History Main / FakinMacGuffin

* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'', there is a struggle over a case containng a relic. At the end, the Numbers seem to make off with it, to shock from all sides. Then, after they've left... Teana and Subaru reveal that, actually, they took the relic out of the case and hid it in Caro's hat -- all the Numbers have is an empty case.
* In ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'', Lupin makes a copy of the ring with a microtransponder inside, so as to trick and then taunt the Count. He's seen making it shortly before the Count's assassins attack the room he rented.

* ''GreenLantern'' does this periodically. Somebody demands that he hand over his ring, and he appears to do so, sometimes with the villain even creating constructs... and then once he skedaddles, he reveals to the reader and/or a person nearby wondering why he isn't concerned that the ring he handed over was actually a construct and the real ring is still on his finger and invisible, and that the fake ring will fade away after an hour or so.
* ''ComicBook/JonahHex'': In #9 and #10 of the original series, {{Bandito}} el Papagayo forces Jonah to aid him in a raid on a Mexican fortress in Veracruz to steal a store of gold bars. After a series of double-crosses that have left almost everyone except Jonah dead, Jonah is caught outside with the gold during a storm. The rain washes the gold paint off the bars, revealing them to be worthless. It turns out the Mexican government had secretly removed the gold from the fortress several days before the raid, leaving behind the fake gold as a distraction.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''FanFic/FallenKing'', Joey bluffs Pegasus's guards by throwing a piece of stone off the tower and pretending it's the Millennium Puzzle.

* At the end of ''{{Sneakers}}'', when the NSA attempts to confiscate the MacGuffin, Marty hands it over, telling them "It doesn't work. It never did" -- and, after they've gone, reveals to his colleagues that he's kept the true MacGuffin, the one component that makes the thing work.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2''. BigBad [[MadScientist Arius]] is after four artifacts known as Arcana so he can revive the Demon World's former king (Argosax the Chaos) and absorb his power. Although she puts up a valiant fight, Lucia is defeated and held hostage by Arius, and Dante (who has all of the Arcana in his possession) comes to her rescue; [[HostageForMacGuffin Arius asks for the items in exchange for Lucia]]. [[ZigZaggedTrope Things get wonky from here]]: Dante is quick to hand over the Arcana, but then [[CurbstompBattle hands Arius his ass]]. Arius then manages to escape with the Arcana by playing up Lucia's [[DistressBall temporary damsel in distress status]] as he blows up his stronghold. When Arius initiates the resurrection ceremony, he fails. Dante then coolly walks onto the scene and [[BatmanGambit reveals that he]] [[UnwittingPawn played Arius like a chump]] by switching the Arcana Medaglia with his own lucky coin, playing this trope straight again.

* In the first of the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' games, which are entirely based around stealth, this is how you defeat the final boss. As he is preparing his ritual, you sneak into his altar room and swap out The Eye for a fake eye to cause his ritual to blow up in his face instead of summoning chaos to the world.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Orbit", a MadScientist offers to exchange a DoomsdayDevice for MagicalComputer Orac. Avon however has created a fake Orac months before as a precaution (there have been numerous attempts by the Federation to seize it, after all. Strangely enough an editing mistake in an earlier episode made it appear that Orac was in two different places at the same time, causing fans to speculate that one was the fake). The fake Orac works but the scientist has already sabotaged their shuttle, planning to kill them and recover his superweapon.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the orb Quill hands to Yondu in the end does not contain the Infinity Stone but a troll figure. [[StolenMacGuffinReveal Quill later reveals the real orb to his team mates]].

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 2''. BigBad [[MadScientist Arius]] is after four artifacts known as Arcana so he can revive the Demon World's former king (Argosax the Chaos) and absorb his power. Although she puts up a valiant fight, Lucia is defeated and held hostage by Arius, and Dante (who has all of the Arcana in his possession) comes to her rescue; [[HostageForMacGuffin Arius asks for the items in exchange for Lucia]]. [[ZigZaggedTrope Things get wonky from here]]: Dante is quick to hand over the Arcana, but then [[CurbstompBattle hands Arius his ass]]. Arius then manages to escape with the Arcana by playing up Lucia's [[DistressBall temporary damsel in distress status]] as he blows up his stronghold. When Arius initiates the resurrection ceremony, he fails. Dante then coolly walks onto the scene and [[BatmanGambit reveals that he]] [[UnwittingPawn played Arius like a chump]] by switching the Arcana Medaglia with his own lucky coin, playing this trope straight again.

* In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', the heroes create a false Beanstar to give to Fawful and Cackletta... but they don't fall for it, instead discarding the fake and taking the real one by force.

* In the old {{Mac}} game ''TheDungeonRevealed'', your quest is to recover [[CosmicKeystone the Orb of Carnos]] from the 40th and lowest floor of the Dark Wizard's lair. Many players made it all the way there and back, only to learn that they'd neglected to perform an Identify spell and were holding a cheap plastic ball he set out as a decoy.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Disney/{{Moana}}'', Moana uses a barnacle and bioluminescent algae to create a fake Heart of Te Fiti, which she gives to Tamatoa to distract him long enough to escape.

->''"Ugh!!! I see. She's taken a barnacle and she's covered it in bio-luminescent algae... [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent as a diversion!]]"''
-->-- '''[[GiantEnemyCrab Tamatoa]]''', ''Disney/{{Moana}}''.

->''"Ugh!!! I see. She's taken a barnacle and she's covered it in bio-luminescent algae... as a diversion!"''

Not to be confused with MockGuffin, when it turns out in the end that the MacGuffin everybody has been chasing is a fake, and there is no "real" [=MacGuffin=].

Usually, the audience [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee doesn't find out that the villain's got a phony until the villain does]] (or until the hero reassures his sidekick), so '''unmarked spoilers''' abound.

* In ''Disney/{{Moana}}'', Moana uses a stone and bioluminescent algae to create a fake Heart of Te Fiti, which she gives to Tamatoa to distract him long enough to escape.

* In ''Disney/Moana'', Moana uses a stone and bioluminescent algae to create a fake Heart of Te Fiti, which she gives to Tamatoa to distract him long enough to escape.

* ''Film/HudsonHawk'': Eddie is forced to put together the pieces of the critical element of LeonardoDaVinci's gold-making machine (which the villains have been pursuing throughout the movie). However, he leaves out one crucial part, which eventually causes the machine to malfunction and explode.

* Inverted in ''[[Literature/TheDalemarkQuartet The Crown of Dalemark]]'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones. Mitt goes to Aberath to steal the Adon's ring, which is reputed to fit anyone of royal blood. Alk gives him the ring and also a copy, which has no such magical properties. Mitt gives the real ring to Maewen (who is pretending to be the heir to the throne, but really isn't) and keeps the copy, which fits him. Later it turns out that Alk switched the two rings. Guess who ends up wearing the crown.

** Cassidy goes on to use said fake to her advantage to OutGambit Narcissa back with her own weapon. However, the second time she tries this trick with Deus, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy he's more than aware she was going to do it and shots the fake before requesting the real one.]]

* In ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', the villains create fake Faberge eggs to swap out for the real ones they are selling to finance their schemes. After it becomes necessary to reclaim on of the real eggs, Kamal Khan claims it is one of the fakes only to wince in horror as his partner General Orlov smashes it.
* In ''GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the orb Quill hands to Yondu in the end does not contain the Infinity Stone but a troll figure. [[StolenMacGuffinReveal Quill later reveals the real orb to his team mates]].

* In ''Literature/SevenAncientWonders'' by MatthewReilly, the villain is trying to complete a ritual that will give him awesome power, in which a box of sand from his homeland will play a key part. The hero is a globetrotting adventurer who always carries with him, as a reminder of home, a jar of his own home soil. I don't think I need to spell out what happens, do I?

* [[Film/CloakAndDagger Cloak & Dagger]]: When Davey's friend is kidnapped by the villains, and they demand the game cartridge (which has government secrets hidden on an extra chip), Jack Flack advises Davey to steal ("Requisition necessary mission equipment) a cartridge of the same title from the video game store, and use that in the exchange. It works, and Kim is released, but when Rice sees the sticker for the store on the back of the cartridge, the chase is on.

* ''Film/Cloak&Dagger'': When Davey's friend is kidnapped by the villains, and they demand the game cartridge (which has government secrets hidden on an extra chip), Jack Flack advises Davey to steal ("Requisition necessary mission equipment) a cartridge of the same title from the video game store, and use that in the exchange. It works, and Kim is released, but when Rice sees the sticker for the store on the back of the cartridge, the chase is on.