher Help", Turner faces off against the gopher, complete with what the closed-captioning describes as "western standoff music." It ends with Turner successfully leading the gopher to a trap, which it is then caged in.

It's OlderThanRadio and has been around long enough to be parodied in the play ''The Critic'', first staged in 1779. The term itself, however, first appeared in a short story for the ''Sunday Mercury'', a 19th-century American newspaper .

* One of the most famous scenes from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' involves the titular characters in one of these and is the TropeCodifier. [[spoiler:Despite that, it is actually a subversion. Blondie knew that Tuco's gun was unloaded, so he knew to shoot Angel Eyes and deal with Tuco later.]]

It's OlderThanRadio and has been around long enough to be parodied in the play ''The Critic'', first staged in 1779. The term itself, however, originated in the 19th century — possibly in Australia, of all places — regarding perceived political indecision in Mexico.

* One of the most famous scenes from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' involves the titular characters in one of these, and may well be the TropeCodifier. [[spoiler:Despite that, it is actually a subversion. Blondie knew that Tuco's gun was unloaded, so he knew to shoot Angel Eyes and deal with Tuco later.]]

* The final issue of ''ComicBook/EastOfWest'' starts with a Mexican Standoff between [[BadassNormal the Ranger]], [[TheChessmaster Archibald Chamberlain]], and [[TheAtoner Bel Solomon]]. [[spoiler:Chamberlain has rigged the situation in his favor by secretly emptying Solomon's gun beforehand, but ends up [[NiceJobFixingItVillain negating his own advantage]] by shooting Solomon first anyways out of anger, giving the Ranger an opening to gun him down.]]
* Gloriously averted in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Fray}}'' when Fray and a mook are pointing guns into each other's faces:

* A three-way version in ''Comicbook/{{Hitman}}'' with Tommy Monaghan, a random {{Mook}}, and Franchise/{{Batman}}. Tommy has two guns, Batman [[DoesNotLikeGuns doesn't have any]], and he had his arms tied behind his back as well. Tommy talks the mook into pointing his gun at Batman, then leaves since nobody is pointing a gun at him. Batman later disarms the mook, because he's Batman.
* Happens to the Hulk's supporting cast in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''. For some reason, writer Creator/PeterDavid thinks this is the perfect opportunity to [[AuthorTract deliver a topically belated, satirical comment]]: "Is it just me, or is this how we got involved in Vietnam?" (The comic in question was from 1994)

* In one issue of ''Marvel Team-Up'', ComicBook/ThePunisher and ComicBook/{{Blade}} have a gun and katana to each other's heads, respectively. Blade suggests they both stand down, and lowers his weapon. Punisher doesn't move. Blade: "…" He then turns away, and Punisher shoots him in the back.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E66Two Two]]", the man and woman find discarded weapons and briefly point them at each other in spite of their attempts to get along.

* In the film of ''Film/PrinceCaspian'', Caspian confronts Miraz and puts a sword to his throat. Then Miraz' wife points a crossbow at Caspian. Then Susan walks in and points her bow at Mrs. Miraz.[[note]]Whose actual name, by the way, is Prunaprismia. [[UnfortunateNames Lucky her.]][[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' - "The Wrap Up" climaxes with a crazy standoff wherein a half-dozen parties end up with guns pointed at each other, including Michael, Steve Haines, Dave, a rogue FIB agent with an entire HRT for backup, a group of IAA agents including the BigGood from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and a [[PrivateMilitaryContractors private militia]] with helicopter support. Steve gets twitchy, shoots, and a massive BlastOut ensues.

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' Sheldon and Leonard try to buy liquid helium from a shady character. The deal breaks down when they say they could turn him in for selling stolen helium, and he points out he can do the same to them for attempting to buy stolen helium. Sheldon and the crooked seller get into a pedantic argument about whether you can call it a Mexican standoff if it only involves two parties.

** The card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=29936 Standstill]] explicitly invokes this trope. Drawing three cards (basically for free) is an ''enormous'' advantage, and no player would want to allow their opponents such advantage. What this card does is that if a player casts a spell, all of his or her opponents draw three cards. The effect is all the more devastating, and the trope most invoked, the more players there are in the game. It often literally ends up in a standoff, with all players waiting to see who will cast the first spell.

* Done between a squad of Army rangers and Sector Seven agents in the 2007 ''{{Transformers}}'' movie. Broken up by Defense Secretary Keller, who suggests the agents do what the rangers say. "Losing's not really an option for these guys."

** John Woo is fond of these kinds of standoffs. There's the standoffs between Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee from ''Film/TheKiller'', between Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in ''Film/HardBoiled'', and between most of the main cast in ''Film/RedCliff Part II'' — albeit with swords, of course, since that was set in Three Kingdoms period China. There's also the moment in ''Film/FaceOff'' where Sean Archer and Castor Troy end up in a standoff at a church, with Archer's FBI agents and family on one side, and Castor's family and crew on the other, which is made very dramatic by the fact that Archer and Castor are wearing each other's face and both sides are trying to convince the other which is which. When the stalemate is finally broken, the shootout that commences is the most memorable of the entire movie.