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* ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'': ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Cold Steel I]]'' opens with an InMediasRes scene where the party tries to stop a terrorist group from firing hijacked [[{{BFG}} railway cannons]] on Crossbell, which would devastate the city and probably provoke a war. Our heroes seemingly fail, complete with a FutileHandReach and a BigNo. The first half of the game leads up to this scene, and then it turns out that cannons were loaded with ''blanks'' as a final safeguard, and the party arrives just in time to stop terrorists from loading genuine rounds.
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* ''Film/K19TheWidowmaker'' opens with the crew of the titular submarine preparing to launch one of its nuclear missiles... until a short circuit in the missile control console prompts the captain to angrily snap, "The drill is over!" at which point the sub is revealed to be running an exercise while still in port.
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* ''Film/K19TheWidowmaker'' opens with the crew of the titular submarine preparing to launch one of its nuclear missiles... until a short circuit in the missile control console prompts the captain to angrily snap, "The drill is over!" at which point the sub is revealed to be running an exercise while still in port. This serves as the setup for an IronicEcho later, when the crew are preparing to actually fire a test missile; while it's made abundantly clear that said missile carries only a dummy warhead and will impact in Soviet territory, tensions within the crew and doubts about the sub's reliability make for an atmosphere of far greater suspense and anxiety.
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* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': At the end of the Mother Russia arc, Frank, Martin and Galina (the little girl they were sent to rescue, or rather the bioweapon in her blood) escape a Russian missile base by launching a nuclear missile at Moscow, which sends the Russians and Americans into a frenzy (the Russians think Arab terrorists are behind it, the Americans weren't expecting their operation to start WorldWarThree). Then the warhead deactivates and the engines turn off, allowing the three to bail out and parachute to (relative) safety.
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* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': At the end of the Mother Russia arc, Frank, Martin and Galina (the little girl they were sent to rescue, or rather the bioweapon in her blood) escape a Russian missile base by launching a nuclear missile at Moscow, which sends the Russians and Americans into a frenzy (the Russians think Arab terrorists are behind it, the Americans weren't expecting their operation to start WorldWarThree).WorldWarIII). Then the warhead deactivates and the engines turn off, allowing the three to bail out and parachute to (relative) safety.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", Sideshow Bob acquires a 10-megaton nuclear bomb and threatens to use it to destroy Springfield unless television is outlawed. When Krusty the Klown defies the ban, Bob detonates the bomb and a close-up of a mushroom cloud is shown... before the camera zooms out to show the blast radius was barely bigger than a human being. Bob then examines a piece of the bomb's casing, reads "Best Before November 1959" and realises the bomb's nuclear material has lost since passed its useful half-life.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", Sideshow Bob acquires a 10-megaton nuclear bomb and threatens to use it to destroy Springfield unless television is outlawed. When Krusty the Klown defies the ban, Bob detonates the bomb and a close-up of a mushroom cloud is shown... before the camera zooms out to show the blast radius was barely bigger than a human being. Bob then examines a piece of the bomb's casing, reads "Best Before November 1959" and realises the bomb's nuclear material has lost long since passed its useful half-life.
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* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebAnimation/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima ... it's a standard atmospheric test taking place in the Arctic Circle, and was scheduled before the crisis began.
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* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebAnimation/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima ... it's a standard atmospheric test taking place in the Arctic Circle, and was scheduled before the crisis began.began, and has almost no impact on the crisis itself.
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* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4. In a deconstruction of WorthlessTreasureTwist, the people in charge of the mission still believe that the "weapon" is real after she tells them and Jamie has to RaceAgainstTime to provide further proof that it was just a bluff to avoid them accidentally starting WorldWarIII.
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* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4. In a deconstruction of WorthlessTreasureTwist, the people in charge of the mission still believe that the "weapon" is real after she tells them and Jamie has to RaceAgainstTime RaceAgainstTheClock to provide further proof that it was just a bluff to avoid them accidentally starting WorldWarIII.
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for a work to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, [[BaitAndSwitch only to later reveal that something else is happening]]. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise. In the latter case, this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen; additionally, the scene may also serve as the setup for a MeaningfulEcho later, when the same procedures are again being followed - only this time it's made abundantly clear that this is ''not'' an exercise. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for a work to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, [[BaitAndSwitch only to later reveal that something else is happening]]. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise. In the latter case, this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen; additionally, the scene may also serve as the setup for a MeaningfulEcho later, when the same procedures are again being followed - only this time it's made abundantly clear that this it is ''not'' '''not''' an exercise. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, [[BaitAndSwitch only to later reveal that something else is happening]]. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author a work to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, [[BaitAndSwitch only to later reveal that something else is happening]]. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases exercise. In the latter case, this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen.DangerRoomColdOpen; additionally, the scene may also serve as the setup for a MeaningfulEcho later, when the same procedures are again being followed - only this time it's made abundantly clear that this is ''not'' an exercise. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
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* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
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* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."" Sets up a MeaningfulEcho at the film's climax, when the President is contemplating a very real retaliatory strike in the aftermath of a nuclear detonation at the Super Bowl, and is seen going through the same procedures as in the beginning of the film.
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* ''Literature/TheMouseThatRoared'': TheFilmOfTheBook adds one visual fakeout to the original novel (see Literature) by suddenly cutting from one scene to a mushroom cloud:
-->'''Narrator''': Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the end of the film. However, something like this might easily happen, and we thought we should put you in the proper mood.
-->'''Narrator''': Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the end of the film. However, something like this might easily happen, and we thought we should put you in the proper mood.
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* ''Literature/TheMouseThatRoared'' derives much dramatic tension in its second half from the possibility that the diplomatic complications resulting from the Duchy of Grand Fenwick's unexpected seizure of a nuclear bomb from the United States might set off a nuclear war. At the end of the story, the bomb is accidentally set off, but luckily it turns out to be a dud.
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* PlayedForDrama in Series/{{Preacher}}, where one of the heads of the Grail is explaining their plot to TakeOverTheWorld to Starr. A few minutes before midnight on December 31, 1999, every nuclear missile on Earth will launch simultaneously. The missiles-
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* PlayedForDrama in Series/{{Preacher}}, ''Series/{{Preacher|2016}}'', where one of the heads of the Grail is explaining their plot to TakeOverTheWorld to Starr. A few minutes before midnight on December 31, 1999, every nuclear missile on Earth will launch simultaneously. The missiles-
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* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebVideo/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima being dropped in the Arctic circle... fortunately, it's a standard atmospheric test that was scheduled before the crisis began.
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* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebVideo/ExtraCredits ''[[WebAnimation/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima being dropped in the Arctic circle... fortunately, Hiroshima ... it's a standard atmospheric test that taking place in the Arctic Circle, and was scheduled before the crisis began.
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* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4. In a subversion of WorthlessTreasureTwist, the people in charge of the mission still believe that the "weapon" is real after she tells them and Jamie has to RaceAgainstTime to provide further proof that it was just a bluff to avoid them accidentally starting WorldWarIII.
to:
* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4. In a subversion deconstruction of WorthlessTreasureTwist, the people in charge of the mission still believe that the "weapon" is real after she tells them and Jamie has to RaceAgainstTime to provide further proof that it was just a bluff to avoid them accidentally starting WorldWarIII.
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* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4.
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* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4. In a subversion of WorthlessTreasureTwist, the people in charge of the mission still believe that the "weapon" is real after she tells them and Jamie has to RaceAgainstTime to provide further proof that it was just a bluff to avoid them accidentally starting WorldWarIII.
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* In ''Film/TheRock'', General Hummel threatens to unleash rockets filled with VX gas on San Francisco if his demands are not met. When his deadline passes, he launches one of the rockets towards a nearby NFL stadium... only for it to land harmlessly in San Francisco Bay. When his Marines question what happened, he reveals that it was all a bluff.* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
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* In ''Film/TheRock'', General Hummel threatens to unleash rockets filled with VX gas on San Francisco if his demands are not met. When his deadline passes, he launches one of the rockets towards a nearby NFL stadium... only for it to land harmlessly in San Francisco Bay. When his Marines question what happened, he reveals that it was all a bluff.bluff.
* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, only to later reveal that something else is happening. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
to:
In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, [[BaitAndSwitch only to later reveal that something else is happening.happening]]. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
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[[/folder]]
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Indices: {{Superweapon}}, BaitAndSwitch, AlliterativeName/TropesSToZ, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, HorrorTropes
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Indices: {{Superweapon}}, BaitAndSwitch, AlliterativeName/TropesSToZ, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, HorrorTropes
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Indices: {{Superweapon}}, BaitAndSwitch, AlliterativeName/TropesSToZ, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, HorrorTropes
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Created from YKTTW
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Your draft has been taken by Tropers/TheHarbo
----
In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, only to later reveal that something else is happening. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
Contrast SuperweaponSurprise, where the weapon in question wasn't revealed in the first place.
'''As this trope involves subversion of audience expectation, unmarked spoilers are ahead! - You have been warned!'''
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* A commercial for Pepperidge Farms has a pair of military men receiving an order to "set them all off". Unfortunately, one of them can't remember the code...until his superior tells him he gave it to him at breakfast. Now he remembers due to the Pepperidge Farms pastry he had for breakfast. Cut to what appears to be a missile launching...then pull back to reveal it's a lawn sprinkler.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': At the end of the Mother Russia arc, Frank, Martin and Galina (the little girl they were sent to rescue, or rather the bioweapon in her blood) escape a Russian missile base by launching a nuclear missile at Moscow, which sends the Russians and Americans into a frenzy (the Russians think Arab terrorists are behind it, the Americans weren't expecting their operation to start WorldWarThree). Then the warhead deactivates and the engines turn off, allowing the three to bail out and parachute to (relative) safety.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' the audience has watched every single good guy be defeated by Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet - he snaps his fingers, the gesture that resulted in a literal WorldHalfEmpty in the [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar last movie]] and which he claims is going to remake the universe this time around.. only for absolutely ''nothing'' to happen, as the [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Stones]] that power the gauntlet have all been swiped during the last, desperate assault by Comicbook/IronMan.
* ''Film/K19TheWidowmaker'' opens with the crew of the titular submarine preparing to launch one of its nuclear missiles... until a short circuit in the missile control console prompts the captain to angrily snap, "The drill is over!" at which point the sub is revealed to be running an exercise while still in port.
* In ''Film/TheRock'', General Hummel threatens to unleash rockets filled with VX gas on San Francisco if his demands are not met. When his deadline passes, he launches one of the rockets towards a nearby NFL stadium... only for it to land harmlessly in San Francisco Bay. When his Marines question what happened, he reveals that it was all a bluff.* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
* In ''Film/ThreeKings''. While trying to escape with the gold, the main characters come under fire from an Iraqi mortar, and are horrified to see the mortar shells bursting in a cloud of colored gas. Cue frantic searching for gas masks and other protective gear, until the Special Forces colonel leading the group stops one of them from injecting an antidote to chemical weapons, stating that what they've been hit with is simply a particularly nasty form of tear gas.
* ''Film/WarGames'':
** The film opens with two USAF airmen reporting for their shift in a missile control bunker suddenly confronted with the prospect of having to order a launch. It is ultimately revealed to be a SecretTest of whether such personnel would in fact carry out their orders in a crisis.
** A brief one occurs late in the film. As soon as WOPR gets the launch codes to the [=ICBMs=], the screens in the War Room depict missile tracks originating from the US... cue a momentary panic until it's established that WOPR is still running simulations.
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Bolstered by Professor X's PsychicPowers, BigBad En Sabah Nur commandeers every nuclear launch officer on the planet as PeoplePuppets and forces them to launch their entire arsenal... harmlessly into space. It's not benevolence, but to prevent them from being used against him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Occurs twice in the Creator/DaleBrown novel ''Chains of Command'':
** Midway through the book, Colonel Darren Mace and Major Rebecca Furness watch helplessly as a Russian jet overflies their base and drops something that, between its appearance and the fact that the Russians have already used nuclear weapons elsewhere, they are convinced is a parachute-retarded nuclear bomb. Cut to the next chapter, where an incredulous US President is told that the aircraft actually dropped leaflets.
** A second, downplayed example occurs in the book's climactic mission. Prior to takeoff, Furness and Mace are inspecting two nuclear weapons that have been loaded aboard their aircraft when they are interrupted by a pilot from the allied Ukrainian Air Force. To their horror, they discover that neither he nor anyone outside their direct chain of command is aware of their nuclear attack orders, and the three pilots rush off to correct this oversight. The mission is launched, and Furness and Mace release their weapons... only for it to be revealed that a last minute switch has been made - a nuclear attack is still taking place, but it is the Ukrainian pilot who will carry it out.
* In the AlternateHistory novel ''Germania'' by Robert Conroy, German scientists are depicted feverishly working to create an atomic bomb able to be carried by a V-1. In the novel's climax, the V-1 with their bomb is launched to no effect; the scientists are implied to have sabotaged their own project.
* An in-universe example occurs in ''Literature/TheJessicaKellerChronicles: [[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25271288-auberon Auberon]]''. While conducting commerce raiding operations, Jessica launches a missile that has a slight radioactive signature at a Fribourg Empire planet, which airbursts in an unpopulated area, causing significant panic and tying up Imperial resources. The panic was all she was after, as the "warhead" was ice and gravel that had been irradiated just enough to show up on sensors. Made funnier by the color commentary provided by her chief engineer as the missile goes in.
* In ''Literature/RedStormRising'', much secrecy surrounds "Operation Doolittle" - it's slowly revealed that the mission involves a number of ''Los Angeles''-class submarines sneaking extremely close to the Soviet coastline to launch Tomahawk missiles armed with... ''something'' other than their normal high explosive warheads against an unspecified target. Unusual care is taken in checking the components of each and every missile to be used for faults, and a technician even notes that the guidance systems being installed are used almost exclusively with nuclear warheads. It's not until the missiles reach their targets[[note]]Soviet air bases[[/note]] and start to release their payloads[[note]]loads of cluster munitions[[/note]] that the true purpose of the raid is revealed: to destroy Soviet naval bombers that have been decimating allied convoys and render their airfields unusable.
* In one of the ''Literature/{{Treehouse}}'' books, Andy and Terry have a large red button in their treehouse but they've both forgotten what it does. Both of them are wondering WhatDoesThisButtonDo but are nervous that it'd cause an explosion, especially since a seer predicted ''something'' big and red exploding. However, when [[MeanBoss Mr. Big Nose]]'s big red nose explodes, Andy and Terry wonder if it's safe to press it and if the seer simply predicted the nose explosion. Jill tells them not to press it but then Mr. Big Nose's baby granddaughter presses it. It turns out that all it does is make rainbows come out of everybody's noses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4.
* In ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode "Here I Go Again", Zari finds herself stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop and is forced to relive an hour that ends in the ship blowing up. After disabling the timeloop and finding the bomb itself, she performs a HeroicSacrifice by using her [[BlowYouAway wind powers]] and a force field to shield the rest of the Legends from the blast. However once the countdown hits zero, no explosion happens. It's then revealed to be all a SecretTestOfCharacter and that Zari was in a simulation the whole time.
* PlayedForDrama in Series/{{Preacher}}, where one of the heads of the Grail is explaining their plot to TakeOverTheWorld to Starr. A few minutes before midnight on December 31, 1999, every nuclear missile on Earth will launch simultaneously. The missiles-
-->'''Starr (interrupting):''' Fail to detonate.
-->'''Starr:''' You don't want the kingdom of Heaven. You just want to inherit the Earth.
:: Starr passes the test, and is inducted into the higher ranks of the Grail.
* The episode "Bomb" of ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' has an airplane drop what the 4 roommates think is an unexploded atomic bomb on their house; as a result, Neil builds a bomb shelter out of a cardboard box, Mike tries to sell it, Rick tries to use it as a bargaining chip to make Thatcher "do something for the kids", and Vyvyan tries to make it explode. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that it wasn't a bomb, but an airplane egg, with a toy plane "hatching" from the bomb.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/BinaryDomain'' activates a nuclear strike on his and the protagonists' current location, knowing that he's the only one who can deactivate it if things don't go his way. After his defeat, he's willing to accept his fate, but nothing happens. He then learns that the computer AI in charge of the launch has evolved to properly judge if "Human intention" can be trusted, and called off the launch after determining that it would've been used for rather petty purposes.
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2''. When Price boards a Russian ballistic missile submarine and launches a nuclear missile, the nuclear warhead is real, armed, and targeted at Washigton, but it does not destroy the city; Price is merely using the warhead to create an EMP effect there that will reduce the fighting to infantry combat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebVideo/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima being dropped in the Arctic circle... fortunately, it's a standard atmospheric test that was scheduled before the crisis began.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* An episode of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Alf}}'' cartoon (where he reminisces about his life on Melmac) had Gordon accidentally get recruited into a spy mission while his younger brother and his friends play a spy game connected to a collectible card game. (Collect all the cards and you win a trip.) Gordon encounters the BigBad and discovers he has a giant missile in his hangar. Gordon fails to stop the villain's countdown, but it turns out it's just to find the last card of the collectible card game. The missile is just a model he built when he was younger.
* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episode "Above and Beyond", the Plumbers Helpers realize the satellite they are on is plummeting towards London and would potentially kill millions of people. The one solution they come up with is to blow up the satellite before it crashes, but since their ship got blown out of the airlock that means they would blow themselves up with it. They use three Plumbers Badges to gain authority to perform a self-destruct, but as the countdown hits zero there's no explosion. It's then revealed everything was a SecretTestOfCharacter and their mentor Max was watching the whole time to which he congratulates their bravery and puts the satellite back into orbit.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode, "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS5EP12CursesBangForYourBuck Bang For Your Buck]]", Mojo Jojo is having a GarageSale, and the Girls and the Gangrene Gang compete to get $100.00 to buy what looks like a giant laser. Mojo eventually sells the laser to The Mayor, who believes it to be a snow-cone machine. He turns on the laser, and it aims at him, ready to fire. As it turns out, [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight it really was a snow-cone machine, as it fired flavored ice]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", Sideshow Bob acquires a 10-megaton nuclear bomb and threatens to use it to destroy Springfield unless television is outlawed. When Krusty the Klown defies the ban, Bob detonates the bomb and a close-up of a mushroom cloud is shown... before the camera zooms out to show the blast radius was barely bigger than a human being. Bob then examines a piece of the bomb's casing, reads "Best Before November 1959" and realises the bomb's nuclear material has lost since passed its useful half-life.
[[/folder]]
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Indices: {{Superweapon}}, BaitAndSwitch, AlliterativeName/TropesSToZ, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, HorrorTropes
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In fiction, as in real life, the use of a {{Superweapon}} is likely to carry with it certain [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction drastic consequences]]. In a setting where such weapons are present, they serve as a source of tension... and nothing ratchets up the tension like the implication they may actually be used. One way to evoke some of that tension without actually taking a step towards Armageddon is for an author to imply that a {{Superweapon}} is about to be launched, only to later reveal that something else is happening. Perhaps the warhead malfunctioned or simply wasn't armed. Perhaps what was launched was a conventional weapon that for some reason required unusually strict launch procedures. Or perhaps the characters were in fact following the correct procedures to launch a fully functional WMD, but are ultimately revealed to have simply been participating in an exercise; in such cases this trope will overlap with DangerRoomColdOpen. EmptyQuiver may occasionally be this trope's inverse, if the characters involved with the incident are unaware they are handling a live nuclear weapon.
Contrast SuperweaponSurprise, where the weapon in question wasn't revealed in the first place.
'''As this trope involves subversion of audience expectation, unmarked spoilers are ahead! - You have been warned!'''
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* A commercial for Pepperidge Farms has a pair of military men receiving an order to "set them all off". Unfortunately, one of them can't remember the code...until his superior tells him he gave it to him at breakfast. Now he remembers due to the Pepperidge Farms pastry he had for breakfast. Cut to what appears to be a missile launching...then pull back to reveal it's a lawn sprinkler.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': At the end of the Mother Russia arc, Frank, Martin and Galina (the little girl they were sent to rescue, or rather the bioweapon in her blood) escape a Russian missile base by launching a nuclear missile at Moscow, which sends the Russians and Americans into a frenzy (the Russians think Arab terrorists are behind it, the Americans weren't expecting their operation to start WorldWarThree). Then the warhead deactivates and the engines turn off, allowing the three to bail out and parachute to (relative) safety.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' the audience has watched every single good guy be defeated by Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet - he snaps his fingers, the gesture that resulted in a literal WorldHalfEmpty in the [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar last movie]] and which he claims is going to remake the universe this time around.. only for absolutely ''nothing'' to happen, as the [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Stones]] that power the gauntlet have all been swiped during the last, desperate assault by Comicbook/IronMan.
* ''Film/K19TheWidowmaker'' opens with the crew of the titular submarine preparing to launch one of its nuclear missiles... until a short circuit in the missile control console prompts the captain to angrily snap, "The drill is over!" at which point the sub is revealed to be running an exercise while still in port.
* In ''Film/TheRock'', General Hummel threatens to unleash rockets filled with VX gas on San Francisco if his demands are not met. When his deadline passes, he launches one of the rockets towards a nearby NFL stadium... only for it to land harmlessly in San Francisco Bay. When his Marines question what happened, he reveals that it was all a bluff.* Early in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', the US President and his cabinet are seen preparing to order a retaliatory nuclear strike against Russia, only to be interrupted by a phone call from the First Lady; the President then drily asks the others if they can continue "some other time..."
* In ''Film/ThreeKings''. While trying to escape with the gold, the main characters come under fire from an Iraqi mortar, and are horrified to see the mortar shells bursting in a cloud of colored gas. Cue frantic searching for gas masks and other protective gear, until the Special Forces colonel leading the group stops one of them from injecting an antidote to chemical weapons, stating that what they've been hit with is simply a particularly nasty form of tear gas.
* ''Film/WarGames'':
** The film opens with two USAF airmen reporting for their shift in a missile control bunker suddenly confronted with the prospect of having to order a launch. It is ultimately revealed to be a SecretTest of whether such personnel would in fact carry out their orders in a crisis.
** A brief one occurs late in the film. As soon as WOPR gets the launch codes to the [=ICBMs=], the screens in the War Room depict missile tracks originating from the US... cue a momentary panic until it's established that WOPR is still running simulations.
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Bolstered by Professor X's PsychicPowers, BigBad En Sabah Nur commandeers every nuclear launch officer on the planet as PeoplePuppets and forces them to launch their entire arsenal... harmlessly into space. It's not benevolence, but to prevent them from being used against him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Occurs twice in the Creator/DaleBrown novel ''Chains of Command'':
** Midway through the book, Colonel Darren Mace and Major Rebecca Furness watch helplessly as a Russian jet overflies their base and drops something that, between its appearance and the fact that the Russians have already used nuclear weapons elsewhere, they are convinced is a parachute-retarded nuclear bomb. Cut to the next chapter, where an incredulous US President is told that the aircraft actually dropped leaflets.
** A second, downplayed example occurs in the book's climactic mission. Prior to takeoff, Furness and Mace are inspecting two nuclear weapons that have been loaded aboard their aircraft when they are interrupted by a pilot from the allied Ukrainian Air Force. To their horror, they discover that neither he nor anyone outside their direct chain of command is aware of their nuclear attack orders, and the three pilots rush off to correct this oversight. The mission is launched, and Furness and Mace release their weapons... only for it to be revealed that a last minute switch has been made - a nuclear attack is still taking place, but it is the Ukrainian pilot who will carry it out.
* In the AlternateHistory novel ''Germania'' by Robert Conroy, German scientists are depicted feverishly working to create an atomic bomb able to be carried by a V-1. In the novel's climax, the V-1 with their bomb is launched to no effect; the scientists are implied to have sabotaged their own project.
* An in-universe example occurs in ''Literature/TheJessicaKellerChronicles: [[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25271288-auberon Auberon]]''. While conducting commerce raiding operations, Jessica launches a missile that has a slight radioactive signature at a Fribourg Empire planet, which airbursts in an unpopulated area, causing significant panic and tying up Imperial resources. The panic was all she was after, as the "warhead" was ice and gravel that had been irradiated just enough to show up on sensors. Made funnier by the color commentary provided by her chief engineer as the missile goes in.
* In ''Literature/RedStormRising'', much secrecy surrounds "Operation Doolittle" - it's slowly revealed that the mission involves a number of ''Los Angeles''-class submarines sneaking extremely close to the Soviet coastline to launch Tomahawk missiles armed with... ''something'' other than their normal high explosive warheads against an unspecified target. Unusual care is taken in checking the components of each and every missile to be used for faults, and a technician even notes that the guidance systems being installed are used almost exclusively with nuclear warheads. It's not until the missiles reach their targets[[note]]Soviet air bases[[/note]] and start to release their payloads[[note]]loads of cluster munitions[[/note]] that the true purpose of the raid is revealed: to destroy Soviet naval bombers that have been decimating allied convoys and render their airfields unusable.
* In one of the ''Literature/{{Treehouse}}'' books, Andy and Terry have a large red button in their treehouse but they've both forgotten what it does. Both of them are wondering WhatDoesThisButtonDo but are nervous that it'd cause an explosion, especially since a seer predicted ''something'' big and red exploding. However, when [[MeanBoss Mr. Big Nose]]'s big red nose explodes, Andy and Terry wonder if it's safe to press it and if the seer simply predicted the nose explosion. Jill tells them not to press it but then Mr. Big Nose's baby granddaughter presses it. It turns out that all it does is make rainbows come out of everybody's noses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* Doctor Cooper is a WellIntentionedExtremist during ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," in which he issues a worldwide ultimatum: abandon all nuclear weapons, or a cobalt bomb will irradiate the upper atmosphere, rendering the Earth's surface unlivable for hundreds of years. Once Jaime Sommers surmounts the MalevolentArchitecture of the scientist's base to reach the device, she discovers that no nuclear device exists. The "bomb" was merely the bible passage from Isaiah 2:4.
* In ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode "Here I Go Again", Zari finds herself stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop and is forced to relive an hour that ends in the ship blowing up. After disabling the timeloop and finding the bomb itself, she performs a HeroicSacrifice by using her [[BlowYouAway wind powers]] and a force field to shield the rest of the Legends from the blast. However once the countdown hits zero, no explosion happens. It's then revealed to be all a SecretTestOfCharacter and that Zari was in a simulation the whole time.
* PlayedForDrama in Series/{{Preacher}}, where one of the heads of the Grail is explaining their plot to TakeOverTheWorld to Starr. A few minutes before midnight on December 31, 1999, every nuclear missile on Earth will launch simultaneously. The missiles-
-->'''Starr (interrupting):''' Fail to detonate.
-->'''Starr:''' You don't want the kingdom of Heaven. You just want to inherit the Earth.
:: Starr passes the test, and is inducted into the higher ranks of the Grail.
* The episode "Bomb" of ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' has an airplane drop what the 4 roommates think is an unexploded atomic bomb on their house; as a result, Neil builds a bomb shelter out of a cardboard box, Mike tries to sell it, Rick tries to use it as a bargaining chip to make Thatcher "do something for the kids", and Vyvyan tries to make it explode. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that it wasn't a bomb, but an airplane egg, with a toy plane "hatching" from the bomb.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/BinaryDomain'' activates a nuclear strike on his and the protagonists' current location, knowing that he's the only one who can deactivate it if things don't go his way. After his defeat, he's willing to accept his fate, but nothing happens. He then learns that the computer AI in charge of the launch has evolved to properly judge if "Human intention" can be trusted, and called off the launch after determining that it would've been used for rather petty purposes.
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2''. When Price boards a Russian ballistic missile submarine and launches a nuclear missile, the nuclear warhead is real, armed, and targeted at Washigton, but it does not destroy the city; Price is merely using the warhead to create an EMP effect there that will reduce the fighting to infantry combat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the opening of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox9wIZeZYg episode 3]] of the ''[[WebVideo/ExtraCredits Extra History]]'' series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, as tensions run high between Russia, Cuba and America, Dan describes a Soviet bomber dropping a bomb 20 times as powerful as the one used on Hiroshima being dropped in the Arctic circle... fortunately, it's a standard atmospheric test that was scheduled before the crisis began.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* An episode of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Alf}}'' cartoon (where he reminisces about his life on Melmac) had Gordon accidentally get recruited into a spy mission while his younger brother and his friends play a spy game connected to a collectible card game. (Collect all the cards and you win a trip.) Gordon encounters the BigBad and discovers he has a giant missile in his hangar. Gordon fails to stop the villain's countdown, but it turns out it's just to find the last card of the collectible card game. The missile is just a model he built when he was younger.
* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episode "Above and Beyond", the Plumbers Helpers realize the satellite they are on is plummeting towards London and would potentially kill millions of people. The one solution they come up with is to blow up the satellite before it crashes, but since their ship got blown out of the airlock that means they would blow themselves up with it. They use three Plumbers Badges to gain authority to perform a self-destruct, but as the countdown hits zero there's no explosion. It's then revealed everything was a SecretTestOfCharacter and their mentor Max was watching the whole time to which he congratulates their bravery and puts the satellite back into orbit.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode, "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS5EP12CursesBangForYourBuck Bang For Your Buck]]", Mojo Jojo is having a GarageSale, and the Girls and the Gangrene Gang compete to get $100.00 to buy what looks like a giant laser. Mojo eventually sells the laser to The Mayor, who believes it to be a snow-cone machine. He turns on the laser, and it aims at him, ready to fire. As it turns out, [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight it really was a snow-cone machine, as it fired flavored ice]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming", Sideshow Bob acquires a 10-megaton nuclear bomb and threatens to use it to destroy Springfield unless television is outlawed. When Krusty the Klown defies the ban, Bob detonates the bomb and a close-up of a mushroom cloud is shown... before the camera zooms out to show the blast radius was barely bigger than a human being. Bob then examines a piece of the bomb's casing, reads "Best Before November 1959" and realises the bomb's nuclear material has lost since passed its useful half-life.
[[/folder]]
----
Indices: {{Superweapon}}, BaitAndSwitch, AlliterativeName/TropesSToZ, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, HorrorTropes
