Not Thriving: Near Misses

Near Misses is a very old and obscure trope, which hasn't seen any substantial edits or additions to its (very minimal) main page since 2013.

Per the wick check, there's a grand total of 19 wicks (not including the wick check itself) and 7 non-crosswicked examples on the page.

The trope is supposed to be about stereotypical ways that heroes avoid getting shot (being pushed down by an ally, the bullets inexplicably hitting the ground where they were standing, and so on), but it is redundant to more popular tropes including Hero-Tracking Failure, Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure, A-Team Firing, Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, Dodge the Bullet and so on. Not helping matters is that, due to the ambiguous name and broad definition, the majority of examples are about People Nearly Getting Shot rather than the intended definition.

My suggestion is to create an index in its place, with "Near Misses" as one of its redirects, as a disambiguation would essentially do the same thing, but this is dependant on there being enough related tropes for that.

Potential solutions:

• Cut and disambiguate.
• Create a new index, "Near Missin' Dex" (or just "Missin' Dex") which could include the tropes mentioned above.

• Hero-Tracking Failure: You may also notice the tendency for Near Misses to be shown by the bullets hitting the ground just behind the hero's feet, even when the shooter does not have the sort of elevated position that would make it appropriate for all missed shots to immediately hit the ground. Admittedly, a spray of sparks/dust following the hero one step behind them is more dramatic than bullets just disappearing into the background, but it only adds to the absurdity of the scene.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars S2E1 "Holocron Heist": Obi-Wan grabs Anakin and pulls him away from a walker just before a droid fighter crashes into it, with Anakin even saying it was close.
• MacGyver (1985):
  • "The Golden Triangle" features a shot of MacGyver ducking for cover as twin lines of gunfire from a helicopter pass either side of him, which was used in the opening titles.
  • "The Enemy Within" has a good example of bullets kicking up dust always just behind the running hero.
• Lucky Dog 1: Gian is pretty good at avoiding bullets by complete accident. On the third day of the escape period, Gian accidentally slips on the muddy ground and pushes Bernardo down as he falls forward...and then a bullet flies right where their heads were if they hadn't been been knocked down. A similar incident occurs in Luchino's route.
• Support Your Local Sheriff: Used in the movie, in which James Garner runs down a typical western wooden sidewalk while a dozen gunmen blast away him from across the street. Every one of dozens of bullets hits the wooden boards of the sidewalk just behind him. (Non-crosswicked, definitely redundant to Hero-Tracking Failure)
• Inverted in the 1989 Batman movie. Batman (in the Batwing) strafes the Joker who just stands in the middle of the street with his arms out, taunting him. Batman opens fire with everything he's got, but he just shoots the ground on either side. Even the missiles miss. Joker then fires one shot from his long-barreled revolver and Down Goes the Batwing! (Non-crosswicked)
• In Batman: The Animated Series, whenever a mook fired a machine gun at Bats (a semi-frequent occurrence), he would dodge to the side, while bullets ricocheted off the place where he had just been standing. The ground where he had just been standing, even if the mook was on the same level, and at close range. (Non-crosswicked)

• Fairy Tail – Official Guilds: Most of his shots end up as this courtesy of Wendy's quick reflexes allowing her to Dodge the Bullet. He eventually takes out Sagittarius after a couple of Shoot the Bullet exchanges, though. (Sniper Drake)
• Fame: The 1985 episode "His Majesty Donlon" sees Chris having to trade places with Prince Frederic of Vatonia to allow the prince to experience normal life for a period prior to giving a speech at the United Nations (though unknown to Chris until a near-miss; the Prince is also the target of an assassination plot)
• Nation: Justified and then subverted: Cox has guns which he uses in his duel against Mau. Mau is just smart enough to dive into the water, where bullets don't have as much effect. He does get his ear shot off, though.
• Tropes M to O: stronger character vs. anyone using the time-warping bullets (Though this is essentially a ZCE)
• Items: Every shot aimed at a Scout after drinking the energy drink.
• Tropes H to P: A Scout under the effects of Bonk! Atomic Punch will dodge every attack until the drink wears off. Also, when an enemy shoots at you and narrowly misses, you can hear the bullet/flare/dart whiz by you.
• In Harry Potter, especially towards the end, nobody can hit the broadside of a barn standing two feet from it, unless the plot or drama dictates that it should. This causes such mishaps as one of the twins losing an ear.
  • There's an interesting justification in the climactic battle of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Harry blew his stack of luck potion among his friends, who would've been dead five times over without it. Ginny actually said that everything just seemed to miss them.
  • Although the books probably do fall under this trope, that particular instance is actually justified in that Snape cast the curse; being that he was The Mole, he didn't want to raise suspicion amongst the Death Eaters but clearly didn't want to cause too much damage. The presumption is he just aimed carefully. (Non-crosswicked)
• Played for laughs (Like everything else) in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!, where The Mole is trying to kill Mason Dixon as he slowly strolls down the sidewalk and ends up shooting everyone on the street except the guy he was aiming at. (Non-crosswicked)
• * Often seen in Xena: Warrior Princess, especially in the episodes "Livia" and "Eve," where Xena uselessly but dramatically catches daggers out of midair that seem to have been aimed somewhere over her shoulders. (Non-crosswicked)

• Diary of a Nudist: While stepping over Eleanor (Maria Stinger) lying on their stomach and making eye contact with their spouse, Marie (Doroles Carlos) very nearly makes contact with the rear end of the one on the floor. But, she manages to get over her anyway, and without accidentally falling on top.
• Of course, Richard Dean Anderson's other successful series, Stargate SG-1, repeats this, but with Goa'uld Deathgliders, the gunfire from which usually sends people flying. (Non-crosswicked. I have no idea what this is referring to and if it counts or not.)

• Could Have Been Messy (Mentioned as a related trope)
• Guns and Gunplay Tropes (Index)
• Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure (Mentioned as subtrope)
• The Rescuers: Constantly. (Madame Medusa, commented out as ZCE)
• M to N: (Obviously not a usage of the trope)
• Amonimus: (Listed among tropes needing TRS, appropriately enough.)
• Ice Heart: (Commented out, complete ZCE)
• All-Blue Entry: (Pothole)
• Tropes H to N: (Index)