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A Film Poster Trope that likely has ties to old pulp comics or adventure book covers. Perhaps popularized by fantasy art via our good friend Frank Frazetta (Warning: it's even less safe for work than the picture to the right.)
Stab the Sky may be employed, in order to emphasize the Alpha Male's Power Phallus, even though he's not compensating for anything showing his dominance over all that surrounds him by having a buxom woman literally clinging to his leg. Often paired with Atop a Mountain of Corpses, as seen in the page illustration.
Some variants don't feature the Leg Cling but retains the notion of the Power Male with a subordinate female.
Common pose used on a Contemptible Cover.
Examples of Leg Cling include:
Played Straight
Anime & Manga
- Volume 1 of the Seinen horror Manga Hanako and the Terror of Allegory features some cowering female clinging to the hero's leg.
Comedy
- Henry Rollins had a hilarious routine about van paintings like this, with the barbarian holding his sword aloft and "a wench clinging to his leg, staring wantonly at his nutsack, but he has no time for this woman, he needs to BOND WITH THE GOD OF THUNDER!!!"
Comic Books
- Mary Jane Watson of all people clings to... wait for it, wait for it... The Punisher! [1]
- Elf Quest: Jink did a gender-reversed take on this one, with a publicity shot of Kullyn clinging to Jink's leg while she wields a laser rifle.
- Alex Ross's cover for Thulsa Doom.
Fan Works
- This NSFW Star Wars T-shirt design.
- One Fanartist's Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot Avatar: The Last Airbender poster involves Memetic Badass Wang Fire... you know what, you just have to see it.
- This Boba Fett Comic.
Films -- Animation
- Boris Vallejo's poster for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Cancer Movie Film for Theaters.
- A drawing in "The Art of Monsters vs. Aliens" book shows a muscular President Hathaway with sexy women grabbing onto his legs.
Films -- Live-Action
- The Army of Darkness poster. The strapping powerful male (also note the low angle "power" shot) with a Distressed Damsel literally clinging to his heel, with a phallic chainsaw for good measure.
- Chevy Chase knows what we're talking about in National Lampoon's Vacation.
- Chevy also doesn't know when to quit (in more ways than one) in National Lampoon's European Vacation.
- James Bond 007 in Moonraker.
- Though she doesn't fit in the buxom category, Elizabeth Swann inexplicably did this to Jack Sparrow in the second Pirates of the Caribbean while he was attempting to shoot the Kraken.
- The poster for Yor, the Hunter from the Future.
- The poster for Mallrats.
- Hell Comes to Frog Town
- Italian action B-movie Rolf.
- Flash Gordon's Parallel Porn Title Flesh Gordon.
- This poster for Joe Dirt.
- The poster for Dolemite features several ladies doing this to our hero. One of them even has her fingers the wrapped around the gun between Dolemite's legs as it discharges. Yup.
- Subverted in Black Snake Moan -- Rae does this to Lazarus as he plays the guitar and tells her about his life, but their relationship is decidedly non-sexual and weirdly sweet, even though she Really Gets Around and the plot was promoted as being otherwise.
- This Italian poster for The Big Head.
- The poster for Super Capers, painted by Drew Struzan of all people.
Literature
- Conan the Barbarian, as pictured above.
- Several of the Flashman books, including the eponymous debut and Flash for Freedom.
Live-Action TV
- One promotion picture for Doctor Who has Christopher Eccleston in front with Billie Piper doing this.
- In As Time Goes By, Lionel is going on a promotion of his book, My Life in Kenya (a story about his time as a coffee planter in Kenya), but the publisher, Alistair, wants him to dress in the classic African Explorer outfit, complete with rifle, and to have a scantily-clad young girl clinging to his leg. "Li" is not happy.
- The Korean Drama Best Love: Jae Suk during a drunken confession to Dokko Gin.
Music
- A cover for a Manowar album has the Sons of Odin getting this from nude valkyries.
- Done in the cover of Exciter's Long Live the Loud.
Music Videos
Myths & Religion
- Older Than Feudalism: It happens in The Iliad.
Print Media
- Simon Bisley with this illustration from Heavy Metal.
- Eerie #116
- Gender Flipped by Paul Kidby for the Discworld Calendar 2012: one picture shows Conina the Barbarian Hairdresser (from Sourcery), striking a pose with Rincewind clinging to her leg.
Video Games
- FMV in Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, shows Luna awakened as the goddess Althena, doing this to Magic Emperor Ghaleon.
- The cover for Kaan: Barbarian's Blade.
Web Comics
- Brent Sienna as Iron Thor is the cover to Pv P #17.
- Parodied in Ménage à 3: DiDi and Zii perform one of these for Camp Gay Dillon when he presents them all with tickets to his show.
- This strip from El Goonish Shive is a parody of the aformentioned Army of Darkness poster.
- In Impure Blood, Mac while Roan is rescuing her. Given that he is still fighting at this point, and they are still coming for her, one suspect she's trying to hide from those claws between his feet.
Web Original
- This "historically accurate" model from Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory. Plus a Golden Metal Bikini poster.
- A rare male-to-male example can be found in Freddie Wong's "Huge Guns" video, here.
- In the outtakes for Kickassia, Spoony (who brough a prop lightsaber for the fight) imitates Luke Skywalker for a poster shot while Jew Wario does the leg cling.
Western Animation
- Not even Blooregard Q. Kazoo from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (who doesn't even have legs) is immune to an indulgent fantasy involving this trope.
- The (fairly silly) Beast Wars episode "The Low Road" has a shot of the Maximals making a dramatic entrance, with Airazor doing this to Optimus; she's standing normally a moment later.
- The Title Sequence for Adventure Time.
- In the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic episode "MMMystery on the Friendship Express", Pinkie Pie's Imagine Spot about Donut Joe destroying her cake with lasers ends with two mares appearing out of nowhere solely to strike this pose.
Variants without the Leg Cling
Comic Books
- This (NSFW) cover of Jonah Hex
- The cover of the last issue of Johnny Turbo sports a retooling of the Star Wars cover. Notable in that it actually involves two guys.
Films -- Live-Action
- Clint Eastwood on the poster for The Gauntlet.
- The Original Star Wars poster (of course).
- A blooper in Kickassia had The Spoony One as Luke Skywalker in a parody version of this. Doug Walker put it best:
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Music
- The cover of Tom Jone's CD The Lead and How to Swing It
Music Videos
- In the Gorillaz clip for "Feel Good Inc.", once Murdoc Niccals has risen up, he's surrounded by women in this submissive position.
Web Comics
- Quentyn Quinn, Space Ranger gives us an obviously tongue-in-cheek Racoonian version as its cover page.
Western Animation
- In the Chowder episode "Fireheart", during the song montage while Chowder is living with the dragons, there's a still shot of Chowder like this with Panini-Chowder has a stereotypical Conan physique, while Panini, for her part, is wearing a leopardskin bikini, with gigantic hips and Gag Boobs. Must be seen to be believed.