History Main / MacGuffinMelee

In some older Cartoons, it would often have one character running off with the Macguffin, only to have another character coming from the opposite direction run by, and snatch it out of his or her hands, only to have someone else do the same to them. That is when they don't just stick out their foot and trip the other character. This is usually done in the more humorous stories.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Who Mourns for Mourn? - Everyone fighting over Morn's latinum.

Often the reason the character opt to run instead of fight is due to a time crunch. They can't afford to take the time to fight, or no-one is strong enough to beat the other without getting badly injured. Perhaps they are evenly matched as fighters, but the object may allow to make the difference. Or maybe there a [[MeleeATrois just some many people involved in the chase, it's impossible to keep track of all the players.]] Expect the aforementioned Macguffin to trade owners numerous times. Sometimes one person finally comes out on top, and claims the prize, but often due to all the fighting, it is destroyed either due to someone dropping it by accident, or one person deciding [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnot that destroying it is better than letting the enemy claim it.]]

* ''SpaceStation13''. Changelings, Nuclear authentication disks, wizards, RC Ds, EVA, and to many others to count. The game is a giant one.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Season 4: Several different factions want to get their hands on Angel's baby son.

* ''TheGreatMuppetCaper'' climaxes with one of these. The MacGuffin in question is the fabulous Baseball Diamond, which the Muppets end up actually playing baseball with.

[[AC: ProWrestling]]
* ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'': For a while the Hardcore Title was defended on the "24/7 rule." Anybody could challenge for the belt at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter what the champ was doing, as long as they had a WWF ref to call the match. Frequently the new champ would then be attacked by one of his friends, who would win the belt only to be challenged in turn, and so on.

Often the reason the character opt to run instead of fight is due to a time crunch. They can't afford to take the time to fight, or no-one is strong enough to beat the other without getting badly injured. Or maybe there a [[MeleeATrois just some many people involved in the chase, it's impossible to keep track of all the players.]] Expect the aforementioned Macguffin to trade owners numerous times. Sometimes one person finally comes out on top, and claims the prize, but often due to all the fighting, it is destroyed either due to someone dropping it by accident, or one person deciding [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnot that destroying it is better than letting the enemy claim it.]]

* ''KimPossible'' has a four way battle between Kim, Shego, Monkey Fist and Duff Killigan for possesion of Ron's naked mole rat Rufus.

* In the ''PinkPanther'' short "Extinct Pink", the Panther, a caveman, a {{T-Rex}} and a small dinosaur go after the same bone.

[[caption-width-right:350:The {{Macguffin}} of [[AGodAmI Infinite Power]] is in the floor, a pair of feet away. Who will take it first?]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The {{Macguffin}} of [[AGodAmI Infinity Power]] is in the floor, a pair of feet away. Who will take it first?]]

* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' was arguable one big Macguffin Melee. Heroes and Villains knocked each other all over the place over the [[{{Macguffin}} Shen gong wu]], until two of them grabbed it at once and were forced into a [[TitleDrop WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown]] to determine the winner.

* Numerous ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' episodes, especially ones where Sylvester and another chat compete over who gets to eat tweety. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption The winner is always Tweety.]]

* ''RushHour'' 2's Red Dragon Casino fight, involving a bomb detontator.
* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' II has a battle in the TGRI labs over a canister of mutagen.

* Numerous ''LooneyTunes'' episodes, especially ones where Sylvester and another chat compete over who gets to eat tweety. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption The winner is always Tweety.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' was arguable one big Macguffin Melee. Heroes and Villains knocked each other all over the place over the [[{{Macguffin}} Shen gong wu]], until two of them grabbed it at once and were forced into a [[TitleDrop XiaolinShowdown]] to determine the winner.

* ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' II has a battle in the TGRI labs over a canister of mutagen.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Who Mourns for Mourn? - Everyone fighting of Morn's latinum.

* There is an entire gameplay type for multiplayer FPSs generically known as "capture the bag" where you gain points by carrying the "bag". The idea is to kill whoever has it and hold onto it yourself for as long as possible.

There is an important {{Macguffin}} that two or more characters want. One character manages to get his or her hands on it, and now he or she needs to escape. [[SternChase Unfortunately, now everybody is after his or her ass,]] [[ImplacableMan and they won't stop until they get it.]] In fact, they probably will get it, in which case, the hunter now becomes the hunted, as this character must flee, before the others snatch the {{Macguffin}} back from them.

Often the reason the character opt to run instead of fight is due to a time crunch. They can't afford to take the time to fight, or no-one is strong enough to beat the other without getting badly injured. Or maybe there a [[MeleeATrois just some many people involved in the chase, it's impossible to keep track of all the players.]] Expect the aforementioned Macguffin to trade owners numerous times. Sometimes one person finally comes out on top, and claims the prize, but often due to all the fighting, it is destroyed either due to someone dropping it by accident, or one person deciding [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnot that destroying it is better than letting the enemy claim it.]]

In some older Cartoons, it would often have one character running off with the Macguffin, only to have another character coming from the opposite direction run by, and snatch it out of his or her hands, only to have someone else do the same to them. That is when they don't just stick out their foot and trip the other character. This is usually done in the more humorous stories.

!!Examples:

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has [[ActionGirlfriend Miu]] battling [[ElegantGothicLolita Rimi,]] for ownership of a disk that has important information about Yami. The disk changed hands a few times before [[NiceJobBreakingItHero being accidentally broken]] [[ShaggyDogStory by Thor.]] To throw salt on the wound, [[RedHerring It was a fake.]]

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* ''RushHour'' 2's Red Dragon Casino fight, involving a bomb detontator.
* ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' II has a battle in the TGRI labs over a canister of mutagen.
* ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' play literal hockey with a diamond Mr. Freeze is attempting to retrieve.
* The lounge scene in ''IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', where Jones, Willie Scott, and Lao Che's goons fight over a diamond [[spoiler:and the antidote to the poison Jones drank]].
* A long extended sequence in the middle of ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' Dead Man's Chest involved this, as almost all of the regulars competed for control of the chest containing Davy Jones' heart (or the key that opens it).

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Season 4: Several different factions want to get their hands on Angel's baby son.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Who Mourns for Mourn? - Everyone fighting of Morn's latinum.

[[AC: ProWrestling]]
* ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'': For a while the Hardcore Title was defended on the "24/7 rule." Anybody could challenge for the belt at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter what the champ was doing, as long as they had a WWF ref to call the match. Frequently the new champ would then be attacked by one of his friends, who would win the belt only to be challenged in turn, and so on.

[[AC: TabletopRpg]]
* ''{{Paranoia}}'': This is the basis for the first three sections of the adventure The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues. Almost every secret society and service group in Alpha Complex wants the title Black Box, but most of them don't even know what's in it. It changes hands repeatedly between the various groups during the missions.

[[AC: VideoGames]]
* There is an entire gameplay type for multiplayer FPSs generically known as "capture the bag" where you gain points by carrying the "bag". The idea is to kill whoever has it and hold onto it yourself for as long as possible.
* ''SpaceStation13''. Changelings, Nuclear authentication disks, wizards, RC Ds, EVA, and to many others to count. The game is a giant one.
* ''Persona3FES'': The Answer has one point where [[spoiler: all of the main party members are fighting each other]] over their individual pieces of the [[DismantledMacguffin Key of Time]].

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' did this when Spidey, Hammerhead, Silver Sable, and eventually the Rhino, all throwdown over a disk with technology that will allow the wielder to create their own Rhino-like henchman. Spider-Man and Rhino team up since they don't want that (Spidey does not want more Rhino's, and Rhino likes being the only game in town), allowing them to break the stalemate.
* Numerous ''LooneyTunes'' episodes, especially ones where Sylvester and another chat compete over who gets to eat tweety. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption The winner is always Tweety.]]
* Likewise, ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' sometimes had episodes where Tom had to compete against another cat in order to eat Jerry, and in one case, for a female cat.
* ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' had a special where Prehistoric Spongebob, Prehistoric Patrick and Prehistoric Squidward have a battle for a flaming log.
* Happens in the ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Vanessassary Roughness", when Doofenshmirtz goes shopping. Several cast members have a reason to get the [[PowerGlows glowy Macguffin,]] and of course it's the last one in the store. HilarityEnsues.
* ''KimPossible'' has a four way battle between Kim, Shego, Monkey Fist and Duff Killigan for possesion of Ron's naked mole rat Rufus.
* ''{{BIONICLE}}'': The end of the 2006 and the entire 2007 storyline was this involving the mask of life.
* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' was arguable one big Macguffin Melee. Heroes and Villains knocked each other all over the place over the [[{{Macguffin}} Shen gong wu]], until two of them grabbed it at once and were forced into a [[TitleDrop XiaolinShowdown]] to determine the winner.
* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' also did this. The Talismans of Shen du, the demon portals, The Animals that contained the Talisman powers, the Shadow Kahn masks, and then finally the powers of the other Demons. They were always hunting for something, and when both heroes and villains converged on said Macguffin at the same time, one of these usually ensued.

* Likewise, ''TomAndJerry'' sometimes had episodes where Tom had to compete against another cat in order to eat Jerry, and in one case, for a female cat.

----

Often the reason the character opt to run instead of fight is due to a time crunch. They can't afford to take the time to fight, or no-one is strong enough to beat the other without getting badly injured. Or maybe there a [[MeleeAtrois just some many people involved in the chase, it's impossible to keep track of all the players.]] Expect the aforementioned Macguffin to trade owners numerous times. Sometimes one person finally comes out on top, and claims the prize, but often due to all the fighting, it is destroyed either due to someone dropping it by accident, or one person deciding [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnot that destroying it is better than letting the enemy claim it.]]

* ''BatmanAndRobin'' play literal hockey with a diamond Mr. Freeze is attempting to retrieve.

* ''{{Angel}}'' Season 4: Several different factions want to get their hands on Angel's baby son.
* ''StarTrek Deep Space 9'': Who Mourns for Mourn? - Everyone fighting of Morn's latinum.

* ''{{WWE}}'': For a while the Hardcore Title was defended on the "24/7 rule." Anybody could challenge for the belt at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter what the champ was doing, as long as they had a WWF ref to call the match. Frequently the new champ would then be attacked by one of his friends, who would win the belt only to be challenged in turn, and so on.

* TheGreatMuppetCaper climaxes with one of these. The MacGuffin in question is the fabulous Baseball Diamond, which the Muppets end up actually playing baseball with.

A SubTrope of ChaseFight, with a bit of CatAndMouseBoss thrown in, with the twist that [[InvertedTrope rather than getting a power up that makes the boss run from you, you claim an object that means now you have to run from him.]] Will likely either be the result of, or caused by a MeleeATrois. Also see CrowdHockey, particularly for when the melee takes place in crowded areas, As well as LootDrama. Compare StolenMacGuffinReveal, where the MacGuffin is only stolen once.

A SubTrope of ChaseFight, with a bit of CatAndMouseBoss thrown in, with the twist that [[InvertedTrope rather than getting a power up that makes the boss run from you, you claim an object that means now you have to run from him.]] Will likely either be the result of, or caused by a MeleeATrois. Also see CrowdHockey, particularly for when the melee takes place in crowded areas, As well as LootDrama.

* Happens in the ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode Vanessassary Roughness, when Doofenshmirtz goes shopping. Everyone in the Cast has a reason to get the [[PowerGlows glowy Macguffin,]] and of course it's the last one in the store. HilarityEnsues.

* ''XiaolinShowdown'' was arguable one big Macguffin Melee. Heroes and Villains knocked each other all over the place over the [[{{Macguffin}} Shen gong wu]], until two of them grabbed it at once and were forced into a [[TitleDrop XiaolinShowdown]] to determine the winner.

* In the ''PinkPanther'' short "Extinct Pink", the Panther, a caveman, a {{T-Rex}} and a small dinosaur go after the same bone.