Basic Trope: A large object from space is being used as a weapon against people on Earth or other planet(s).
- Straight: Earth or an inhabited world now has colonies on the moon(s) and the LaGrange Points. The Big Bad de-stabilizes the moon(s) and the artificially made La Grange Point colonies and sends them hurling towards an inhabited world to kill lots of innocent people.
- Exaggerated:
- The colonies are carrying/powered by some sort of Applied Phlebotinum suspiciously similar to nuclear power.
- An entire moon loses its orbit, and is set to crash into the planet.
- A swarm of space colonies are being dropped toward the planet.
- Downplayed: The Big Bad is only able to redirect largish satellites, and has to rely on aiming them to do decent damage.
- Justified:
- Well, destroying a large amount of a planet and its population is a great way to get the survivors' attention and get them to submit out of fear...
- The Big Bad is an Omnicidal Maniac. A Colony Drop is a pretty easy way of fufilling this.
- The Big Bad is doing this out of pure stress relief. Or possibly For the Evulz.
- Inverted:
- The colonies are being sent far away from the planet's orbit, far out into outer space.
- The colonies are being launched from the planet.
- Subverted:
- The Big Bad was planning to do this, but The Hero prevents it from actually happening.
- The colony is actually a ship and only comes close to the planet before flying off.
- The Big Bad threatens to do this, but never actually does.
- The Colony is too small to do actual damage
- The Colony is a Rogue Planet, and was caused by nature, not the Big Bad
- The Colony had one of its thrusters genuinely misfire.
- The Colony's decaying orbit is due to running out of thruster fuel. note
- The Heroes just failed Colony Trajectory Restoration Scenario 35.
- Double Subverted:
- But another villain comes along and has the same idea.
- The Hero only delayed it.
- The Big Bad's actions deliberately exacerbated the misfire to turn what could have been just a gracing blow into a direct impact.
- Parodied: The colony is dropped on some eyesore of a sculpture/building/etc. or on some acceptable targets.
- Zig Zagged: The Big Bad screws with the gravity on the LaGrange Points, causing their colonies to come hurling towards the planet, but then The Hero helps them get back where they belong or sends them floating away. This happens several times.
- Averted: The space colonies are not dropped onto a world.
- Enforced: "We need to create drama in a Sci-Fi Mecha series."
- Lampshaded: "Seriously? You're gonna throw a planet at them; do you even know what "Over Kill" means?"
- Invoked: The Big Bad messes with the gravitational fields.
- Exploited: A Corrupt Corporate Executive attempts to profit off the disaster before the planet makes impact.
- Defied: The Big Bad doesn't want to needlessly destroy innocent civilians, and so does not do this.
- Discussed: "Why would it be a good idea to destroy most of your potential underlings if world domination is what you desire?"
- Conversed: "Meh. Wouldn't be Gundam without it!"
- Deconstructed: This is usually being done as a show of power, but if most life would be destroyed by large objects (natural or artificial) hurling towards a world, who will be left for the Big Bad to rule over?
- Reconstructed:
- The Big Bad finds other ways of showing his power and taking over the world.
- The Big Bad is an Omnicidal Maniac.
- Played For Laughs: The colony falls onto the Big Bad himself, and no one else is harmed.
- Played For Drama: This act has severe ramifications for the Big Bad: survivors take up arms and everyone else is calling for blood.
- Played For Horror: Thanks to the Big Bad, the Moon is gradually inching towards the planet, and everyone on Earth goes from panicked to desperate to depressingly resigned long before the Moon becomes close enough for tidal forces to wipe out all humanity.
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