History Main / KnockoutGas

[[quoteright:275:[[{{Series/Batman}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batknockoutgas_275_2609.jpg]]]]

Frequently employed by villains, but also a convenient weapon for heroes due to its non-lethal nature.

* [[ColdSniper Dieci]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'' has the [[AbnormalAmmo Aerosol Shell]] of her [[{{BFG}} Enormous Cannon]], which releases fast-acting knockout gas after they explode on impact as shown during the assault on the Ground Forces HQ. Unlike [[TechnicolorScience the more colorful gases used in many other media]], these have the appearance of ordinary white smoke.

* Used a lot by {{Manga/Genzo}}, with the gas usually stored in his puppets.

* The short film ''{{Anime/Interstella 5555}}'' that goes with the Music/DaftPunk album ''Discovery'' starts off with an entire stadium full of concert-goers subdued by black suited mooks with devices that shoot pink gas. The entire stadium goes down in seconds. The one person who escapes is taken down with a specialized crossbow bolt whose head bursts into a similar cloud of pink smoke.
* {{Film/Megamind}}'s Minion possesses a Knockout Aerosol can, which he mostly uses on Roxanne in her endless kidnappings. Halfway through the film he [[CrowningMomentOfFunny runs out of it]] and resorts to [[TapOnTheHead Forget-Me-Stick]].

* Played with in the 1967 comedy ''ThoroughlyModernMillie'' where the antagonist is pumping a white sleeping gas into the room of someone she plans to kidnap and sell into slavery, the problem is that she is in the room with the gas. As the gas gets thicker in the room she starts to yawn, slows down, and finally just falls over onto the bed; the gas has dissipated by the time she is found, still asleep. It is then later played straight with darts that work instantly.

* Artemus Gordon's sleeping gas billiard balls in ''Film/WildWildWest''. The logic of having sleeping gas disguised as a billiard ball is {{lampshaded}} by Jim.
-->'''West:''' Well I don't know about you, but I'm certainly gonna sleep better, assuming Loveless barges in here and wants to play a game of pool.

* In ''{{Film/Help}}'', a sinister red gas takes out all of the [[BritishRoyalGuard Buckingham Palace guards]] in a matter of seconds.

* ''AnimalCrackers'' ends with Harpo spraying everyone with knockout gas, including himself.
* ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. While Film/JamesBond is in Willard Whyte's elevator, Blofeld renders him unconscious with knockout gas.

* ''Fighting Slave of {{Gor}}'': Jason Marshall and his date Beverly are taken out by knockout gas in the backseat of a specially-prepared taxi. They were only after her, but he forced his way into the cab when she was trying to end the date.
* In {{Harry Harrison}}'s ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' series, both local law enforcement and Slippery Jim use Knock-out Gas with great abandon, although slightly more realistically than is usual in fiction. Jim makes sure to use nasal filters or a mask to avoid breathing it in himself, it's usually invisible rather than brightly coloured, and there are numerous different types, with different effects, speed of action, duration and after-effects.

* A constantly-recurring staple of both villains and heroes on ''{{Series/Batman}}'', most often in the form of colorful Knockout Gas.

* In the "Biology 101" episode of ''{{Series/Community}}'', a variant of Knockout Gas intended for monkeys ("Chimpan-Zzz" brand) is pumped into the Greendale air vents. It turns out to work on humans too, with the additional side effects of causing hallucinations and references to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Shadowrun}}''. The various Neurostun gasses are often used to take out shadowrunners without killing them.

* ''{{VideoGame/Thief}}'' has Gas Arrows: shooting a mook will knock him out even if he's fully aware of your presence (and thus would only get annoyed by the Blackjack). Shooting the ground has an area effect, knocking out everyone within a meter or so.

* In {{Megaman Battle Network}} 5, at the very beginning of the game, Lan, Dex, Mayl, Yai, and Yuuchiro are knocked out with bright pink sleeping gas, Yuuchiro is kidnapped, and everyone's navis except Megaman are stolen.

* In one of the {{Music/Gorillaz}} short animated idents, 2D is knocked out cold by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrvdbQFI2w just a whiff of gas.]]

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Wakfu}}'' season 2, the [[HeroAntagonist Justice Knight]] captures fugitives with his [[{{Thememobile}} Justice Train]] by trapping them inside the wagon, which then fills with a golden Knockout Gas. The effects are shown to be immediate even with the heroes.
* Subverted in ''{{WesternAnimation/Archer}}'', when Cyril thinks he's delivering a dose:

** In "Hi Diddle Diddle" and "Smack in the Middle" the Riddler uses a aerosol can of sleeping gas to render Robin unconscious.

* In ''JetDream'', Jet uses "Kayo Powder" [[ShoePhone in a makeup compact]] for this effect.

* In the 1966 ''[[BatmanTheMovie Batman]]'' movie, Batman and the Penguin each use a gas that causes instant unconsciousness (called Bat-Gas and Penguin Gas, respectively).

* ''DiamondsAreForever''. While JamesBond is in Willard Whyte's elevator, Blofeld renders him unconscious with knockout gas.

* Even the great ElSanto proves vulnerable to a knockout gas grenade thrown by a hunchback in ''El Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man''.

In fiction, one of the easiest ways to incapacitate an opponent or group of opponents is to get them in a closed room and pump in Knockout Gas. Knockout gas is an area-effect form of InstantSedation: as soon as the victims breathe it, they cough weakly a few times and then slump to the floor unconscious.

Frequently employed by villains, but Knockout Gas is also a convenient weapon for heroes due to its non-lethal nature.

Subtrope of InstantSedation. SisterTrope to DeadlyGas. SisterTrope to TranquillizerDart.

Virtually always delivered as a visible fog, and often brightly colored as well, Knockout Gas can be delivered through special vents just for that purpose, or it can be pumped in through the regular ventilation system. As with other forms of InstantSedation, dosage doesn't seem to matter; the effects last just long enough for maximum tension or drama; and if an antidote is needed, it usually takes the form of an injection, although something like smelling salts may work. Recovery tends to be just as fast as the onset, and the victims rarely suffer any lasting effects beyond, perhaps, a mild headache.

Villains are far more likely to use Knockout Gas than heroes are.

** One episode has Gordon use this. He's still dissatisfied with it because it's too visible.
* In the episode "The Night of the Sudden Death", gas pumped in from a gaslight lamp [[AndSomeOtherStuff and an unspecified additive]] is used to fill a very large U.S. Mint set and knock out several people within seconds.

* [[ColdSniper Dieci]] in ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' has the [[AbnormalAmmo Aerosol Shell]] of her [[{{BFG}} Enormous Cannon]], which releases fast-acting knockout gas after they explode on impact as shown during the assault on the Ground Forces HQ. Unlike [[TechnicolorScience the more colorful gases used in many other media]], these have the appearance of ordinary white smoke.

* The short film ''Film/{{Interstella 5555}}'' that goes with the DaftPunk album ''Discovery'' starts off with an entire stadium full of concert-goers subdued by black suited mooks with devices that shoot pink gas. The entire stadium goes down in seconds. The one person who escapes is taken down with a specialized crossbow bolt whose head bursts into a similar cloud of pink smoke.
* ''CowboyBebop'' episode 8 "Waltz for Venus". During a hijacking, Faye renders a female hijacker unconscious with a spray of vapor.
* Used a lot by {{Genzo}}, with the gas usually stored in his puppets.

* As with the movie and TV versions, the comic versions of GreenHornet have also used knock out gas.
* Enemies of ''SpiderMan'' have used it from time to time. Mysterio, Kraven, the Chameleon, the Hobgoblins, and [[NormanOsborn Green Goblins]] are all culprits.

* {{Megamind}}'s Minion possesses a Knockout Aerosol can, which he mostly uses on Roxanne in her endless kidnappings. Halfway through the film he [[CrowningMomentOfFunny runs out of it]] and resorts to [[TapOnTheHead Forget-Me-Stick]].

* In ''{{Help}}!'', a sinister red gas takes out all of the [[BritishRoyalGuard Buckingham Palace guards]] in a matter of seconds.

* Subverted in the opening scene of ''A Piece Of Resistance'' by Clive Egleton. LaResistance use a knockout gas to remove an innocent bystander, who then dies of a heart attack.

* ''TheGreenHornet'' has as one as his main weapons, the "Hornet gun", spraying "Hornet gas" that would knock out mooks with one sniff. This is a carryover from the original radio series and 1940s film serials.
* ''ThePrisoner'' The sleeping gas used on Number 6 in his apartment in the first episode (and each episode's opening title).

* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Space Seed". After Khan takes over the Enterprise, Kirk orders that all decks be flooded with Neural Gas, which would render everyone aboard unconscious. That attempt fails, but later the attempt succeeds.

* One episode of ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' has Gordon use this. He's still dissatisfied with it because it's too visible.
* In the "Biology 101" episode of ''{{Community}}'', a variant of Knockout Gas intended for monkeys ("Chimpan-Zzz" brand) is pumped into the Greendale air vents. It turns out to work on humans too, with the additional side effects of causing hallucinations and references to ''[[{{TwoThousandOne}} 2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.
* In the episode "The Night of the Sudden Death" of ''Series/TheWildWildWest'', gas pumped in from a gaslight lamp [[AndSomeOtherStuff and an unspecified additive]] is used to fill a very large U.S. Mint set and knock out several people within seconds.

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''{{Shadowrun}}''. The various Neurostun gasses are often used to take out shadowrunners without killing them.
* ''DungeonsAndDragons''. At the end of module A3 ''Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords'', a green gas (the "Smoke of the Little Death") is used to knock out the {{PC}}s so they can start the next module as the Slave Lords' prisoners.

* ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' has Gas Arrows: shooting a mook will knock him out even if he's fully aware of your presence (and thus would only get annoyed by the Blackjack). Shooting the ground has an area effect, knocking out everyone within a meter or so.

* The ''RuneScape'' quest "The Great Brain Robbery" has a section where Harmony Island is covered in knockout gas. You have to wear a scuba-diving helmet or you'll be knocked unconscious.

* ''JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "The Quetong Missile Mystery". Sleep gas knocks out General Fong in a couple of seconds.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' once featured a scene where villain Hordak sprays one of the heroes with some sleep gas from his [[SwissArmyAppendage Swiss Army Hand]]. The hero gets off an exclamation and keels over. Hordak then comments that he's going to have to have a word with his scientists; the victim shouldn't have had time to say anything before succumbing.

* In one of the {{Gorillaz}} short animated idents, 2D is knocked out cold by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrvdbQFI2w just a whiff of gas.]]
* ''DarkwingDuck'' used a gun that could fire knock out gas (among other things). Due to the character being a little clumsy, he knocked himself out once or twice.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' season 2, the [[HeroAntagonist Justice Knight]] captures fugitives with his [[{{Thememobile}} Justice Train]] by trapping them inside the wagon, which then fills with a golden KnockoutGas. The effects are shown to be immediate even with the heroes.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', when Cyril thinks he's delivering a dose:

* One of KimPossible's gadgets is [[ShoePhone a "lip gloss" container]] that actually holds a [[StinkBomb "super-stink" formula]] created by [[MissionControl Wade]] using his dad's dirty socks.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''{{Thief}}'' has Gas Arrows: shooting a mook will knock him out even if he's fully aware of your presence (and thus would only get annoyed by the Blackjack). Shooting the ground has an area effect, knocking out everyone within a meter or so.
* ''DeusExHumanRevolution'' has Gas Grenades as one of the weapons in the pacifist player's arsenal. It's a generally useful tool for knocking out multiple enemies where tranqs, stun guns, and takedowns are just inappropriate, and everything else is overly lethal.

* The short film ''{{Interstella 5555}}'' that goes with the DaftPunk album ''Discovery'' starts off with an entire stadium full of concert-goers subdued by black suited mooks with devices that shoot pink gas. The entire stadium goes down in seconds. The one person who escapes is taken down with a specialized crossbow bolt whose head bursts into a similar cloud of pink smoke.

* In TheFilmOfTheSeries of ''Series/TheAvengers'' Father knocks Mrs. Peel out instantly with gas from an aerosol can.

* ''FamilyGuy'' Peter gave his rival a statue of himself that sprayed "Crazy Purple Knockout Gas!"
* ''SheRaPrincessOfPower'' once featured a scene where villain Hordak sprays one of the heroes with some sleep gas from his [[SwissArmyAppendage Swiss Army Hand]]. The hero gets off an exclamation and keels over. Hordak then comments that he's going to have to have a word with his scientists; the victim shouldn't have had time to say anything before succumbing.

* ''DarkWingDuck'' used a gun that could fire knock out gas (among other things). Due to the character being a little clumsy, he knocked himself out once or twice.
* In ''{{Wakfu}}'' season 2, the [[HeroAntagonist Justice Knight]] captures fugitives with his [[{{Thememobile}} Justice Train]] by trapping them inside the wagon, which then fills with a golden KnockoutGas. The effects are shown to be immediate even with the heroes.
* Subverted in ''{{Archer}}'', when Cyril thinks he's delivering a dose:

* In ''Amazing {{Spider-Man}} #661, Veil turns into isoflurane, an anesthetic gas, to keep two muggers down. True to the usual depiction, despite the gas generally being colorless, it appears as a thick fog.

* In ''{{Wakfu}}'' season 2, the [[HeroAntagonist Justice Knight]] captures fugitives with his [[TropeMobile Justice Train]] by trapping them inside the wagon, which then fills with a golden KnockoutGas. The effects are shown to be immediate even with the heroes.

* One of KimPossible's gadgets is a "lip gloss" container that actually holds a [[StinkBomb "super-stink" formula]] created by [[MissionControl Wade]] using his dad's dirty socks.