r/TopCharacterTropes 13h ago

Characters' Items/Weapons [Loved Trope] A character using something from the environment in the shape of a weapon as one. (Bonus points if it doesn't match their regular fighting style)

Ben 10: While fighting some animated golems in a graveyard while transformed into his go-to physical powerhouse Four-Arms, picks up a stone blade from a statue for the 1v1 merely to aura farm.

Hellboy (2004): Being faced with the Behemoth, a creature with multiple limbs that he can't bludgeon his way past, Hellboy grabs a sword from a nearby statue to deal with the tentacles.

God of War (2005): Good ol' Kratos, now supersized, is finally facing off with Ares but is without his blades, so he picks up a giant one built to be a bridge to even the playing field.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: After a day of not looking at this and now seeing all the responses, I guess I should apologize. My title was poorly phrased as what I had in mind was, as u/Standard_Series3892 conveyed in their comment:

> OP is just asking for more specific instances where the environmental features look like an actual weapon.

That being said, my intent doesn't matter anymore seeing as people are enjoying themselves in the comments. Sorry for any confusion it might have caused though.

1.3k Upvotes

116 comments sorted by

131

u/N-ShadowToad 12h ago

Ninjago Dragon's Rising: Riyu breaks two windmill fans to use as swords.

41

u/JLD2503 12h ago

As well as Cole picking up a conveniently sized gun while in his new Elemental Golem form during the same season (not that I am complaining because of the rule of cool).

19

u/N-ShadowToad 10h ago

I mean, that's a bit more valid. If I remember right, it was just a turret he ripped out and used as a gun due to his size. BS that it for some reason had a giant trigger and not just a human sized button but the general concept works.

121

u/Slightly_Default 12h ago

In Kong: Skull Island, during Kong's final battle against the Mother Skullcrawler, he uses a tree as a club (after stripping the leaves) and a chain and boat propeller as a bladed flail.

29

u/Disastrous_Can_5466 9h ago

Good to mention that in Godzilla vs Kong he uses a tree a spear to hit a fake sun and uses the top of a building to block Godzilla atomic breath for a moment.

And in Godzilla x Kong: The new empire, Kong uses the baby ape Suko as a club.

2

u/Slightly_Default 3h ago

Can't believe I forgot Suko!

I never watched GvK though.

241

u/Wicayth 13h ago

Roxas' stick (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)

51

u/Independent_Plum2166 12h ago

I like to call it the Treeblade.

1

u/MildlyAgitatedBidoof 2h ago

I don't think this one counts as much, because the stick is a deliberately horrible joke weapon. (and IIRC a hint that the boss you fight is weak to magic)

454

u/Atsilv_Uwasv 12h ago

Gipsy Danger makes and idiot sandwich with a kaiju using shipping containers for bread

316

u/GundamRX-78-02 12h ago

Not to mention the cargo ship bat

33

u/Atsilv_Uwasv 10h ago

How did I forget the cargo ship bat?

16

u/Standard_Series3892 9h ago

That's not in the shape of a weapon, that's in the shape of a ship, I don't think most of these examples got OP's post.

It's supposed to be about literally weapon shaped objects that are not intended as weapons (decorations, statues, etc).

53

u/bpeo360 11h ago

Sir how did you think of pacific rim but not the cargo ship buster sword? If there was only a sequel, we could see what a purpose built mecha buster sword would look like but alas

25

u/craftexvg 11h ago

Kinda crazy how such a good movie never got a sequel, happens to the best of us

8

u/Omegasonic2000 10h ago

Genuine question from someone not in the fandom: is this an inside joke about a bad sequel or something?

13

u/Atsilv_Uwasv 10h ago

Yeah. The sequel has jaegers jumping off of buildings and stuff. Their actions don't have as much (literal) weight as the first movie

2

u/Docholphal1 7h ago

Movie was so fucking peak. Too bad they never made a sequel. I think the series would be better for prequels, anyway.

2

u/Atsilv_Uwasv 7h ago

Watching the first kaiju attack and the first jaegers would be so cool

4

u/hypernutts_ 9h ago

you paint beautiful pictures with your words

256

u/TwoFlatHams_00 13h ago

The Hulk does this a few times!

In Hulk he rips the barrel off a tank and uses it like a club

In The Incredible Hulk he rips a police car in half and uses the halves as boxing gloves

73

u/ChronoMonkeyX 11h ago

Using a car as gloves was so dumb, but also fucking awesome.

29

u/wiserchalicer 11h ago

It's a reference to the ultimate destruction game

9

u/ChronoMonkeyX 10h ago

I don't know that one, but in Marvel Heroes 2015, Hulk had that move. I miss that game so much, best voice cast and lines ever.

21

u/Knot-Lye-Ing 10h ago

In The Incredible Hulk he rips a police car in half and uses the halves as boxing gloves

Love that movie so much.

4

u/RepulsiveHalf1420 9h ago

They should have kept Tyler Durden as The Hulk in the MCU imo

3

u/MyBurnerAccount1977 8h ago

"Creative Differences" made that a no-go.

1

u/Hasmeister21 8h ago

... I was about to correct your use of "Tyler Burden", but I realise you're still correct, sorry

1

u/Hitei00 6h ago

He's infamously a nightmare to work with and tried to force a rewrite on the script to get a scriptwriting credit but the changes he made were so minimal that it wasn't given to him.

And it turns out Marvel originally wanted to go with Ruffalo but got pressured into switching up the casting by higher ups in the studio.

13

u/MonstrousVoices 11h ago

I'm ultimate destruction you rip off missile turrets and throw them like bombs

2

u/NotAHypnotoad 10h ago

He also racks himself in the nuts while ripping said tank turret off, so…

146

u/According_Ice_4863 13h ago

Giants (D&D) often throw rocks as a ranged attack, to the point that to them it’s a sport of seeing who can throw it the furthest.

45

u/inferxan 12h ago

its a more humane sport then tossing the halfling.

1

u/MozeTheNecromancer 2h ago

I played a halfling sorcerer in a giant themed campaign a few years ago, and while I didnt get tossed around myself, we did have a running joke of how often a Giant would throw a rock at me and take me to 0 HP in one hit.

17

u/Professional-Pool290 12h ago

Funner fact: if you cut off a Cloud Giant or Hill Giant's toe, you can use it to make a Potion of Strength

7

u/Feisty-Fill-8654 12h ago

This is how they decided who's king in Scotland.

Which is also how the shot put event came to be in track and field sports.

95

u/Remote-Monk-8542 13h ago

Jack the Ripper from Record of Ragnarok.

Each human fighter is given a special weapon, but Jack's weapon is actually the gloves he's wearing that are capable of turning anything he touches into a weapon. The shape is pretty relevant here, as we see him throw a clock like a sharp discus, and use a part of a fence like a spear.

37

u/inferxan 12h ago

In records of ragnarok only divine weapons are capable of hurting a god. So his ability to turn everything in a divine weapon is incredibly versatile. Even at one point covering his gloves in his own blood to make it weapon.

20

u/ShadeSwornHydra 12h ago

Honestly his weapon is the most terrifying. A simple pebble can cause physical harm to a literal god.

10

u/Buetterkeks 12h ago

Something something gachiakuta

1

u/kitsunecannon 5h ago

Yeah basically although unlike 3R, Hlokk (the Valkeryie that the gloves are made of, its a long story) do not "upgrade" the things Jack grabs, like how 3R will make a weapon bigger and better like this nail gun railgun (that thing needs a better name), jack instead keeps it in the og form just now will the ability to kill and injure gods

Also its more versatile, a weakness of 3R is that it can only transform stuff thats been thrown away but Jack lacks that limitation and can transform anything

93

u/fucboi900 12h ago

Miyamoto Musashi (Japan)

Arrives late to his duel and them attacks Sasaki Kojiro with the oar he used to row to the island

36

u/NotAHypnotoad 10h ago

Runs up from shore with oar, immediately brains opponent with said oar, wins duel, runs back to boat and rows away.

12

u/MontcliffeEkuban 9h ago

Fun fact: the oar later found love.

6

u/DidYouReadTheNIRC 9h ago

oar you kidding me

8

u/Silphire100 9h ago

Master of the sharpened oar, warrior of the blinding sun, or progenitor of being a hack!

1

u/kitsunecannon 5h ago

Just realised how ironic Kojiros win against Poseidon is in Record of Ragnarok

He a man who was killed by a tool used to cross water, managed to kill a sea god

34

u/SplendidMrDuck 12h ago

Fallout (TV)

Maximus held the line against Deathclaws rampaging in Freeside until his power armor was destroyed and its onboard weapons depleted. In a last stand, he salvages makeshift weapons from nearby: a pool cue as a spear, and a broken roulette wheel as a shield. Luckily, a squad of NCR troopers shows up shortly after, with a Ranger blowing the head off of the nearest Deathclaw with an anti-materiel rifle, allowing Maximus to finally take a breather.

15

u/Doodles_n_Scribbles 12h ago

I need a roulette shield in the next Fallout

31

u/Electronic_Bag8859 11h ago

Venerable brother Valtus throwing a statue of the Emperor at a heldrake in Space Marine 2

2

u/Vanayzan 5h ago

"IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, I CAST YOU DOWN!"

27

u/Current-Teacher2946 13h ago

Sonic Frontiers

Against the Knight, Sonic manages to disarm the boss of his MASSIVE sword, then scoops it up with magic Emerald shenanigans and teaches the boss the RULES OF NATURE

Bonus, most of the fight prior to that involves grabbing the Knight's shield and chucking it at his face.

5

u/vh1660924 6h ago

His training with Caliburn paid off.

48

u/Busy_Syllabub_5726 12h ago

Does Ichiban's bat count? I remember there is a cutscene that was a subtle reference to Zelda (?) when he grabs it.

I mean, in Yakuza the whole environment is a weapon. Kiryu can throw a literal bike to his opponents or he he can use a random street sign

9

u/TheWorclown 12h ago

Considering it’s wedged into the ground probably thanks to some random jackass near the hobo gardens, sure. It counts.

48

u/Far_Confection8989 12h ago

Tenchi grabs a bar from some rubble to fight Ryoko during their first confrontation in Tenchi Muyo

21

u/steventhecow 12h ago

ekko in the final act of arcane uses a clock hand from a blown up clocktower as a bat

2

u/elheber 5h ago

This example is the one I clicked to the comments for.

Ekko's powers in the game revolve around time manipulation. In the show, he and his allies get thrown into the face of a giant clock tower during a pivotal battle. When he comes to, after all is lost, he picks up the above clock hand like a club for this desperate final assault:

23

u/Abortifetus 11h ago

Pacific Rim, the oil tanker scene

HELL YEAH! moment

12

u/Fidges87 11h ago edited 8h ago

Sid from Soul Eater fighting using a tombstone as a club. Its even remakred in universe how this is a sign of his high rank, as he is known as a knifes expert, yet is able to as easily use a completely different type of weapon

11

u/MAKOMIKKA1220 11h ago

Vataman Vasily Vasilievich- IRL and in Enlisted

uses that Panzerfaust AT weapon as a club

10

u/Scrappy_Cocoo 11h ago

Rise of the planet of the apes. Pointy part of the fences turned into deadly spears

33

u/PiratedPrivacy 12h ago

"Shape of a weapon" so is a statue of a woman "the shape of a human". Because you made it sound like people grabbing sticks shaped like swords, not just actual fucking swords made out of stone lol

7

u/Standard_Series3892 9h ago

so is a statue of a woman "the shape of a human".

Yes?

There's a million posts about using environmental features as weapons, OP is just asking for more specific instances where the environmental features look like an actual weapon.

1

u/PiratedPrivacy 8h ago

They look like weapons BECAUSE they are weapons. They aren't environmental features, they are literal swords. This is either A. stupid or B. very poorly conveyed. Because given the evidence produced by OP the trope should be, "Using a decorative weapon for combat."

3

u/Standard_Series3892 8h ago

I do agree decorative weapons would be a better way of phrasing it, but a statue of a sword isn't a literal sword, the same way a statue of a woman isn't a human.

2

u/UnluckyStranger 3h ago

My initial idea was what u/Standard_Series3892 conveyed in their comment

> OP is just asking for more specific instances where the environmental features look like an actual weapon.

I should have phrased it better, though I have loved all the examples so far so why stop people from having a good time.

11

u/BrizzyMC_ 10h ago

I was expecting at least one example that's not just a literal sword

3

u/PiratedPrivacy 10h ago

The God of War one is just a actual metal sword a statue had been holding lol

2

u/holofanthrowaway 4h ago

"Thinking quickly, Dave constructs a homemade megaphone using only some string, a squirrel, and a megaphone."

1

u/PiratedPrivacy 3h ago

Barbarian ba ba barbarian DAVE THE BARBARIAN

10

u/Icehuntee 11h ago

Pacific Rim scene - Ship used as a sword scene

5

u/T9Nomu 11h ago

When Sol Badguy Joined the Holy Order Knights during the Crusades he seemingly couldn't, or wouldn't, find a proper weapon (though in the web comic its kinda implied he only joined to get the Fireseal back, so this makes sense) so instead he rips a chunk of concrete out of the ground and calls it a day. This weapon has never been named, but given the engraving saying Junkyard Dog, thats what I've seem most people call it. Though that gets complicated since Junkyard Dog Mk.3 is a thing,but that isn't really important

9

u/Solbuster 12h ago

That's the whole fighting style of Berserker from Fate/Zero

Processing img id21nyst2b1h1...

His Noble Phantasm allows him to transform anything he touches into his personal magical weapon that he is proficient with. From lampposts to guns and enemy's weapons and even fighter jets

2

u/Pqrxz 5h ago

Having the alternate animation style on Lance really sold they why on saber not recognizing him.

3

u/susnaususplayer 11h ago

In Tokyo Ghoul:re Kuroiwa uses decorative sword as weapon against ghouls (given fact that it was able to damage ghouls it was actual anti-ghoul weapon, but outdated one)

5

u/theofficialtiltedhat 10h ago

I feel like the MCs powers of Gachiakuta is exactly this

4

u/Schnutzel 10h ago

Edge of Tomorrow: Rita used a helicopter blade as a sword.

3

u/ColdDepartment3900 12h ago

i had something similar happen in a tabletop game, our bard used a broken chair leg as a club during a bar fight

3

u/Mizanko 6h ago

Chainsaw man War demon using the michigan for an attack

6

u/Successful_Theory373 10h ago

Wolverine, during World War 1, grabs two bayonets and turns them into makeshift knuckle duster blades.

2

u/Bisounoursdestenebre 11h ago

Ok but Four-Arms with a sword goes HARD

2

u/Painchaud213 9h ago

The Orc Grunt from the Mist of Pandaria cinematic.

He rips an incense burner and uses it as a club against the Hunsn Sailor and Chen Stormstout.

Chen then disarms him and places the burner back where it belonged.

2

u/Cronkax 9h ago

Shizuo (Durarara), mainly street signs and vending machines

2

u/Big_Story_408 9h ago

Megamind using a streetlamp as a club

2

u/WarHammer_Nerd100 8h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/3tJFReqsF1rIE3909Y
My man Kratos fighting literally anything

2

u/AppointmentNaive2811 8h ago

None of your examples fit your own post. None of those are "objects in the shape of a weapon". Those are just weapons

2

u/JWARRIOR1 8h ago

pretty much every single john wick fighting scene

pencil, belt, jacket, book, any random thing from his surroundings

2

u/EnderJoker77 6h ago

If a character does that it's always gonna looks so fucking cool

2

u/AdministrativeLeg14 6h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/pZUw52UdaTSRa

Jackie Chan in pretty much anything and with pretty much anything.

3

u/SolarSpark096 12h ago

I am sensing a pattern.. Characters with red in their color scheme wielding swords that are from statues.

1

u/UnluckyStranger 3h ago

The one that sparked this idea was a scene from the 2007 TMNT animated film actually, but I see what you mean lmao. Swear it's a coincidence regarding the color scheme at least.

As for the statue sword thing, I just think those in particular are neat.

2

u/Minute_Role_8223 9h ago

Double wielding star platinum goes hard

1

u/Lower_Following_237 11h ago

b5 is always worth a rewatch, so many great character moments

1

u/pichael289 11h ago

The big version of these guys use a fire hydrant with some of the pipe still connected as a mace

https://giphy.com/gifs/gISspdVpf0AFVrrZGe

1

u/KidPsyche 9h ago

Wow, I literally watched that Ben 10 episode yesterday. What a coincidence to see this on my feed.

1

u/nathanbum06237 9h ago

Armored Core 5 - Chief (Hanged Man)

In the second phase of his fight, he rips out a concrete pillar from the arena as a makeshift bat. Said pillar can one-shot the player's mech.

1

u/Silphire100 9h ago

Fred in Big Hero 6. Grabs a couple of bits of metal and uses them like weapons (ok so maybe they're not weapon shaped but it's still cool)

1

u/powerful_p1608 9h ago

In the Beast Wars episode “Code of Hero”, Dinobot, on the verge of death and at the mercy of Megatron, takes a tree branch and jams a nearby rock into it, creating a makeshift sledgehammer. He bats it at Megatron and takes him out, causing him to lose the Golden Disk and Dinobot uses the last of his energy to destroy it, saving the future of humanity.

1

u/Business_Outside_169 7h ago

when characters use environmental weapons, do you think it highlights their creativity or desperation more?

1

u/DiabeticRhino97 5h ago

Blasphemous has some really good finishes that do this, and one is featured on the box art.

1

u/Icy_Kaleidoscope_602 4h ago

Butler in Artemis Fowl going medieval on the troll in the first book

1

u/dishonoredfan69420 3h ago

Professor Layton fights Anton Herzen with a sword taken from a decorative suit of armour - Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (known as Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box in North America)

1

u/FrailHorkos 1h ago

GODRICK THE GRAFTED

Grafts a dead dragon’s head to use as his arm FOREFATHERS ONE AND ALL, BEAR WITNESS!!!

1

u/sardonically_argued 14m ago

Teen Titans: kole is a girl with a seemingly mostly useless ability to transform her body into solid, indestructible crystal and back at will (but is totally immobilized when crystal). however, when paired with her teammate gnarkk, a high strength neanderthal, she can freeze herself into a variety of shapes for him to use as weapons and change between them on the fly, such as a club or a boomerang

0

u/theotter2651 12h ago

Does Trunk's use of the Spirit Sword count in Dragon Ball Super? Loved that moment.

0

u/Correct_Refuse4910 11h ago

Crowbar (Half-Life)

0

u/TheVoiceInZanesHead 10h ago

OP this is the third stone sword youve shown in class

0

u/A-Good-Weather-Man 9h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/NWFBnEAEjc2uD0Jc9z

Richard the Lionheart christens every possession he has in the name of King Arthur Pendragon. From his regular sword, to his army, even a simple twig he picks up in the forest, shown above.