History Main / MissionImpossibleCableDrop

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': In ''Flying Island: The Sky Adventure'' episode 38, Wolffy attempts to break into the Elder Stars' house to kidnap baby Slowy by sawing the building's roof off and lowering himself to Slowy's crib with a rope. Unfortunately for Wolffy, the rope's too short for him to actually reach his target.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022'' has a variant; Snake is used as the cable by Wolf and Piranha, who grab onto him as they enter the room with the Golden Dolphin in it during their big heist. Piranha climbs up to the top of the air vent Snake came out of and holds him there, with Wolf being lowered along with Snake towards the trophy. Things go well until a machine designed to prevent the Bad Guys from stealing the bounty turns on, forcing Tarantula to hack into it.

* ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'': As you expect from a series with spy thriller, Twilight aka Loid Forger pulls this off in the movie, ''Code: White''. While infiltrating a wine cellar, he carefully lowers himself into the room with a rope line.

* Creator/{{Apple}}'s promotional short film [[https://youtu.be/7A5-eRfDQ0M advertising the new iPad Pro containing the M1 chip]] involves a ''Mission: Impossible'' spoof where a somewhat geeky-looking spy ([[spoiler:later revealed to be Apple CEO Tim Cook in a LatexPerfection mask]]) who uses this method to snatches an M1 chip from a [=MacBook=] Air.
* A 2023 [=McDonald=]'s commercial depicts Hamburglar making off with a tray full of cheeseburgers in this way.

* The [[NoNameGiven Belladonna Lily Woman]] in ''{{Anime/Noir}}'' attempts this to kill Mireille with a knife and is very close to pulling it off when a nearby bit of light from a gunshot hits her knife and attracts Mireille's attention, allowing her to shoot the woman first.
* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': In "Noby, the Great Illusionist", to retrieve his Beast Mask comic from Big G, Noby has Doraemon hold him by his cape when they use the Pass Loop on the roof of Big G's house so that he can dodge some bells attached to strings set up by Big G.

* In ''Robin plus Impulse'', Tim Drake tries to acquire records from the phone company while dangling from a wire extended from a skylight and holding a flashlight in his mouth. In this case there was no pressure sensitive floor, but there was a lot of debris he was hoping not to make noise by standing on and he intended for a speedy exit using the line he was hanging from.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', this is how Flynn steals the crown at the start of the film.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' briefly references the scene as Tiana (in frog form) falls into the bayou and gets tangled in some spiderwebs right above the water in the same pose as Ethan Hunt.

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

%%* And later parodied in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack''.

* There's a variation of this in ''Film/TheBoondockSaints'', with the protagonists falling though the ceiling accidentally, getting tangled in their rope... and killing everyone in the room as they spin about upside down. This happened because they got lost in the building's vents and got into a fight right there, leading to the vents giving way. It was only through sheer luck that they managed to fall into the right room, the room that the Russian mob dudes were that they were aiming to kill.
* In ''Film/SpiceWorld'', Mel C is introduced doing a drop to a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbuteo Subbuteo]] table and making a half-field shot.
* For that matter, it's been paid homage to in every ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'' sequel to date. It even gets lampshaded in ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', with the BigBad predicting that Hunt will break into the building holding the MacGuffin they both want by some sort of "acrobatic insanity".
** ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' sure enough has Ethan Cable drop down a skyscraper's ventilation shaft, with a time limit due to closing louvres at the top and some security guards to dodge.
** ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' re-enacts the scene, but with magnets taking the place of the cable and with a spinning fan blade in place of the lasers.
** ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'' replaces the cable with a HALO skydive (High Altitude low opening, jump from heights that need supplemental oxygen and open the parachute low to avoid detection) to avoid security in a club. Skydiving's "arms splayed out" position resembles similiar positions in previous drops.
* In ''Film/ShootEmUp'', both Smith and one of the {{Mooks}} try this down the middle of a spiral staircase during a shootout. However, [[CutTheSafetyRope Smith shoots the mook's rope]], leading to him taking a long fall.
* ''Film/FatSlags'' does a surprisingly in-depth parody of this scene when the heroines [[spoiler:decide to ruin the villain by stealing his laptop, which is full of incriminating information]].

* The drop is done in ''Film/HeroesWanted'' when Santi and Lola are dropped down the central shaft of the Conaco building as part of an infiltration.
* In ''[[Film/TheSantaClause The Santa Clause 2]]'', Charlie ropes into the school gym through a skylight in order to spray-paint graffiti.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. [[ClassyCatBurglar Magpie]] does this for her introductory jewel heist. The next time she does it, Batwoman introduces herself by cutting her cable and dumping her onto the floor.

* Referenced at around 1:50 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LRCynXVxSU this]] weird CG music video featuring Rashni, a forgotten [[VirtualCelebrity cartoon character]] who sang Italo Disco songs.

* The second ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' had a medieval-tech version, with ropes that could be attached to the ceiling beams and shimmied down. In the penultimate mission, it's the easiest[[note]]if you don't count turning off the security, but that's no fun[[/note]] way to retrieve the masks, which are guarded by a pressure-sensitive floor with DeadlyGas.
* There's is a segment in ''VideoGame/SpyFiction2003'' where you must access a computer in a high security room and the entire sequence plays out almost exactly as it occurs in ''Mission Impossible.''
* This exact trope -- a spy dangling from a body rope to hack into computers -- is used in the ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'''s second dungeon has Morgana pull this off to grab the heavily-guarded Treasure using a hooked stage cable. However, [[GenreSavvy Madarame saw this coming]] and switched it for a fake before the heist was pulled.

* In [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120227 one flashback scene]] of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Gil uses this method to secretly modify the blueprints of Castle Wulfenbach.

* Happened in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' where Gizmo is hacking into a museum's security system.

* Played for laughs in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS6E4FunWithVeal Fun with Veal]]" when the boys use the [[MyLittlePanzer Mission Impossible: Breaking and Entering Spy Kit]] to steal baby cows from a cattle ranch before they're turned into veal.
* Entrèe does it in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Spliced}}'' to steal Joe's hat, apparently attaching himself to the ceiling with bubblegum.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' episode "Gailbreak!", Penny Ling attempts to sneak into Largest Ever Pet Shop this way, but the rope breaks and she falls to the floor.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E2AStreetcarNamedMarge A Streetcar Named Marge]]", Maggie uses the ripcord of a talking Krusty doll to descend from an air vent to steal some keys on top of a desk.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'': Grojband's groupies Kate and Allie do this when they break into Trina's room to steal her beloved Mr Moosehead toy for Corey. There are complications.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk1996'' second season episode titled 'Mission: Incredible', Bruce Banner sneaks into SHIELD's Sea Base and, after an impromptu transformation into the Gray Hulk, hangs from the ceiling in a clear homage to Mission: Impossible.

* TruthInTelevision; a [[http://www.switched.com/2010/03/05/mission-impossible-style-best-buy-thieves-swipe-laptops-baffl/ theft]] from a Best Buy store seems to have involved this trope.

* There's is a segment in ''VideoGame/SpyFiction'' where you must access a computer in a high security room and the entire sequence plays out almost exactly as it occurs in ''Mission Impossible.''

* ''Webcomic/FreddyFox'': In the [[https://www.freddyfoxcomic.com/comic/mission-impossible/ 72nd strip]] (which happens to be called "Mission Impossible"), Freddy tries to snatch Simon's sandwich via lowering himself with a cable attached to his body, but the latter cuts it with a pair of scissors and says "Nice try... better luck next time!"

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/MissionImpossible https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mission_impossiblecabledrop.jpg]]]]

'''Quentin:''' Oh, so it's like ''Film/{{Mission Impossible|1996}}''.\\

* The video for the theme from ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0BqUcQ7i0 Mission Impossible]]'', performed by The Piano Guys with Music/LindseyStirling, features Lindsey doing a cable drop over a pianist, replacing his sheet music, whilst playing her violin. The video is an AffectionateParody of the ''Film/MissionImpossible'' franchise.

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', it's done in "Ayla and the Networks", as the good guys of the the Intelligence Cadet Corps lower themselves down a cable into an air shaft, diasbling alarms as they go, in order to break into the secret lair being rented by The Masterminds and figure out ''their'' caper. Lampshaded by one of the team, who won't stop humming the theme song to ''Film/MissionImpossible''.

* Inverted in ''Film/NineToFive'', where rather than anyone hanging from wires to ''avoid'' triggering a trap, the rebellious secretaries rig up a remote-control cable harness for their kidnapped boss, which will reel him up to the ceiling ''as'' a trap if he tries to escape.

* Done by super-agent Finn [=McMissile=] in ''WesternAnimation/Cars2''.

It was an homage to a similar scene in the 1964 film ''Film/{{Topkapi}}''. Now a must whenever there's a spy or HeistEpisode in a show.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'''s second dungeon has Morgana pull this off to grab the heavily-guarded Treasure of the dungeon using a hooked stage cable. However, [[GenreSavvy Madarame saw this coming]] and switched it for a fake before the heist was pulled.