In the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon, what weapon does Hiccup use to shoot down Toothless?

In the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup uses a bolas launcher to shoot down Toothless. The improvised device is one of several inventions Hiccup creates while trying to prove that he can contribute to Berk’s dragon-fighting efforts.

The launcher fires a weighted, entangling projectile rather than a conventional arrow. It catches the Night Fury during the film’s opening attack, causing Toothless to crash in the forest. Hiccup later finds the injured dragon but cannot bring himself to kill him.

A common mix-up is calling the weapon a net launcher or crossbow. Hiccup does use workshop-made equipment elsewhere in the story, but the specific tool used against Toothless is a bolas launcher. The scene is important because it begins the relationship at the center of the trilogy.