A stun gun is an incapacitating weapon that delivers an electric shock aimed at temporarily disrupting muscle functions and/or inflicting pain without causing significant injury to an opponent. The recipient is immobilized via two metal probes connected via wires to the electroshock device. The recipient feels pain, and can be momentarily paralyzed while an electric current is being applied. Essential to the operation of electroshock, stun guns and cattle prods is sufficient amperage to allow the weapon to stun. Without amperage these weapons cannot stun and the degree to which the weapon is capable of stunning depends on its proper use of amperage. It is reported that applying electroshock devices to more sensitive parts of the body is even more painful. The maximum effective areas for stun gun usage are upper shoulder, below the rib cage, and the upper hip. High voltages are used, but because most devices use a non-lethal current, death does not usually occur from a single shock. The resulting "shock" is caused by muscles twitching uncontrollably, appearing as muscle spasms.
In the 1992 feature film Batman Returns, Selina Kyle recovered a stun gun from a random thug employed by the Penguin. She tested it out on another goon and found its effect to be quite amusing.
Notes[]
- Another electroshock weapon of note is a Taser. Unlike the stun gun, the Taser actually fires two darts that carry electrical charges through conductive cables.