History Main / CatchAFallingStar

* In ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'', Chat Noir saves Marinette in this way, mirroring how Ladybug saved Chloé in the [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug cartoon]].

--->'''Romanov:''' Sam, where are you?
--->'''Wilson:''' 41st floor, northwest corner.
--->'''Romanov:''' We're on it; stay where you are.
--->'''Wilson:''' NOT AN OPTION!!!

--->'''Wilson:''' 41st floor! 41st!"
--->'''Fury:''' It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside!!

* This happens all the time in WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond, since our Batman can now fly and lives in a Coruscant-like city of super-tall buildings and flying cars. About half the episodes feature someone falling off or at risk of falling off and needing rescue in either case.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E48ScroogesPet Scrooge's Pet]]", Scrooge accidentally sits on Lucky, who bites him, causing him to fall off the mast. Luckily, Launchpad is just in time to grab him before he falls into the ocean.

* Most ''WesternAnimation/{{Spider Man|TheAnimatedSeries}}'' cartoons have Spider-Man doing this. Because of his web-swinging, this is almost always portrayed realistically, as he has to catch up to the falling person in mid-air, then swing in an arc to either get them down safely or get them back to the building they fell off of.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'':

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/XMen97'', a Sentinel attacks the X-Jet, destroying it and sending the X-Men falling. Without breaking a sweat or even panicking, everyone gets to work saving people, Storm snatches up Gambit, Morph turns himself into Archangel and catches Wolverine and Rogue grabs Beast and Bishop. Cyclops?

** This is done literally in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom''. Sometimes when Link is falling down, a Star Fragments which is a rare upgrade material, will spawn near Link. You can catch it mid-air.

* In ''ComicBook/BatgirlYearOne'', Barbara Gordon is roof-swinging for the first time when her rope gets cut. Fortunately, Robin swings into her freefall's way and catches ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}.
* Mentioned in ''ComicBook/MarvelTeamUp'' #20, where ComicBook/BlackPanther tries to catch a falling ComicBook/SpiderMan by hanging from the Avengers Quinjet and grabbing the hero as he passes by. He notes that if he misjudges Spider-Man's speed or mistimes the catch by even a second, both of them will be killed instantly.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** In ''ComicBook/TheAttackOfTheAnnihilator'', Barbara Gordon alias ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} gets thrown off a building. ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} [[http://67.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8vbraq4Bs1qbujox.jpg shows up out of nowhere, catches Barbara and transports her to safety]].
** In ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNew52 #6'', a Superman doppelganger drops [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] off a building. However, Kara -who had come to Metropolis to talk with her cousin- [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/13/132823/4349582-kara-superman6.jpg catches Jimmy]].
** In ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNew52'' #35, Superman gets shot down and knocked down while flying back to Earth and falls to the planet. Then Kara streaks up to him and carries him to the ground.

** He does the same thing in ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' #10, talking to a suicidal girl whose therapist got caught in traffic rather than waiting for her to jump.

** "ComicBook/TheSuperSteedOfSteel": When Supergirl is weakened and shot down by a spaceship's Kryptonite beam, Comet catches her before she crashes into land.
** "ComicBook/SupergirlsSuperPet": Streaky's powers disappear while he is floating beyond the Earth's atmosphere, and he starts falling towards Earth. Fortunately, Kara catches and carries Streaky back to the ground safety.

* ''FanWorks/NuzlockeComics'': In ''Goddamn Critical Hits'', [[https://www.deviantart.com/epifex/art/68-Winging-It-694845812 when Chomp evolves into a Vibrava]], the disorientation caused by his [[SenseFreak newly-acquired sense of sight]] combines with his unfamiliarity with his [[LimbSensationFascination newly-acquired set of wings]] to send him careening off a cliff. Dusty unhelpfully advises that he use his wings to save himself, then catches him with [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] anyway just before he hits the ground.

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' has [[spoiler:ComicBook/LexLuthor exploiting this to get Superman to him by pushing Lois Lane off the building they were on.]] Lane maxes the fall (as usual) but [[spoiler:Luthor's goals were accomplished.]]

* This happens all the time in WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond, since our Batman can now fly and lives in a Coruscant-like city of super-tall buildings and flying cars. About half the episodes feature someone falling off or at risk of falling off.
** An admirably thought-out example happens in "Dead Man's Hand." Batman's able to bridge the gap, match velocity, and grab the faller. But he's not able to decelerate fast enough, and they end up crashing through an expensive skylight before landing hard on the floor of a (luckily unoccupied) ballroom. The faller still breaks his leg and has to go to the hospital. And if they hadn't hit something breakable AND had time to keep decelerating, it's clear he might've died outright, despite Batman cushioning his body with his own.

* And done somewhat right again in WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond. Some flying goons drop a security guard off their ride so Batman has to catch him. He's able to bridge the gap and match velocity. But even then, he can't decelerate fast enough, they end up crashing through a building's roof, and even though Batman makes sure he's on the bottom on impact, the guard still mentions he thinks he's broken his leg and has to go to the hospital. It helps that they're in the super-tall Gotham of the future and he thus has a longer distance to catch him in.

* And done somewhat right again in the early WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond episode "Dead Man's Hand." Some flying goons drop a security guard off their ride so Batman has to stop pursuit. He's able to bridge the gap and match velocity. But even then, he can't decelerate fast enough, they end up crashing through a building's roof, and even though Batman makes sure he's on the bottom on impact, the guard still mentions he thinks he's broken his leg and has to go to the hospital. It helps that they're in the super-tall Gotham of the future and he thus has a longer distance to catch him in.

Compare ImprobableFallingSave, where the catcher isn't moving and momentum seems to not transfer to them. Also compare with TakeMyHand. See also the InevitableWaterfall and NoOSHACompliance for places to fall from. When what's being dramatically caught in mid-plummet isn't a person, it's a DesperateObjectCatch. Sister trope to SavedByThePlatformBelow.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Renton and Eureka pull this off at least twice in ''Anime/EurekaSeven''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'':
** At the end, Helen catches a falling Jack-Jack. Justified more than most examples because Helen used her elastic powers to slow down Jack-Jack's fall for several feet before actually stopping it.
** This is {{deconstruct|ion}}ed in the beginning. A guy jumps off a building, Mr. Incredible catches him at an 90-degree angle, smashing through a glass window in the process. It turns out the guy was trying to commit suicide, and Mr. Incredible is [[HilaritySues sued]] for the resulting injuries.
* ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'':
** Bob and Edna dive to catch Jack-Jack at different points but when Edna attempts to catch him, he uses his power to elevate and stop his fall right before hitting the ground.
** Helen does this to the Screenslaver twice, both to the decoy and then to the actual Screenslaver.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': [[spoiler: As Luigi is about to fall into a pit of lava at Bowser's wedding, Mario (wearing a Tanooki Suit) flies down and snatches him right before he hits.]]

** Franchise/{{Batman}} catches Rachel after ComicBook/TheJoker shoves her out a window. They try to make it more reasonable by Batman unfolding his cape and gliding down with Rachel, but there's not nearly enough time with the way the film is edited for them not to have at least some kind of injury when they land.

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

** Pointedly Averted in ''Film/SpidermanNoWayHome:'' [[spoiler: After losing Gwen Stacy in a similar manner to his comic counterpart, the [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries Amazing Spider-Man]] shows he's learned his lesson when his younger counterpart's girlfriend Michelle takes a fall; He jumps after MJ and grabs hold of her before using his webs to swing them both to safety]]
* Played painfully straight in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''. [[spoiler:Trinity decides that a fall from the 65th floor of a building is less lethal than dealing with [[TheDreaded an Agent]], so she jumps out a window]]. Moments before she hits the ground, Neo swoops in (at a speed so fast that he has a tornado of cars in his wake) and catches [[spoiler:Trinity]] in his arms, thus letting her only fall 64 1/2 stories instead of 65. Of course, Neo's status as "[[TheChosenOne The One]]" basically [[JustifiedTrope gives him the power of Fuck You Physics]] while in [[{{Cyberspace}} the Matrix]]. Which, of course, raises more questions...

** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The Coruscant ChaseScene. Although it's shown that Anakin flies under Obi-Wan with his FlyingCar and starts dropping at a rate ''just'' slower than Obi-Wan, allowing Obi-Wan to fall in at a relatively small speed.

* Superman does this in virtually every movie in some form or another. In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', his catch of an entire powerless airplane somewhat inverts the usual trope in that it is the man who catches the vehicle.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'': There's a variation in ''Vision of the Future'', when the ''Millennium Falcon'' is damaged, falling towards a planet's surface with the engines coming back online too slowly, and four [=TIE=] Interceptors carefully match velocities around it before each one hits the Falcon with grappling mags, slowing the descent to the point where the [=TIEs=] can fly it to a small hangar inside a cave.

* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman'' episode "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfSupermanS1E21TheHumanBomb The Human Bomb]]", Superman swoops in to catch [[Character/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] after he falls off the ''Planet'' building's ledge. Jimmy is absolutely fine, despite having been falling very fast.

* ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' parodies and subverts this one at the same time. After the second major dungeon, the hero Will falls from a floating continent, but luckily, his cousin Neil owns the only biplane in existence and flies up to catch him. Except he misses Will the first time! The second time he catches him, but [[strike:in doing so plunges into the ocean]] runs out of fuel before they reach land, causing them to crash in the ocean ''near'' an island.
* Done routinely in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. Traveling is accomplished by either leaping off one of the {{Floating Continent}}s of Skyloft or catching an updraft from the surface world, then whistling for Link's [[GiantFlyer Loftwing]], who will swoop in out of nowhere to catch him without fail.

** [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Meta Knight]] pulls this off with [[VideoGame/Mother3 Lucas]] and the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon Trainer]], ''right'' before they hit the ground. Although at least in that case, it seemed like Lucas was trying to psychokinetically slow their fall. Also, the Trainer had already recovered his Charizard at that point and could have used it to save them. Too bad he was unconscious.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In the final arc of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Rex and Ahsoka attempt to escape a crashing ''Venator'' ship. Rex makes it to a Y-wing, but Ahsoka does not. Played more realistically than most, as Rex has to match the speed at which Ahsoka is falling in order to safely catch her. [[spoiler:They make it]].

* A rather realistic version in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Hunter's Moon", when ComicBook/{{Vixen}} has been dropped from thousands of feet above the ground. Vigilante flies an aircraft under her, and clearly matches her velocity - she actually has to reach down and grab onto the diving craft. Helping out is that Vixen has superhuman resilience and the vehicle is a spacecraft which almost certainly has Inertial Dampening.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'': In "Mission of Gravity", Karai and the turtles get dumped out of an airship by Hun. Three of them deploy glider packs to arrest their fall (showing Donatello to be CrazyPrepared), while Leonardo dives to catch Karai, then deploys. It's slightly more realistic, as their fall ends with a curve from vertical to horizontal, which dumps their kinetic energy in a safer fashion.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'':

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', a falling Cheetara, having lost a battle with a FeatheredFiend, is caught by teammate Tygra [[InstantKnots using his whip]].

* Most ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' cartoons have Spider-Man doing this. Because of his web-swinging, this is almost always portrayed realistically, as he has to catch up to the falling person in mid-air, then swing in an arc to either get them down safely or get them back to the building they fell off of.
* This is how Muttley earns his medals--catching Dick Dastardly in mid-air after a botched mission to [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon]].

* Arguable TruthInTelevision: Early reconnaissance satellites would take photos and then have the exposed film on board; they had to physically return the film to Earth so the imagery-analysis guys could have it to work with. They did this by ejecting it in a reentry-proof capsule. If it were equipped to land, though, it would be far too heavy, so they designed it for mid-air recovery; it would deploy a parachute and an aircraft, generally a modified transport, would snatch it in mid-air. This would also avoid damaging the film. They were recovered over water; sometimes, they'd be pulled out of the ocean, although they were designed to sink automatically after a while so as to not fall into the wrong hands. At least, that's what the US did. Later on, the same technique was used when some unmanned probes took physical samples from comets or from the space medium on various missions; for example, there was the widely-publicized Genesis mission, where there was a slight problem with the descent sensor being installed upside down, so the capsule with the samples (it was a mission to sample the solar wind) never deployed its parachute, so instead of being retrieved in mid-air by a modified helicopter, it slammed into the Utah desert floor.
* The same parachute-and-helicopter method is being worked on by Rocket Labs to [[https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/05/03/rocket-lab-briefly-catches-booster-in-mid-air-after-successful-launch/ catch empty rocket stages]].

* The finale of ''Anime/SailorMoon [=SuperS=]'' has Moon and an unconscious Chibimoon falling to their deaths. After catching Chibimoon, Moon spends the rest of the fall trying to get her to wake up so that they can use the Golden Crystal to save them. When she finally does, the Golden Crystal gives them wings, which they use to land safely. It's a touching scene, as long as you ignore how long they spend falling.
** There ''is'' some attempt at physics in this scene. Chibimoon is flung, unconscious and limp, off a huge floating platform; Moon jumps after her using her weight and the velocity of her dive to make up the distance between them. Chibimoon is a little girl no older than 7, so she's also light enough to be blown by the wind. By the time Moon catches her, they have matched velocity. But don't ask me how [[RuleOfCool transforming into Princess Serenity, flowing gown and all, helped here]].
*** The transformation to her more powerful form may have enabled her to speed up even further to catch up with Chibi Moon. And then once she caught Chibi Moon, the flowing dress helped slow down their fall so that she would have more time to get Chibi Moon to wake up before they both went splat.
* Kanbei rescues Kirara in ''Anime/SamuraiSeven'' by leaping after her as she falls.
** But they at least try to avoid the NotTheFallThatKillsYou by having him grind his blade against the gears on a falling elevator to slow them down. How his sword is still in one piece after that? Given that [[KatanasAreJustBetter swords]] in that series can cut through giant robots and deflect energy beams, using them as elevator brakes is just par for the course.

** Luke Skywalker being caught by the ''Millennium Falcon'' at the climax of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', though he didn't have more than several feet to fall anyways once the ''Falcon'' was hovering beneath him. (The fall he just took ''getting'' to that point is another story...)
** The Coruscant ChaseScene in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''. Although it's shown that Anakin flies under Obi-Wan with his FlyingCar and starts dropping at a rate ''just'' slower than Obi-Wan, allowing Obi-Wan to fall in at a relatively small speed.
** The Ewoks diving from far above ''in a hang glider'' to make a midair catch.

** Pointedly Averted in ''Film/SpidermanNoWayHome:'' [[spoiler: After losing Gwen Stacy in a similar manner to his comic counterpart, the [[TheAmazingSpiderManSeries Amazing Spider-Man]] shows he's learned his lesson when his younger counterpart's girlfriend Michelle takes a fall; He jumps after MJ and grabs hold of her before using his webs to swing them both to safety]]

* Mentioned in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #20, where ComicBook/BlackPanther tries to catch a falling ComicBook/SpiderMan by hanging from the Avengers Quinjet and grabbing the hero as he passes by. He notes that if he misjudges Spider-Man's speed or mistimes the catch by even a second, both of them will be killed instantly.
* Subverted with Franchise/SpiderMan and Gwen Stacy in ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''. She is thrown from the George Washington Bridge by the Green Goblin and Spidey snags her with a strand of webbing to break her fall. She dies of a broken neck due to whiplash caused by [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the sudden stop]].