Line #81 Main/SettleItWithoutWeapons


1	Two badasses who have already been established as extremely proficient with their weapons agree to [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen dump them and instead to settle their scores]] in [[GoodOldFisticuffs straight-up hand-to-hand combat]]. This may be done either out of [[WorthyOpponent unwillingness to kill their opponent]] or because [[ItsPersonal beating the snot out of each other with bare hands is just more satisfying]]. Or just because both sides run out of ammo. If one of them runs out of ammo or his weapon breaks, the other may similarly discard his to make the fight fair again (which goes to the Medieval chivalry tradition at {{The Tourney}}s).
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3	In video games, it may result in a FisticuffsBoss. May overlap with CombatBreakdown. Not to be confused with ThrowAwayGuns, which is a form of UnorthodoxReload.
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5	!!Examples:
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7	[[foldercontrol]]
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9	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
10	* At the end of Revy and Roberta's first confrontation in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', they throw away their weapons and settle it with hand-to-hand combat, completely ignoring the on-lookers and the two men trying to pry them apart.
11	* In ''Manga/CryingFreeman'', Yoh faces a Russian sambo wrestling master, who requests they drop their guns and fight bare-handed, which he agrees to.
12	* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', following an escalating [[VolleyingInsults verbal battle]], Shun and Emilio [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation summon their Warp Relics]], only to throw them aside in silent consensus and begin an inelegant fistfight as all they really want to do is punch each other's faces.
13	* Happens briefly in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. Naruto and Gaara are exhausted after battling it out in the Chuunin Exams, and each of them only has the strength for one last punch, but they go for it, anyway. [[spoiler:Only Naruto manages to still have the stamina to move afterwards]].
14	* Porco and Donald Curtis in ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' have an [[OldSchoolDogfighting Old School Dogfight]], but both have problems with their guns and resort to this.
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17	[[folder:Comic Books]]
18	* In ''ComicBook/{{ElfQuest}} Hidden Years'' issue "9.5", Cutter and Rayek agree to a fight with only fists, no Elfin "magic" to be used during the fight (only after, to heal both combatants).
19	* In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', the jerkass ComicBook/GreenLantern Guy Gardner takes off his ring to go ''mano a mano'' with Batman, who knocks Guy out with [[OneHitKO one punch]]. Guy is out cold on the floor for the next ''several'' issues.
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22	[[folder:Fan Works]]
23	* Justified in ''Fanfic/TemporalAnomaly'', where due to their sisters not trusting the two to ''not'' kill each other with their weapons, Zero and One resort to using their fists in order to settle the beef between them.
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27	[[folder:Film]]
28	* ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': {{Inverted}}. Yoda and Count Dooku start off dueling with The Force as their only weapon, but find themselves evenly matched. They switch to fighting with lightsabers, both agreeing that it's the only way to break the stalemate.
29	* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', when Marty is duelling Beauford Tannen, he drops his gun and asks if they can settle it like men. [[spoiler:Beauford [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim just shoots him]], which Marty was counting on - he'd improvised a bulletproof vest out of an oven door.]]
30	* A "make the fight fair" version is {{subverted}} in ''Film/BlazingSaddles''. Sheriff Bart has tracked down the BigBad Hedley Lamaar at the movie theater and is ready for the final gunfight.
31	-->'''Sheriff Bart''': Freeze it! Okay, Lamarr, go for your gun.\
32	'''Lamarr''': Wait, wait, I'm unarmed!\
33	'''Sheriff Bart''': All right, we'll settle it like men. With our fists. [Tosses away his gun]\
34	'''Lamarr''': [pulls out a Derringer] Sorry, I just remembered. I am armed.\
35	'''Sheriff Bart''': [Does a diving roll to grab his gun and shoot Lamaar]
36	* {{Subverted}} in ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' when [[spoiler:Yon-Rogg]] challenges Carol to fight him hand to hand, without using her powers. Given he makes the challenge only after every other method he was using to try to control her has failed him ([[spoiler: including deception, hostage-taking, a power-dampening control chip, a mind-infiltrating supercomputer, his whole team trying to kill her with weapons, and orbital bombardment]]) she rejects the notion she owes him a fair fight and just blasts him.
37	--> '''Carol:''' I have ''nothing'' to prove to you.
38	* ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'': Subverted. [[spoiler:Koba initially throws away his gun to battle Caesar bare-handed, but soon picks up a metal pole to use as a melee weapon, before simply taking another gun from a trapped ape and attempting to gun Caesar down.]]
39	* The first ''Film/{{Predator}}'' movie ends with [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the title creature]] discarding its high-tech weaponry and challenging Dutch to hand-to-hand combat after it deems him a WorthyOpponent.
40	* In ''Film/JackReacher'', Reacher sneaks up on TheDragon, disarms him and then decides to have a fist fight with him because he can.
41	* ''Film/TheMatrix'' has the "both run out of bullets" version when Neo and Agent Smith are in the subway station. They charge at each other shooting and use up all of the rounds in their pistols, ending up with empty weapons pointed at each other's head. Smith throws away his gun and Neo follows suit. They then engage in a knockdown drag out fight. Of course, given that this is the Matrix, hand-to-hand combat is just as deadly as guns.
42	%%* In ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', this is how Fezzik the giant and the Man in Black agree to fight.
43	* In ''Film/RobotJox'', the American and Soviet pilot both get out of their battered machines after a long mechfight and continue their duel on foot amidst the rubble [[spoiler:until Achilles convinces Alexander that the match doesn't have to end with a Jockey's death]].
44	* Subverted twice in ''Film/RushHour'', where Chris Tucker's character challenges TheDragon to one of these, only to have a gun pulled on him after throwing his away. In the finale [[spoiler: they both pull out guns on one another. Tucker's character is faster.]]
45	-->'''Fezzik''': We face each other as God intended. Sportsmanlike. No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone.\
46	'''Man in Black''': You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?
47	* ''Film/WestSideStory1961'', the Sharks & Jets agree to a rumble without weapons, but Riff brings a switchblade anyway.
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50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Belgarath and his EvilFormerFriend Zedar are two of the most powerful sorcerers of all time, but in their final confrontation, they're both too emotionally overwrought to focus on a WizardDuel so they resort to [[GoodOldFisticuffs an all-out fistfight]].
52	* Towards the end of ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' the Greasers and Socs have a rumble where they agree beforehand on no weaponry. One of the Greaser leaders beats up one of his own guys when the leader discovers that the guy brought a chain to use as a weapon.
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55	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
56	* In ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'', Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen do this after Al insults Seth's lover. Al, of course, cheats later and pulls a knife. Note that at the beginning the two divest themselves not only of weapons, but Bullock also removes his sheriff's badge.
57	* Subverted in ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy''. After disarming Treacheron, Magna Defender plants his own sword in the ground and declares that they don't need weapons to finish this. Treacheron grabs both swords at the first opportunity - and then [[NobleDemon gives back the Defender's]], as those who've lived by the sword should end things the same way. Then the Rangers show up and Treacheron retreats with a WeWillMeetAgain.
58	* On ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', whenever a Qowat Milat nun and a Tal Shiar agent meet, they sheathe their weapons and fight hand-to-hand.
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61	[[folder:Video Games]]
62	* The FinalBattle in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' consists of a part where Ezio and [[spoiler:Rodrigo Borgia]] fight using their considerable arsenals (which include Pieces of Eden), and a part where they just go at each other with bare hands.
63	* This is a common occurrence in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series. The [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid first game]] has a fight against the Ninja where he'll throw away his weapon if you attack without yours; otherwise, you'll lose. Later, there's a fist fight between brothers on the top of a giant mech, and that fight is echoed in the close of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
64	* This is a very common occurrence in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. Among the Nords, unarmed, magic-less fistfights are "social combat" meant to tell who is badass and who isn't. So your character will enter hand to hand duels multiple times.
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67	[[folder:Webcomics]]
68	* PlayedForLaughs in ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', when Liquid is fighting [[spoiler:Big Boss]] in Liquid's mindscape. Since they can generate any weapon in the mindscape, [[spoiler:Big Boss]] pulls a gun on Liquid in the middle of a fistfight. Liquid responds by summoning ''his'' favorite weapon: a HIND helicopter. [[spoiler:Big Boss]] concedes and they proceed with the fistfight.
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71	[[folder:Web Video]]
72	* Parodied in the Website/CollegeHumor video "[[http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6035867/goldeneye-stand-off GoldenEye Stand-Off]]" (based on ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997''), where Bond and Trevelyan run out of ammo and go at each other with [[EmergencyWeapon basic melee attacks]]:
73	-->'''Bond''': Then it's settled... brutal hand-to-hand combat it is.\
74	'''Trevelyan''': To the death.\
75	'''Bond''': [dramatic whisper] ''Slappers only.''
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78	[[folder:Western Animation]]
79	* {{Subverted}} in a "Goodfeathers" segment of ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}'' parodying ''West Side Story''. The two sides agree to "no weapons," then immediately after the Goodfeathers leave: "Get the weapons."
80	* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Stewie and his equally cunning and megalomaniac half-brother (a result of Peter Griffin donating sperm) dispense with high-tech weaponry after shooting them out of their hands and they fight with martial art and the fight ends when they curl up for a nap after putting each other in a sleeper hold.
81	* The final fight of the ''WesternAnimation/MegaManRubySpears'' episode "Terror of the Seven Seas" has Mega Man challenging Proto Man this way. In this instance, Mega Man was doing this deliberately in order to get Proto Man to spare his ammo, as he needed to absorb as much plasma energy from his Proto Buster as possible to overload Dr. Wily's battleship. Inevitably, Proto Man cheats, but gets beaten by Mega Man anyway.
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84	[[folder:Real Life]]
85	* Two skirmishers during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar were exchanging TrashTalk until they decided that nothing would do but to use GoodOldFisticuffs.
86	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SettleItWithoutWeapons