Line #31 Main/KnowsTheRopes


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14	[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/OnePiece https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/one_piece_paulie_rope_action.png]]]]
15	[[caption-width-right:350:They did [[{{Pun}} knot]] see that coming.]]
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19	Whips and [[ChainPain chains]] offer plenty of advantages in combat. Being able to hit your opponents from a distance with just a cool flick of the wrist is way too unrealistic to pass up.
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21	Then there are characters who use ordinary rope or string -- the most basic, unweaponized version of the above -- in battle as a tool.
22
23	Sure, it might not be lethal (unless you're using a rope thick enough to cause severe abrasions), but you can use it to pull anything or anyone anywhere, [[BoundAndGagged restrict your opponent's movement]] [[GrappleMove or just get a hold on them]], [[CatapultToGlory use tension or torsion to launch something]], [[TrapMaster lay a trap for an unsuspecting foe]]... or just about anything else that can control the flow of a fight. Fiction allows for shenanigans like VariableLengthChain and InstantKnots, so these characters can duplicate a GrapplingHookPistol to pull themselves around in settings that don't technologically allow for one.
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25	Of course, rope can be applied in ways like RazorFloss and ChokeHolds where it ''can'' be lethal.
26
27	Sometimes overlaps with MasterOfThreads. Characters like this tend to be along the lines of TheSmartGuy, TheSneakyGuy, TheChessmaster, and the CombatPragmatist thanks to the levels of complexity and deception that their rope tricks demand. [[BrainsAndBondage This can also have several implications.]]
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29	BladeOnARope is a sub-trope of this if the rope has, [[CaptainObvious well blades at the end of it]]. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not related to]] WireFu.
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31	!!Examples:
32
33	[[foldercontrol]]
34
35	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36	* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': The rope fastening Matsuri's sword sheathe to his battle suit is much longer than it looks. He can quickly unravel it, swinging it around his opponents to tie them up, using the attached sheathe itself as a weight.
37	* Vanessa Enoteca from ''Manga/BlackClover'' uses Thread Magic, letting her form magical string that's virtually invisible to entangle enemies, move them like puppets, and even seal wounds.
38	* Decim from ''Anime/DeathParade'' is able to manipulate a seemingly infinite amount of strings as his power. Regular humans are unable to break them, and he’s able to [[ForcedSleep magically put someone to sleep]] with them. While he usually only uses them to carry people or restrain guests who become violent, he’s also used them to hurl furniture at a coworker who angered him.
39	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
40	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'': Joseph Joestar prefers to fight with rope and string when he's not relying on ImprovisedWeapon ConfusionFu. He first uses a network of string to manipulate Straizo into blowing himself up with a dozen grenades. Next, he outsmarts Esidisi by using a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_and_restore_rope_trick cut and restore rope trick]] to allow him to land the finishing blow, and lastly turns around a battle with Kars with another rope trick and plenty of misdirection. Joseph continues this trend in ''Stardust Crusaders'' when he gains the vine-like Stand called Hermit Purple.
41	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'': Kakyoin's Stand; Hierophant Green, is able to unravel its body into long ropes. These ropes can function as normal bindings (like during the fight with Wheel of Fortune) or as spears (as [[StarterVillain Tower of Gray]] [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice found out]]), but the fight with DIO reveals that Kakyoin can also use these ropes as tripwires that fire off powerful Emerald Splashes whenever they're touched.
42	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': Jolyne Cujoh is able to use her Stand, Stone Free, to unravel her body into string. [[SwissArmySuperpower She uses this ability to create nets, bindings, communication devices, pickpocket other people, and to transport herself and others around an area]]. Fittingly, she also has a [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire spider motif]].
43	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]'': Mountain Tim's Oh! Lonesome Me allows him to break his body apart and travel across a rope from his body. Even when he's not using his Stand, he's also skilled at using a lasso.
44	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureTheJoJoLands The JoJoLands]]'': The Wild Cats' Cat Size can create moving threads that can wrap itself around an their targets or pierce through their body to cut them.
45	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Paulie, one of the shipwrights of the Galley-la Company, specializes in using ropes in combat, in a style he calls "Rope Action". He uses it to bind and throw his enemies around, and occasionally turns his ropes into a net, either to capture his opponent or to help his friends.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Comic Books]]
49	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': The titular hero made frequent use of this fighting style prior to ''Film/Batman1989'' and subsequent adaptations making the GrapplingHookPistol his IconicItem. Particularly notable in 70's-90's era Batman, where a batrope attached to a batarang (combining this trope and BattleBoomerang) was used both to facilitate a BuildingSwing when required, as well as to entangle and ensnare Bat-foes as needed.
50	* ''ComicBook/{{Critter}}'': Lasso Lass, a member of the superhero team The In Crowd, uses a high-tech lasso as her weapon of choice.
51	* ''ComicBook/{{Firestorm\|DCComics}}'': The villain Slipknot fights with ultra-durable ropes, which he uses to strangle, grapple with, or immobilize his opponents.
52	* ''ComicBook/JudgeColt'': Colt's part-time bailiff and travelling hangman Jesse Stone knows his way around a rope. In #2, after emptying his gun during an ambush, he pulls out his hangman's rope and uses it like a lasso: dropping the noose around the neck of one of his attackers and choking him into submission.
53	* ''ComicBook/RulahJungleGoddess'': In "Satyrs of Satan!" (''Zoot Comics'' #13b), Rulah battles a Mongol princess named Zenpha who is an expert with the lariat.
54	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
55	** The titular hero utilizes his webbing like this as much as he uses it to actually web things like a traditional spider. This is particularly noticeable in video games, where it's often used to make a [[EpicFlail flail-like]] weapon out of rubble or unfortunate mooks, as well as slingshots to launch Spider-Man at enemies at high speed.
56	** Montana of the Enforcers is a straighter example. He's a cowboy-themed villain whose main weapon is naturally a lasso.
57	* In ''ComicBook/SpyBoy'', ProfessionalKiller Hanging Chad is an expert with the lasso and uses it hang his targets.
58	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': The titular hero's magical Lasso of Truth is her most iconic weapon. Her sidekicks [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark also use lassos of their own.]]
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Fan Works]]
62	* Percy's ship control powers in ''Fanfic/SonOfTheWesternSea'' extend to controlling ropes with his mind which allows him to bind his opponents in ropes, toss them huge distances, and make those same ropes immune to damage. [[MundaneUtility Or he can just use them to lift things around the ship]].
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
66	* ''Film/DayOfTheEvilGun'': When they are being pursued on horseback by the Apache, one brave lassos the Winchester out of Warfield's saddle boot, while another lassos his revolver out of his hand.
67	* The kung-fu film ''Film/TheDeadlyBreakingSword'' has the plucky protagonist (played by Creator/AlexanderFuSheng) being ambushed by several mooks armed with ropes. But he skillfully dodges all their attacks and tricks his would-be captors to tie each other up instead.
68	* In ''Film/GhostTown1988'', one of the outlaws is hiding atop the windmill and expertly drops a noose around Langley's neck and attempts to strangle him.
69	* ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'': The American ImprobableWeaponUser Agent Whiskey wields a lasso [[EnhancedArchaicWeapon that can be electrified]] to [[AbsurdCuttingPower shear through anything]] the rope touches.
70	* The EstablishingCharacterMoment of the 13th Prince from ''Film/TheHeroicOnes'', when challenged by a GiantMook (who had killed four of his men), decides to forfeit using his spear, choosing to use a rope in combat instead. In the subsequent fight, the Prince easily disarms his opponent and strangles him with said rope in a CurbStompBattle.
71	* ''Film/NoRetreatNoSurrender2'' has Yuri's mercenaries, a group of monks, who ambushes Scott and his group with ropes, easily tying up the trio within moments and would've captured the heroes if Mac didn't sneak a knife with him into the camp. Doubles as a ChekhovsSkill later in the finale; when outmatched by Yuri, Scott remembers the battle with the monks, quickly grabs a nearby rope, and ties up Yuri, turning the tide of battle around.
72	* The second ''Film/OnceUponATimeInChina'' has Commander Nap Lan (played by Creator/DonnieYen), who specializes in rope-based martial arts to constrict and strangle his opponents, and gives the hero Wong Fei-Hung one hell of a tough battle. Nap Lan's rope whip can even shatter a wooden crate in one scene!
73	* In ''Film/PhantomOfTheMallEricsRevenge'', the mall owner's son, Justin, harasses Melody's friend Susie; Eric kills him with a lasso pulled into the mall escalator.
74	* Jack Sparrow in ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' applies this attitude to the ropes and pulleys that hold together the ship's rigging. His SignatureMove involves setting off a chain reaction in the rigging that eventually lets him grab a rope and pull himself out of an undesirable situation.
75	* The heroine of ''Film/TheThunderingSword'' (played by kung-fu queen Creator/ChengPeiPei) has a lengthy fight scene, where she's not supposed to kill or hurt anyone, despite her enemies being armed with swords. So instead she grabs a long coil of rope and expertly ties all of them together after a short fight.
76	* The final shootout of ''Film/TigerOnBeat'' has Francis being pinned behind a barricade by gunfire. Francis noticed a coil of rope nearby, so he instead tied the rope to his shotgun and... voila, a ''yo-yo'' shotgun which easily helps Francis take down half a dozen mooks without needing him to break cover.
77	* The climax of the ''wuxia'', ''Film/VillageOfTigers'' has the hero Luo Hong-sun and his LoveInterest and other half of the BattleCouple, Bao Ying-Hua, being ambushed by rope-swinging bandits who ties them up, until reinforcements arrive and slices the ropes.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Literature]]
81	* ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'': the novel's version of Prince Nezha has him wielding a demon-subduing rope as part of his six weapons. Much later, the two [[AsianFoxSpirit half-hulijing brothers]] Gold Horn and Silver Horn possess the treasure known as the Golden Canopy Rope, a magical golden rope that can tie itself around anything when ordered. Sun Wukong tries to use it against Silver Horn, but the demon is able to turn the tables on the Monkey King.
82	* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', an alternative name for the Patron God of Assassins, Cotillion, is "the Rope", which is his chosen weapon. The way its use is described in battle is reminiscent of a variably long whip, although him being the Patron of Assassins a garrotte is another possible use for it. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] considering Cotillion is a PhysicalGod and has [[CastingAShadow shadow magic]] at his disposal to aid with his rope's efficiency.
83	* ''Literature/TheMummyMonsterGame'': In book 1, during the challenge for the final piece of Osiris's mummy, the player is provided with three weapons, including the sacred knot of Isis. Used as a lasso, it's able to defeat the second piece of the monster Ammit, an enormous crocodile head, by forcibly binding its mouth shut.
84	* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'': Erik travelled throughout the world after running away from home when young. During his travels, he visited India, where he learned to kill people using the Punjab lasso (essentially, a weaponized hangman's noose). The Punjab lasso that Erik wields is "curiously made from catgut"; the only way to escape it is to keep one's hand raised to eye level, thus preventing the loop from closing.
85	* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': Mariel fights with "Gullwhacker", a length of heavy rope with large, hard knots at the ends that make it an effective bludgeoning weapon. When she first washes up on the beach with IdentityAmnesia and the rope tied to her, she uses it as an ImprovisedWeapon out of necessity, but later designs several other versions and even [[TheyCallHimSword names herself after it]].
86	* ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'': Porthos's servant Mousqueton is extremely adept at Western-style roping, a talent he puts to good use when his master needs wine. Mousqueton lassos bottles of wine out of the cellar like an expert and hauls them back to Porthos.
87	* In ''Literature/TheSecretsOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'', Antoinette Rowley Rayne is engaged in a complicated skipping routine when several of the prefects attempt to jump her. Rayne manages to take them all out with her skipping rope, without ever breaking step or deviating from her pattern.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
91	* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': Lassos do no damage, but, like other Entangling weapons, can [[StatusInflictionAttack snare]] their targets, rendering them unable to take any action other than try to free themselves. They're not common weapons, so characters need special training to wield them effectively.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Theater]]
95	* The title character of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' uses the opera house's stage rigging to terrorize the main cast.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Video Games]]
99	* The weapon chosen by Katherine in ''VideoGame/BrokenPuppet'' is thread and needles. The needles serve as anchor points for the thread only. Once two needles are thrown, connected by the thread, Katherine can make the thread pull tight with a simple hand move. Most enemies are defeated by directly pulling a body part off or out, but the boss needs to be hit with dynamite first, which is also done by means of the thread.
100	* ''VideoGame/ComicJumperTheAdventuresOfCaptainSmiley'': [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comic book villainess and StrawFeminist Mistress Ropes has controlling ropes as her whole gimmick, which are obstacles throughout her stage.
101	* Roxie, the boss of Babel Tower in ''VideoGame/CrusaderOfCenty'', is a rope-like monster. Upon entering the boss room, all there is is a rope to climb that, as it turns out, hangs from nowhere. It then falls down and forms the outline of a silhouette, which is Roxie. Any physical attack performed by Roxie is therefore a rope-based attack.
102	* Sam Porter Bridges from ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' uses ropes to parry attacks and bind enemies; useful, since every dead body summons a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Beached Thing]] that can quite literally annihilate cities.
103	* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'': The Strand element, introduced in the penultimate expansion ''Lightfall'', focuses on using green chords that connect everything in the universe for its abilities. Titans shape it into claws for cutting, Hunters into rope darts for acrobatic attacks, and Warlocks use it to create minions, but all of them can also use it to swing around the battlefield or pull them toward enemies.
104	* ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' has Kirby becoming a living yarn construct due to a curse put on him by the BigBad, Yin-Yarn. In this adventure, Kirby has to use his yarn body to solve puzzles in the yarn-and-cloth-ified world, frequently by turning them into ropes that interact with things or turning his body into various shapes.
105	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper2'': Implied by the TasteOfPower character:
106	--> sigh I forgot to equip my Lasso of Anti-RageQuit. There goes my XP.
107	* One of the non-summon items found in ''VideoGame/LegendOfTheGhostLion'' is a rope. It is used in battle and binds a single target for duration of combat, preventing them from attacking. Of course, [[ContractualBossImmunity it doesn't work on bosses]].
108	* Sion in ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'' wields, along with a pistol, the Etherlite. The thread is invisible to the naked eye but virtually indestructible, and she can use it as a MindProbe to read other people's minds. She can use it like a whip or trip up or pull the opponent in combat.
109	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
110	** ''VideoGame/MarioPartyIslandTour'': The minigame Git Along, Goomba has the characters stand respectively on round wooden platforms that surround a large stand with Goombas. Each character has to spin a lasso and then throw it at the stand to capture as many Goombas as possible (the more a character spins their lasso, the bigger its diameter will be, giving them the chance to capture a larger Goomba crowd). After 30 seconds, the character who captured the most Goombas will win.
111	** ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'': One of Spideraticus' attacks is to spit Glue Globes out on his web-lines trying to get Wario stuck, and then suck them back in. Doing so allows Wario to get close enough for a GroundPound.
112	** ''VideoGame/PrincessPeachShowtime'': Cowgirl Peach has no gun despite her holster, instead she wrangles her enemies with a lasso.
113	* Arizona from ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' uses a lasso as part of her moveset, which is used for special attacks or to [[YouWillNotEvadeMe wrangle opponents closer.]]
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Western Animation]]
117	* When Mary joined to Knights in ''WesternAnimation/KingArthurAndTheKnightsOfJustice'', Merlin gave her a Rope of Strength in case anyone needed to be pulled from the mud. She did just that, but also used it for combat purposes by halting the arm of the Boulder Basher.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' contains a possible variant - the Metalbending Police use prehensile steel cables as their main weapon while on duty.
119	* Like her pony counterpart, Applejack of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' is prompt to use a lasso when needed. She keeps it with her in {{Hammerspace}} at all times, even in a formal dress.
120	* Rope Girl from ''WesternAnimation/TeamoSupremo'' fights using a jump rope. Depending on the situation, she uses it as a whip, lasso, binding material, and the like. It's also used for the team's TransformationSequence.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Real Life]]
124	* One of the traditional weapons of Hapkido is the [[http://www.blackbeltwiki.com/pho-bak Pho Bak]], a length of rope or a belt.
125	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hojōjutsu Hojōjutsu]] is a traditional Japanese method of restraining an opponent with a single piece of rope, often paired with grappling techniques in Jiujutsu schools. Knots are avoided due to the shameful connotations of being bound in public.
126	[[/folder]]

Context Main / KnowsTheRopes