May I try some ice cream?

Justice League #3 (2011)

Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils by Jim Lee
Inks by Scott Williams, Colors by Alex Sinclair

Chef’s Note: The statement “May I try some ice cream?” sounds like an innocent enough request. However, one should take care not to say it while pointing a sword forged by Hephaestus, sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom, at the ice cream man. Your “request” will then take on a markedly different air.

In most states, armed robbery, i.e., the commission of a robbery while carrying a dangerous weapon, is not a distinct crime. Instead, the perpetrator would be charged with aggravated robbery because using a dangerous weapon constitutes an aggravating factor and makes the crime more serious than simple robbery.

A firearm clearly qualifies as a dangerous weapon, but other objects can also qualify as long as they are inherently deadly or can be used in a manner that causes or is likely to cause serious physical injury or death. As such, in certain cases, items like stationary objects, canes, animals, parts of the human body, and vehicles could constitute dangerous weapons.

Finally, the perpetrator does not have to actually use the dangerous weapon. It is a sufficiently aggravating circumstance to exhibit or carry a weapon and threaten to use it.

Sometimes, though, Diana is more gracious about it: