History Main / CowboysAndIndians

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS5E7Davey Davey]]", Finn is feeling burned out from all the attention he recieves from random strangers, and BMO tries to cheer him up by playing Cops and Robbers with him. The game mostly consists of BMO running around while wearing a mask and an oversized black-and-white striped shirt while yelling {{Malaproper}}[=-filled=] threats. While Finn does not do much besides sitting in a corner, the scene is so hilarious that it does cheer him up, on top of giving him the idea of disguising himself to avoid attracting attention.

* In the early ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' issue where he battles the Matador, the Spanish villain has managed to create a public image as a GentlemanThief and made a fool of Matt. So the local kids play Matador and Daredevil, with the former as the preferred role. When ol' DD manages to turn the tables and not just defeat Matador but show him up for the JerkAss he actually is, the children discard their Matador costumes.
* There was an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' story about a group of kids who dressed up as the Avengers; it wasn't exactly "playing" since they did good deeds like defending their classmates against bullies. But when the real Iron Man leaves the real Avengers, the kids feel compelled to kick their own Iron Man off the team. He's heartbroken, but after a later act of heroism on his part, they urge him to rejoin their team.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'', Phil Sheldon's two young daughters are introduced playing superheroes and supervillains. The younger sibling complains that the older one always makes her play the bad guys. ("I do not! I let you be Spider-Man, remember?" "Spider-Man's icky!")
* Similarly, at one point in ''ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay'', Franchise/{{Superman}} overhears a child saying he no longer wants to play as him because he can't kill while his opponents can.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', Shelly mentioned that she often found herself playing this as a kid. [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/run-rabbit/ She took the suction cups off of her toy arrows.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Davey", Finn is feeling burned out from all the attention he recieves from random strangers, and BMO tries to cheer him up by playing Cops and Robbers with him. The game mostly consists of BMO running around while wearing a mask and an oversized black-and-white striped shirt while yelling {{Malaproper}}-filled threats. While Finn does not do much besides sitting in a corner, the scene is so hilarious that it does cheer him up, on top of giving him the idea of disguising himself to avoid attracting attention.
-->"Give me your bank account! Bang bang!"
* ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', "Patriot Act": After the second-stringers such as Vigilante, Shining Knight and Green Arrow manage to fend off the Shaggy Man, the kids of Metropolis want to play as them, the ComicBook/SevenSoldiersOfVictory.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': After establishing himself as potent threat to their once all-powerful overlord, kids started to pick up a game where they dressed in robes and beat an unlucky kid with a Aku-ish haircut over the head with sticks.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Springfield Up", young Clancy Wiggum plays cops and robbers with Homer, before getting disturbed by Homer's reaction to being "shot" ("Oh, I can't take the pain! Please put one in my brain!")

* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' kids, in one of their moments of actually acting like kids, played "Americans and Bosnians" in an episode made during the Kosovo conflict. On another occasion, they play as [[CowboyCop stereotypical police action-movie protagonists]], and get their investigation taken over by [[JurisdictionFriction kids playing FBI]]. Then they get involved in a real drug investigation. Then they go play laundromat, instead.
** There's also "Fun Times With Weapons", where they play ninjas vs {{supervillain}}, then ninjas vs other ninjas.
** The plot of "The Last of the Meheecans" is kicked off when Butters gets lost during a game of Texans vs. Mexicans.

* In the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' episode "May the Force Be With You", Slater remembers how he and the main characters used to play pirates as kids, and he was always the one who had to walk the plank.
-->'''Slater''': I always wanted to be Blackbeard, but you wouldn't let me.\\

* In the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] cartoon ''Robin Hood Makes Good'' (1939), three... um... well, let's just call them sciuridae for now, are preparing to play RobinHood. One gets the impression that the largest always gets to be Robin Hood, while the smallest is stuck as the Sheriff. Not much roleplay is involved; the "sheriff" doesn't even do anything before the two others mount their attack. The two "heroes" are caught by a predator, but the little one manages to rescue them. They start a new game, the bigger one beginning to assume the role of Robin again, when the small one says: "Whooooo's gonna be Robin Hoooood?" (The cartoon is by Creator/ChuckJones, who in later years might've considered it an OldShame along with the Sniffles the Mouse character.)