A grappling hook is a (fictional) device used to shoot ropes in order to cling onto ledges of buildings and things of that sort. One might think of it as a personal small-scale harpoon.

A grappling hook usually consists of a launcher (sometimes resembling a gun), a small electric motor, and a rope cartridge with hook. The motor enables the hero to pull himself up (by wheeling the rope back to the launcher, while the hook is caught onto a solid anchor) or to drag objects and people.

Since it is very hard to engineer such a device in a small and compact package, the grappling hook is used mainly by fictional superheroes in comics and films - where "petty" technical hardships can be overlooked.

See also:

• Rope
• Harpoon
• Batman (the most famous user of grappling hook)
• Spider-Man (his web shooters are similiar to the grappling hook in usage, though they are based on a different mechanism).