History Main / ASteroidsMonster

*** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'': To defeat Digdogger, Link must smash it with an iron ball until it splits into three smaller copies of itself and then chase and destroy each one individually.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Pink [[EldritchAbomination Horrors]] of [[ChessMaster Tzeentch]] split into weaker Blue Horrors when wounded. Each Blue Horror then splits into a pair of Brimstone Horrors when wounded itself.

* The antwerp in ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory1'' splits into several smaller antwerps if you use your sword on it when it jumps on you. However, only the original is hostile.

The Asteroids Monster is named after the arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}'', which featured asteroids that would explode into two small asteroids when hit, which could further be split into even smaller asteroids. The smaller the asteroid, the more points it was worth.

* A mid-2000s [[https://vimeo.com/30288812 bumper]] for the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]] had a sumo wrestler running towards the Sci-Fi logo. Once he runs into it, he turns into several tiny luchadores.

* In the manga adaptation of ''Manga/DragonBallSuper'', [[spoiler:Infinite Zamasu is changed from an EldritchAbomination to this, having the ability to infinitely reform into Fused Zamasu (despite the FusionDance timing out).]]

* The angel Israfel from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' splits in two when it's first attacked, and one can heal the other's injuries. It's only defeated by a simultaneous strike to [[WeakSpot its cores]] after it splits; said attack is a ''synchronised {{dance battle|r}}.''

** One high level {{summon|Magic}} is a giant multi-headed HellHound that if struck splits apart into multiple hounds, which could split into more and even recombine into a hound with ''more heads than the original''. The only way to deal with it was to [[NoOntologicalInertia kill the summoner, sending it back to wherever the hell it came from]].

* ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'' takes this to the logical extreme. The titular character is an EldritchAbomination who has an incredible healing factor. Stab her? She heals. Chop her to pieces? Each piece generates a new Tomie. Slash her up without actual dismemberment? [[BodyHorror Nasty things happen]].
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha TheMovie 1st'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Jewel Seed monsters]] were reimagined to be this. One splits into three and attempts to run away after it was blasted, and another had a severed body part turn into smaller monsters that attacked its assailant.
* ''ZOUSHOKU SHOUJO PLANA-CHAN!'', had the heroine Rinne Ikaruga forced take care of her MadScientist sister's genetically engineered mutant half planarian (a non-parasitic flatworm) 4-year old named Plana. Due to the regenerative abilities coming from her planarian half, Plana is able to instantly split into more of herself much to Rinne chagrin, as simply tripping causes Plana to instantly multiply into more Planas (including smaller ones). Fortunately for her (and the entire town should it get overcrowded with numerous little mutant girls), limitations to Plana's splitting ability make it so that separating into 30 parts causes all Planas except the original to instantly disappear.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', James turns into dozens of tiny versions of himself when Renji dices him.
* Elg from ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', whose HealingFactor combined with his "Nou-darake gene" (which allows an organism to grow a new brain) allows each his dismembered body parts to regenerate into a clone of himself, complete with his memories and personality.

* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': The Multi Monster boasts the ability of [[SelfDuplication cloning himself]] each time he is defeated, and the same goes for each of his clones. However, it isn't until there are an army of Multi Monster clones that anyone realises that they were shrinking the entire time. They each become a size that [=BoBoiBoy=] can pick up and trap one of them in a jar.

** [[https://scryfall.com/card/me3/50/spiny-starfish Spiny Starfish]] uses a non-fatal variant -- it can regenerate lost health and, whenever it does so, creates a weak starfish creature to represent a new starfish growing from a severed limb.

* Tales of the Unexpected had '''THE JUNGLE BEASTS OF JUPITER''' seen [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/af00f4735dcd551cc63aa31a566d674c/tumblr_ncmxqwqUml1rhjbado2_1280.jpg here]].
* DC's Lobo once had this ability, being able to regenerate an entirely new copy of himself from a single drop of his blood.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Lio}}'' discovered that this is what happens if you attempt to eliminate a BedsheetGhost with scissors.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence in ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', Mickey Mouse enchants a broom to fetch water in his place. When he realizes that [[LiteralGenie it won't stop]] and [[PowerIncontinence he doesn't know how to enchant it to stop]], Mickey chops the broom into pieces with an axe. A minute later, the splinters turn into ''hundreds'' of brooms that won't stop, and poor Mickey finds himself in over his head. This is direct from Goethe's poem ''Die Zauberlehrling'', although that particular apprentice only cuts the broom in half and only has to deal with two.
[[/folder]]

* In a variant, when Ash in ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'' is grabbed by his own reflection, he breaks free and the mirror it'd leaned out from gets broken. As soon as he turns his back on the broken pieces, a bunch of miniature Ashes emerge from the fragments and gang up on him.
* In ''Film/TheThing1982'', every cell of the Thing is an independent organism. At various times during the film, it gets parts chopped off it, which grow new appendages and scuttle off.
* ''Film/TheGreenSlime'' is like the Thing, except it absorbs energy directly to grow and isn't infectious. Every time its cut or injured, it can heal its wounds and the cells in its blood will form new members of its species.
* ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'': The Sammael monsters are part this trope, part ExplosiveBreeder. When one is killed, its life force will leave its body and split in two--causing two of the eggs it had previously laid to hatch and grow to adulthood in seconds.

* In ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', the titular monster is an [[TheWormThatWalks unholy monstrocity]] that is less [[GiantEqualsInvincible invulnerable than the traditional Godzillas]]. The problem is that the chunks of flesh blown off of it, [[spoiler: by the only direct hit scored on it by a desperate hit by a bunker-buster-bomb, start to generate eyes, mouths and faces within hours!]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/ThisPlatinumCrown'' [[spoiler: Princess Luna uses this technique to divide after she was mortally wounded in the Battle of Canterlot]]

[[folder:Gamebooks]]
* The second ''Literature/{{Sorcery}}'' has an enemy called a living corpse, who upon being hit, will break apart into ''six'' different enemies: the head, torso, left arm, right arm, left leg and right leg. You must defeat all six parts before you can continue, although each individual part only has 1 STAMINA point so it's not really that difficult.
[[/folder]]

* In ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20110315070934/http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/0743436008/0743436008.htm Star Tiger]]'' by Christopher Anvil, the only creatures on a planet appear to be placid herbivores. But if you kill one and don't destroy the body completely, what's left regenerates into one or more smaller, vicious carnivores, ranging in size from a tiger down to a shrew.

** The series has the 'Mantis Girl' Denarian, who turns into a bunch of little mantises when blown to bits. They all come back together to re-form the larger self. It also has Lea's guardian worm, which turns into two guardian worms when blasted.

* Sheri S. Tepper's {{squick}}y novel, ''Shadows End'' had genetically engineered little boy designed to be the virus of a bunch of monsters called Kachi. One of the monsters chews up the boy and spit out the pieces which end up becoming 120 smaller versions of the boy, some as small as half a finger with the biggest being leg size.

* The Night Cloaks in ''Literature/TheBotticelliHorror''. They're flat, carpet-like creatures that fly around and swoop in on their victims, and when injured, broken-off pieces of them simply arise as a baby Night Cloak. The Army shoots several of them to pieces, thinking they've won, only for the pieces to revive as more Night Cloaks, doubling their numbers.
* In ''Literature/TheIckabog'', it's rumoured that the titular creature will split into two Ickabogs when killed.

* A ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' episode features {{Mooks}} who melt when struck, only to re-form into two. Being [[GenreBlindness genre blind]], our heroes dig themselves in deeper and deeper until the two who were searching for the ForgottenSuperweapon finally get back.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', their HumongousMecha faced a similar problem. After one cut, however, they get smart and just shoot the hell out of them. True, they ''still'' need another HumongousMecha to come in and save the day, but at least they were not [[TooDumbToLive blatantly stupid.]]
* In ''Series/KamenRiderOOO,'' one MonsterOfTheWeek could spawn in a similar way to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Bari]]. ElectricJellyfish that'd split into two when hit or cut (though shooting 'em turns out to work just fine).

* One legend from Myth/HinduMythology freatures an Asura called Raktabija who has a variant of this - whenever he is wounded and a drop of his blood touches the earth, it transforms into a copy of him. He is defeated by the goddess Kali, who eats all of his clones and then holds him above her head and drinks all of his blood to stop it touching the ground.

** First edition [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]] are like this, although it takes some time -- their HealingFactor is strong enough that limbs and pieces of flesh severed from them will slowly grow into new trolls. In other words, if you kill a troll by hacking it to pieces, be sure to burn the pieces. In later editions, only the biggest piece regrows in this manner.
** The 3.5-edition ''Monster Manual 3'' has a variation with the omnimental, an {{elemental|Embodiment}} composed of all four classical elements which, when killed, splits into one creature for each element.
** The burrow root, a serpentine, blood-drinking plant monster, can split into two new creatures when an attack reduces the original to half its hit points. This is in fact how the things reproduce, so they'll stick out a losing battle long enough to divide this way before retreating into the ground.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': [[EldritchAbomination Horrors]] of [[ChessMaster Tzeentch]] do this -- Pink Horrors split into weaker Blue Horrors when wounded. Each Blue Horror then splits into a pair of Brimstone Horrors when wounded itself.

* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': Destroying the [[MookMaker grub hives]] will forcibly spawn a variety of grub eggs that'll hatch immediately to attack.
* ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' has monsters that clone themselves when damaged, each having the full post-damage hp. The most dangerous is the Doomguard, which was originally immune to non-physical damage and had plenty of hit points.
* ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}'' is [[TropeNamer the inspiration for the trope name]], featuring asteroids that would split into smaller rocks when shot.
* ''VideoGame/AzureDreams'': Manovas, although instead of dividing when killed, they do it [[GoddamnedBats whenever you hit them]].

* ''VideoGame/BiomechanicalToy'' have those gigantic, floating smiley faces, which splits in two, four and eight after being shot.
* ''VideoGame/BlasterMaster Overdrive'' featured a squid-like enemy in later levels that {{exaggerated|Trope}} this trope.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'' has some of the titular creatures split up into smaller Bugsnax, some of which can only be found this way. These include the Big Bopsicle, its PaletteSwap the Paletoss Grande, the Preying Picantis, and the Scoopy Banoopy.
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': The larger ghosts in the mausoleums will break into smaller ghosts the first time they are parried.

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'': Titans do this whenever encountered, often having a physical titan turn into a magical titan when killed which will then split into two physical titans, making for a very long fight. Note that only the ordinary titans do this, stronger titans and bosses don't, which paradoxically means that you're often relieved to see a more powerful enemy when low on health.
* ''VideoGame/HazelnutHex'' has a giant eyeball BlobMonster-thing as a MiniBoss, who divides itself into smaller eyeball blobs when you damage it. You keep shooting until the boss couldn't divide itself anymore.
* ''VideoGame/HeartOfDarkness'' featured a rather nasty cyborg who when killed was reduced to two lumps on the ground... which respawned into cyborgs if you didn't kill them quick enough. When you first encounter him this is a nightmare as you have to use a slow charged attack in order to destroy them. It got easier once you had your gun back.

* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The Jub-Jub ghosts. Since all the enemies in a given stage have a tendency to grow, it's not uncommon to wind up with three normally-sized enemies to deal with.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': In the [[DownloadableContent DLC]] Twilight map, the "Stop the divisive plan!" levels feature fights against shadowy versions of the playable characters that will subdivide when they take enough damage. Fortunately, they can't recombine, nor can they divide additional times should the enemy healers give them more health (that said, ShootTheMedicFirst).

* ''VideoGame/SavageHalloween'' have the BedsheetGhost enemies who explodes into half a dozen smaller bedsheet ghosts upon defeat.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': Fryguy, who provides the page image. Hit him with mushroom blocks three times, and he splits into four smaller Fryguys, which only take one mushroom block hit each to kill. Of course, with each mini-Fryguy you kill, the others get faster, making the last one far more dangerous than even the original big one. On top of that, some versions of the cartridge have a [[GameBreakingBug glitch]] that can leave the fight {{unwinnable}} if you get hit by one of the pieces while taking out another.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': Phantamanta probably takes the cake for number of "little asteroids". It splits six times to make 128 tiny manta ray ghosties -- each split divides them up into two smaller ones except for the last, which splits them into four.

*** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'': Subverted with Mrs. Thwomp, who behaves a lot like Trunkle: she appears to gain three clones after reducing in size from too much damage (she can also grow back). They're actually robots that three Goombas are using to back her up; two of them have different teeth and the third has a chip in its head, so it's easy to see which is which.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'': The Dedede Clone starts off fighting just like the original, but after being reduced to half HP splits into three smaller clones that deal less damage and lack the ability to inhale.
%%* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'': A type of Metalhead enemy in the series.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'': Boss Boom Box is a boss example, splitting into gradually smaller Boom Boxes as it takes damage. A mook example is the ice cubes found in [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Freezeezy Peak]] and the winter version of [[FourSeasonsLevel Click Clock Wood]].
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': A rare non-enemy example can be found in a DummiedOut item in the Gamecube version in the form of the paper airplane. Dropping it outside places a little paper airplane on the ground, but exiting and entering a building causes them to multiply. They will eventually spread like wildfire, [[GameBreakingBug locking up the whole acre, and if it continues, your whole town]]! And don't bother trying to pick them up, they'll appear to be gone, but they are still there and will come back, complete with multiplying, when you enter and exit again.
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'': The Promethean is a clay dwarf that splits into two smaller ones when killed (the two minis die normally). In one of the scenarios, the Titan Prometheus is capable of generating the large ones intentionally by scraping clay from his arms.
* ''Nankoku Shounen Papuwa kun'' (an obscure Japan-esxclusive platformer) have it's first boss being a giant, floating sentient apple monster with a sign on it that says "80". When you hit it, it splits into two medium-sized enemies bearing a sign that says "40", and then four small enemies with a "20" before finally becoming eight ''tiny'' enemies with a "10" on them. The last form can be destroyed instantly with a SmartBomb however.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has splitting monsters in two dungeons. Fortunately, you can stop them from splitting. Unfortunately, only by rapidly burning through your limited spell charges or by using the other far less than useful MagicKnight class to kill them with a katana.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'':
*** Inverted with the Calcobrena, a group of {{trick boss}}es consisting of six small dolls with a small amount of HP... except that if you kill them in the wrong order, the remainder turn into a giant doll that's a lot tougher to kill.
*** The Mom Bomb grows into a massive monster and then explodes, damaging you and leaving a bunch of smaller bombs in its place. ''Interlude'' has the Dad Bomb whose boss fight follows the same pattern, except that three of the bombs it splits into are Balloons instead of regular Bombs.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the Flans (and similar palette swap monsters) sometimes split into more. This is also the gimmick of the OptionalBoss in the GBA remake, Malboro Menace.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has some nesting doll-like enemies near Costa Del Sol that spit out a smaller version of itself when killed. They are pathetically easy to kill.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
*** In Copperbell Mines, the [[TrickBoss trick mini-boss]] [[BlobMonster Ichorous Ire]] cannot be killed through normal means. Instead you need to get [[ActionBomb a Blasting Cap]] to blow up the blob to split it into two. This is done three times and finally when you have 8 tiny blobs of Ire, you can kill them normally.
*** Lou Carcolh in the FATE "There's Something About Lou" starts as one rather large monster with suitably high HP, and when you kill him he splits into three smaller versions with less HP, which in turn split into another three even smaller and weaker versions before they finally stay down for good.
%%** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesTheCrystalBearers'': Flans are this way.
* ''VideoGame/DemonsWorld'' have vampire mooks, who upon being killed turns into a number of bats and continues attacking.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': Inverted in later games. In a random encounter of eight ordinary-looking Slimes, if they all survive a turn they pile together to form a [[KingMook King Slime]].
* ''VideoGame/DragonUnit'' has [[WhenTreesAttack tree-men]] enemies who upon being killed, turns into three smaller tree-men.
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'': Several Devouring Earth baddies leave smaller versions behind at death, though they usually don't split any further. Some high-ranking Clockwork pull this as well. The Giant Monster versions of the Devouring Earth rock and crystal enemies actually split into upwards of four or five normal-sized enemies, which can then further split into the smallest versions.
* ''VideoGame/CometBusters'', an ''Asteroids'' clone, plays the trope straight with its asteroids breaking down into smaller bits at each hit. A large one becomes two medium ones, a medium one becomes two small ones, and thankfully the small ones are the last.
* ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'': Similar to the tabletop version, most oozes will split into smaller ones if damaged by a non-blunt weapon; in addition, many will ruin your metal or wooden weapon with acid. Fortunately, it's not hard to locate a "Muckbane": a crystal club.
* ''VideoGame/{{SALVATOR}}'': The asteroids in this game are like the ones in ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}'', except they release a soul that returns to Earth upon defeat.

* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'': The King of Shadows, the final boss. First, you defeat him normally, then he splits into smaller copies, and after you defeat them, he reassembles and becomes a PuzzleBoss.
* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'': The Amoeboids (green sewer blobs). They appear in the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 original game]], ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal Up Your Arsenal]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart Rift Apart]]''. They come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. A large one splits into two medium ones, and a medium one splits into 2 small ones. Fortunately, in the original and ''Up Your Arsenal'', it only takes one hit to make them split. The 2016 game gives the large and medium Amoeboids more health, making them take longer to split, but otherwise they behave the same way.
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'':
** The Phantom Bat boss splits into smaller bats when hit. Only after reducing them to the smallest size could they be defeated. ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' had a few random encounters that worked this way, as well as the Zapf Bat boss, which did the same thing.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'' has a slime boss that breaks down into smaller slimes every time it is hit (with each slime then acting as an individual enemy). These divisions are much weaker than the boss, and they also result in the boss becoming smaller and smaller. In other words, the fight becomes easier as it goes.
* ''VideoGame/WarCraft'':
** ''Warcraft III'': Hydras split into smaller hydras to simulate head regeneration. Slime beasts do the same, with one particularly big one in the Orc expansion campaign splitting about 10 times, each split splitting into two smaller ones.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'':
** ''VideoGame/DoomII'' introduces the Pain Elemental. Kill it, and it splits into three Lost Souls. Don't kill it, and it spits a potentially infinite stream of Lost Souls one by one. The manual makes note of this by stating that "killing him is almost as bad as letting him live".
** In the Doom II RPG for cellphones, the Spider Mastermind will break into three Arachnotrons. This is actually the hardest part of the fight since the Arachnotrons are quite fast, and you're probably running low on health and all those [[StandardRPGItems Nano Drinks]] you used at the start of the fight have worn off.
** ''Videogame/{{DRL}}'' features the Agony Elemental boss, which [[ThisIsGonnaSuck is to the Pain Elemental as the Pain Elemental is to the Lost Soul]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodrayne}}'' features an ancient vampire Hedrox, who splits in two copies when hit.
* ''VideoGame/SpheresOfChaos'' is a game that lies firmly within Asteroids' family tree. As such, it has several varieties of Asteroids Monster.
* A plane in ''VideoGame/RobotDinosaursThatShootBeamsWhenTheyRoar'' splits into two when shot.
* The appropriately-named asteroids in ''VideoGame/GeometryWars Galaxies'' levels whose names start with Mas- or Por- will split in half, then the halves will release 5-10 monsters of the same shape when destroyed. Also, the spinners are a mild example. The big ones split into two smaller ones, the two smaller ones die normally.
* In ''VideoGame/DesktopTowerDefense'', the "spawn" critters divide into two smaller ones, and the two smaller ones are then killed normally.
* NES ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' video game ''Fester's Quest'' includes green slimeballs that multiply when shot... The problem is that they don't split up into a set amount like most enemies of this type and will continue to multiply over and over again no matter what. Without large weapon upgrades or explosives, the slimes will continually regenerate until you are able to quickly destroy every single last one. On the upside, they leave lots of powerups upon their deaths. On the ''down''side, the game includes power ''downs'', and the leave those too, leaving you to figure out how to get the good stuff while not losing the powerups you already got.
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'':
** In the game's BonusDungeon, there's a giant cockroach boss that can lay a larva. If the larva isn't killed fast enough, it will reach adulthood and gain the same stats and abilities of its parent, ''including the ability to lay another larva''. This means that the fight can loop indefinitely unless you break the cycle.
** The mutated scorpion boss plays this trope straight. After you've dealt enough damage to the boss, it splits into 4 parts, boxes you in the center of the battlefield in by encircling you, and attacks one at a time.
** Not so dangerous is a monster in the regular game that spawns brains that then detach and bounce around. Kill enough to bump the battle's target counter to 99 and you can earn a Super Tool.
* ''VideoGame/POEd'' have alien BlobMonster enemies that splits into multiple copies of themselves as soon as you score a hit, with one single monster easily dividing up to four times before it's finally dead. You can use a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]] however, the wide range of flames can incinerate the blobs faster than they can duplicate.
* ''Franchise/StarFox'' often has literal asteroids that behave this way. While not explicitly enemies, some games in the series treat them as such, allowing the player to get extra kills by destroying them. ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxCommand Command]]'', while not having splitting asteroids, has minor enemies that act this way.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'':
*** A type of Met in ''VideoGame/MegaMan5''. Upside, they can give multiple powerups. Downside, they bounce, making them hard to hit.
*** The eyeball-like Petit Devils in Galaxy Man's stage from ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' have this property. The green ones split into three, the orange into four.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManNetworkTransmission'': The Puffy mini-boss in Water Works Comp 3, a giant-sized version of the Mini-Puffy that breaks up into four smaller Puffies and these small Puffies break up into four even tinier Puffies.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'': The head of the FinalBoss blocks its core, but when gets destroyed, it splits into two other heads.
* The lava golems in ''VideoGame/SeriousSamTheFirstEncounter'' and ''VideoGame/SeriousSamTheSecondEncounter''. Not only once, but the smaller fragments divide into smaller fragments when they die, and those smaller fragments divide into even smaller fragments.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': The Fission Metroids are a unique breed of Metroid found in the Impact Crater, and on the third floor of the Phazon Mines in the PAL and Wii versions. They behave like normal Metroids, but upon depleting their health they split into two more Fission Metroids, both of which are only vulnerable to one of Samus's beams (denoted by what color their membrane is). However, a Power Bomb will instantly blow up any Fission Metroids in the vicinity without letting them split.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' has the Phazites, floating balls of semi-sentient Phazon that show up once you beat the boss of a planet. Very annoying since it takes going into Hypermode to kill them, which both uses a tank of energy and puts Samus at risk of a NonStandardGameOver.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' inverts this, where the X-Parasites dropped by killed enemies, if left alone long enough, will either reform into the exact same monster they had been, or seek out another one to make it grow bigger.
* The Legion of Wax in ''VideoGame/MonsterTrain'' is a heavy unit based entirely around this concept that you get to point at your opponents. At base form, it's a towering unit made of four large fighters grouped together. When its health is reduced to 0, rather than dying and discarding, it instead splits into two slightly smaller pairs of two units. Then, when each of these units is killed, it again splits into two small individual units before finally dying out. Each time a split occurs, the lesser units lose some of the base stats of the greater, but both lesser units keep all bonuses and enhancements of the parent unit, [[GameBreaker effectively doubling their damage output each split]]. And then you get to bring the original back with Reform mechanic, with more stats and automatic death counter to trigger the multiplication again, and again.
* Some forms of Artificial Chaos in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' (and all of them in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'') are of the re-forming variety; to destroy them you have to break them apart and destroy the smaller ones, then attack the core, but if you don't destroy the small ones quickly enough, they reattach to the core.
* The black pudding monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Nethack}}'' divide when they're hit with a non-lethal blow (with a weapon which [[spoiler:is made out of iron]]), rather than when they die. Each of the child puddings are the same size as the original, but only have as much health as the parent did after taking damage from the blow, so hitting them with high damage blows will reduce the number of times they divide. On the other hand, if you hit them with a underpowered weapon which does a minimum of damage and occasionally give them a rest so they can heal you can "pudding farm" an endless amount of them, giving you countless pudding corpses to sacrifice to your god and, since monsters sometimes [[RandomlyDrops Randomly Drop]] items, and endless supply of items.
* ''VideoGame/{{Elona}}'' has the bubbles, and with high fire resist, believers of fire (summon other fire creatures when in melee), although the GoddamnedBats interpretation of the trope arises with Aliens (impregnate rather than split, the child taking the stats of the parent NPC), Mass Monsters (Semi-strong rocklike monsters whose chief way of killing is stat draining), and finally the almighty Machine Cube, which is like the borg version of a D&D Gelatinous Ochre cube.
* The antwerp in ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory1'' splits into several smaller antwerps if you use your sword on it when it jumps on you. Borderline case, since only the original is hostile.
* The larger rocks in the Platform/{{Intellivision}} game ''Astrosmash'' would split into two smaller rocks when shot.
* ''VideoGame/WildcatGunMachine'' have the purple slug-like monsters, a recurring enemy who explodes into six smaller versions of itself when killed and continues trying to chew you to bits. Their smaller counterparts dies in one hit using any weapon.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Pang}}'' series of games have five different sizes of balloons as enemies. Hitting a balloon of any size except the smallest will cause it to split into two (or sometimes four) of the next smallest size.
* ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' has a certain jumping enemy. If the smallest size enemy touches you, it hurts you and dies.
* Flash game [[http://www.kongregate.com/games/Xdragonx10/medieval-rampage-2 Medieval Rampage]] has large ice golems which split into two or three fast but weaker ones. Actually one of the weaker enemies though since the large version is so slow you can blast him at your leisure, and the small ones die with one or two shots. Good to farm.
* Cut off the tentacles of a Reynaldo in ''VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords'', and the severed appendage will grow into a new Reynaldo if left alone long enough.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' games, the Sidearms and Spiders do this, and the offspring tend to be GoddamnedBats or DemonicSpiders. The Sidearm Modulas can also reform into full-size Sidearms, similar to the aformentioned Floormasters. Other enemies will also sometimes do this, eg producing Internal Tactical Droids or Red Hornets.
%%* Slimes in ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}''.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'': Atlantica has an enemy called Sheltering Zone which will split into five or six Sea Neons, the undersea equivalent of a Shadow. The player can avoid this by dealing the coup de grâce with a magic attack instead of a physical one.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' adds the Blobmob, a jellyfish-looking Unversed found only in the Deep Space world that when killed will split into two... and each of those two will split into two more when killed. Repeat once more for a total of eight kills from one enemy unless you've frozen any of the larger ones first.
* Two examples in the online Flash Game ''[[VideoGame/{{Amorphous}} Amorphous+]]'', where ''every single enemy'' in the game is a BlobMonster.
** The Clutter will split into 1-3 baby versions of itself if defeated, each of which can grow into an adult sized one. Thankfully, they ''cannot'' kill the [[OneHitPointWonder player character]].
** The Amalgam is a far more dangerous one -- hitting it when it is too large will cause it to break apart into smaller pieces. Each smaller Amalgam can absorb more slimes wandering about, causing them to grow big again. Oh, and if you touch a large enough Amalgam, you are absorbed (read: you die) on the spot.
** Inverted by [[TheGoomba Gloopies]], which can undergo "reverse mitosis" and fuse into [[DemonicSpider much harder enemies]]. [[GodDamnedBats Biters]] can do this, too, into the aptly-named Horror.
* Some monsters in the ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' series (particularly [[BlobMonster slimes]]) split every time it's their turn, but only if you damaged them in the time between their current turn and the last turn. Rather than being smaller and weaker, each duplicate has the same power as the original--but they also have the same post-damage HP (so if you hit one for 10 damage, the duplicate will also have 10 damage on its count.) It's best to only attack one per turn, but hit that one with everything you've got.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Exile}}'' games had the same mechanic as ''Avernum''. In ''Exile III'', for instance, it was used twice - once on a fairly weak low-level slime, and once on the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast doomguard]], which had 150 hit points and was a mid-level boss by itself.
* ''Exile'' and ''Avernum'' both take their cues from the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series, especially ''VideoGame/UltimaV''; slimes [[spoiler:and gargoyles]] in ''Ultima V'' divide when struck, assuming that they're not killed on the first blow. Slimes only appear in groups of sixteen, and each will divide once; there are subtle visual differences between divided and undivided slimes.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}} Online'' used to have asteroids slimes, which in addition to splitting also regenerated health and could share space without limit. That ended when a player discovered that by trapping a slime in a house and throwing weak splash-damage potions in through the window, he could generate enough slimes to devour the entire server when he released them.
* ''VideoGame/AsteroidsDeluxe'' has the asteroids, but also Killer Satellites where the pieces also home in on your ship.
* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1989'' has an enemy of this type, first seen in Area 3.
* For a rare non-enemy example, there's Locoroco species in ''VideoGame/LocoRoco''. As long as they don't get eaten or getting hit by spikes or hurt in other way, the smaller subordinates will do just fine.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'', centipedes split whenever one of their middle segments gets shot.
* The Polish enemies in ''VideoGame/CaveStory''[='s=] Sand Zone will split into smaller Polishes when killed. These however can be killed for good.
* Website/FunOrb's "Sumoblitz" has pink Bunkatbots that split in two when they break.
* The [=FarFall=] boss in ''VideoGame/AnUntitledStory'' is a large blue boulder beast that splits into smaller blue boulder beasts when stomped with a GroundPound.
%% Needs context * ''VideoGame/MonsterBash'' has the sludge monsters.
* Slimes in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' come in three sizes, which can withstand and deal proportional amounts of damage. Killing a slime will cause a it to split into two to four of the next size down. The smallest size slime will still chase you around but can't hurt you (unless it pushes you off a ledge or into lava). Magma Cubes in the Nether do this as well. Much like the smallest slimes, the small magma cubes are ''adorable!''
* Starfish enemies in ''VideoGame/{{Bug|1995}}'', as well as a brown beetle enemy (for some inexplicable reason).
* Each episode of ''VideoGame/MajorStryker'' has a boss that does this for its second phase.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' has mother slimes which split into baby slimes on death.
** The King Slime produces Blue Slimes whenever you hit it, implying that you're cutting little bits and pieces of it off.
** There's also the Eater of Worlds, which is basically the ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'' converted into a platformer boss.
** The Star Cells split into smaller Star Cells when they die, which then grow into more full-sized Star Cells.

* ''VideoGame/SpiralKnights'' actually inverts this. There is a type of slime that alone is very weak and easily defeated. However, groups can quickly merge together into a single enormous, very powerful slime monster.
* One of Stewie's levels in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Video Game!'' takes place in Peter's brain, where there are memories of Lois who can kill him with their attempts to hug him. If they're attacked, they multiply into clones dressed in one of her outfits from the show and also attack by throwing objects corresponding to that outfit. The first batch of clones in turn multiply into two more when defeated.
* One of the enemies in ''VideoGame/{{Zanac}}'' was an egg that would come a third of the way into the screen, and, ''unless'' it was shot down first, split in half, releasing its payload. The two half-shells were much harder to destroy than the egg. This enemy actually first appeared in ''E.I.'', Creator/{{Compile}}'s very first ShootEmUp.
* The Twin Burgers from ''VideoGame/HeroicArmiesMarching''.
* ''Gravity Crash'' has the indigenous squid-like lifeforms that split into 5 smaller squids when hit.
* A lot of enemies in ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' split into smaller parts when hit. For normal enemies, some flies and brains. For bosses, Envy, Blastocyst and Fistula break up into smaller parts upon destruction. Some also spawn several different enemies upon death like the Duke of Flies.
* In a ShoutOut to ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'', ''VideoGame/DarkCastle'' has a walking broom enemy that splits into smaller brooms.
* The Stingray from ''VideoGame/MiniRobotWars'' splits into three weak copies when destroyed. Much more of a nuisance if anything, as neither the large or small stingrays could attack.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Zeliard}}'', hitting red slimes with basic weapons or spells would make them multiply, and not even damage them.
* The Entrails Parasite boss in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' splits into eight smaller versions of itself after it takes a bit of damage. On higher difficulties, they can be extremely troublesome to deal with, as they cast spells rapidly, and can KO the entire party in seconds if they're not interrupted with area attacks.
* Subverted in ''Toys/RockRaiders'' for the PC. Blasting apart a rock or ice monster with a laser beam (or a lava monster with a freezer beam) causes it to spawn three knee-high versions of itself ... which then make a run for the nearest wall and dig their way to safety.
* In the video game adaptation of ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', giant spider enemies will split into three smaller spiders upon death.
* Mizar of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' is one of these, with the added complication that the blobs grow and split all on their own, meaning that it can replicate indefinitely if not finished off quickly. Unfortunately, it's already grown well past that point before you even find out it exists.
%% Needs context * Swarmer Pods in ''VideoGame/{{Defender}}''.
* Slimes in ''VideoGame/RogueLegacy''. Herodotus, the [[KingMook boss]] of the Land of Darkness, behaves like this on a much larger scale.
* The fourth boss in ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'' is a red multiplying variant of the shadowy enemies that you fought in the Cave of Bad Dreams and one right before it.
* For some reason, the [[BeeAfraid Nui-Kopen]] in ''[[VideoGame/{{BIONICLE}} BIONICLE: The Game]]'' split into two smaller Nui-Kopen ([[EpilepticTrees Kofo-Kopen, possibly?]]) upon taking damage, though this can probably be attributed to the game's rather loose interpretation of ''BIONICLE'' canon.
* In the ''Leifthrasir'' remake of ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'', the King Ooze mid-boss spawns normal slimes and eventually splits up as you damage it.
* Iris and Aerie from ''VideoGame/ParanauticalActivity'' both split into smaller versions of themselves after they lose a certain amount of health.
* In ''VideoGame/HelterSkelter'', hitting a monster out of order will cause it to split into two smaller monsters. Fortunately, the smaller monsters can't divide further.
* A bonus boss in the Directive 7 flaspoint of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is the Replicator which... replicates.
* Any body part that gets lopped off in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' can be reanimated as a separate enemy. (Memorably illustrated [[http://www.dfst.org/en/stories/328 here]].) ''Over and over again'', to the point where severed fingers and the skinned hides of butchered animals achieved InvincibleMinorMook status; a crude HitPoints system had to be patched in as a temporary fix while Toady One worked on extending the damage rules to include [[ChunkySalsaRule "pulping"]].
** If the full moon shines its light upon the reanimated limbs of a were-creature, each transforms into an ''entire werebeast'', which usually means everything in the area is going to die messily.
* ''Don Doko Don'' has Miniman, an enemy which splits into smaller halves twice.
* ''VideoGame/BallpointUniverseInfinite'' has literal asteroids that fragment into smaller asteroids when destroyed.
* ''{{VideoGame/Crimsonland}}'' has the aptly named Spideroids. Killing one splits it into two smaller spiders, who split into two more even smaller spiders when killed, and so on. The cycle continues for several more steps, to the point where trying to kill just two big ones can quickly lead to being overwhelmed by an entire screen of miniature spiders.
* In later waves of ''VideoGame/DemonAttack'', the big demons when hit will split into two smaller demons that will eventually fly down and try to ram you.
* In ''Quartz'', a ShootEmUp for the Platform/AtariST, shooting a Hadron will split it into several smaller Quarks, which themselves must be shot to release Neutrino pickups.
* The Myconids from ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'', which are mutated, mobile mushrooms whose larger versions will split into smaller Myconids when killed. These smaller Myconids will then grow into larger Myconids when left alive too long, though Myconids that were born from another Myconid thankfully won't multiply into other smaller Myconids even if they reach that point.
* The large thorn blobs in ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' split into several smaller blobs, which split into still smaller pieces.
* Two examples in ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'':
** The Golem, a high-level ground-based meat shield, splits into two smaller creatures, known in-game as Golemites, when killed.
** The Lava Hound, a higher-level flying meat shield that somewhat resembles a winged dog-golem hybrid, spawns 8 to 12 tiny Lava Pups when killed.
* ''VideoGame/TheMaidOfFairewellHeights'': When the Golden Yellow Mushroom is cut up, it turns into four smaller versions.
* The ''Nuka-World'' DLC for ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' gave certain legendary radroaches the annoying on-death ability to spawn half a dozen smaller radroaches from their exploded carcass.
* One [[ActionBomb Baneling]] upgrade in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'' lets them turn into two smaller, slightly less potent banelings on death (the other, vastly more broken upgrade lets them jump cliffs and over friendly units). Abathur notes that continuing the trend is inefficient, as it only leds to vaguely-self-aware slime.
* In ''VideoGame/KidNikiRadicalNinja'', the Horned Witch splits into smaller versions of herself when you attack her, and you have to kill all of the miniature clones to win.
* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': The computer virus, which is the closest thing the game has to a BossBattle.
* The first boss ([[BossGame and enemy]]) in ''VideoGame/TitanSouls'' is a giant slime which divides in two every time it is hit. The only way to kill it is to destroy its brain which can only be hit when it has has divided into its smallest size.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate2'' has Fission Slimes and Fission Trolls, both of which turn into two monsters when dropped to zero HP unless you KillItWithFire. The trolls only do this once, but the slimes keep doing it every time and can end up overwhelming an improperly prepared party.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', [[AsianFoxSpirit Ninetails]] periodically [[TacticalSuicideBoss raises the sword on her back, which acts as a lightning rod to Amaterasu's lightning power]]. Attacking her this way splits her into nine maidens, which must be destroyed individually before she reforms. Destroying eight of them begins the second phase of the fight, where she reverts to a weaker form.
* The Game Boy Advance version of ''VideoGame/ScoobyDooMysteryMayhem'' has this occur during the final boss fight against the Fire Ghost. Using the Tome of Doom on the Fire Ghost causes him to split into smaller ghosts. Once he's split into the smallest ghosts that exist in the game, it is possible for these fragments of him to be sucked into the Tome of Doom.
* The skeleton mooks in ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'', upon receiving enough hits, will [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe break into two from the waist]]... only for both halves to attack you as separate entities. You'll need to defeat both halves to proceed, the upper half with a GoombaStomp while the lower half can be defeated by kicking and punching normally. (Ever seen a pair of skeletal legs without a body flailing about trying to kick you? You will in this game, and it's ''hilarious'').
* In ''VideoGame/PowerPete'', in [[LevelAte Candy Cane Lane]], the Gummi Bear enemies split into smaller versions of themselves when they are first hit.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', the second guardian of Inaros' tomb is a large golem that splits into smaller golems when killed.
* In ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'', one possible hive leader is a giant BlobMonster that upon death splits into smaller blobs.
* The "Hydras" mutator in ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' acts like this. When an enemy dies, two weaker enemies spawn in its place. Those enemies can also split into weaker enemies, and so on, until the split limit is reached or there are no weaker enemies to split into.
* The Pumpkin Boss in ''VideoGame/MonsterForce'' consists of two giant pumpkins who split into smaller pumpkins after taking enough damage.
* The small versions of the bacteria monsters in the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' game burst apart into three tiny blobs that continue attacking the player and die in one hit.
* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternityIIDeadfire'':
** Greater Black Oozes, which split into two Lesser Black Oozes when killed.
** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} with the OptionalBoss Hauani O Whe, which is a gargantuan Black Ooze with extremely high stats. When you finally manage to kill it, it splits into two Gigantic Black Oozes, each of which is still boss-level tough. Below 50% health they will try to merge back into Hauani O Whe. If you don't physically stop them from touching at this point, most easily done by paralyzing status effects, Hauani will re-form at full health. Each Gigantic Black Ooze splits into two Massize Black Oozes on death, which each split into two Greater Black Oozes, which then as before split into two Lesser Black Oozes. Any of the lower-level Oozes can also merge back up to the next-most-powerful form when below half health.
* The Mythical Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Melmetal is said to split into a bunch of Meltan near the end of its lifespan; when the strongest member is ready to evolve, it absorbs all the other Meltan in its group and turns into a Melmetal again.
* In ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'', the Flukemon enemy is split between its head and tail on death. Both proceed to attack you separately.
* ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' has the Beast faction's Nemesis boss, Kubacabra the Endless Menace. When killed, it spawns two monsters named Kubacabra the Enduring. Each of those in turn spawn two Kubacabra the Tenacious, which thankfully do not split further. Each version of Kuba also has LifeDrain and DamageOverTime attacks that can make the fight something of a slog.
* ''VideoGame/ThunderHoop'' have those gigantic floating lizard-head mutants, who upon being shot to bits will explode into a dozen smaller floating heads.
* ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'':
** Spriggans, small WaddlingHead plants with vines as limbs, split into two smaller copies called Sprigglings upon death.
** Richard 'Crash' Svennson, one of the bosses in [[spoiler:Primrose's Passage]], is a BlobMonster that splits into two repeatedly after its health reaches zero.
* ''VideoGame/VermintideII'': Tzeentch's Favor causes enemies to split into two weaker enemies upon death until they reach skavenslaves or cultists.
* ''VideoGame/TheVoidRainsUponHerHeart'':
** At the start of her second phase, Split Veyeral's main body splits into four veyerals, which can split again up to two times each. Unlike most of these enemies, she has enough HP that you can't take out every single little veyeral before the fight ends. The mechanics of the fight reward you for splitting off all of her 16 parts.
** Molten Veyeral spawns two split veyerals at the end of her phase. The number of times they can split depends on the level, and this time you ''can'' take out them all.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'': In a clear ShoutOut to the Phantamanta fight from ''Super Mario Sunshine'', [[spoiler:Big Man splits into smaller manta rays every time he's attacked until the player attacks the "real" Big Man. The smaller copies can unleash some devastating attacks if left unchecked, and they become more aggressive as the fight goes on.]]
* ''VideoGame/VentureKid'': When [[PlayerCharacter Andy]] beats the BlobMonster {{Mook}}s in the Volcano level, they split into three smaller blob monsters.
* In the 2005 version of ''[[VideoGame/PacManArrangement2005 Pac-Man Arrangement]]'', each boss is a giant ghost that is split apart into dozens of small blue ghosts whenever Pac-Man eats a Power Pellet. Pac-Man must eat each of the smaller ghosts in order to finish off the boss, but once the Power Pellet's effects wear off, the ghosts will merge back together, with their combined form getting smaller the fewer are left remaining.

* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Slima still has (limited) sentience as a small wad in 'The Party'. The Darkness counterparts' body parts can function even after being cut off.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Much to the horror of Baron Wulfenbach's troops, each of the [[spoiler:modified traveling circus]] [[NotUsingTheZWord clanks]] that Agatha made [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061227 were composed of dozens of smaller clanks that would break off when they're destroyed]]. Smaller clanks that are able to [[ActionBomb self-destruct with a big boom]].

* {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' that spoofs the Sorcerer's Apprentice - Scratchtasia. Scratchy keeps cutting Itchy into pieces only to have each piece become a smaller copy. In exasperation, Scratchy rapidly cuts them until nothing is left but powder. He then sighs, inhaling the powder, which becomes powder-sized versions of Itchy that kill him from the inside out.

* A non-enemy variant is Meatwad in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''. Still only have two eyes and one tooth between all of them though. They also seemed to get dumber (if you can even tell) and their voices got higher the smaller they were. Plus, Shake KNEW they just kept getting more annoying, but couldn't help himself from cutting them up into smaller pieces for fun.
* The space-based Rock Lords in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' have this ability. Unfortunately, it only works once, and it didn't do the one who swallowed [[KidAppealCharacter Bumblebee]] much good when it went up against [[TookALevelInBadass Sari]].
%%* The silver mine monster in ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries''.
* A quasi-enemy version occurs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory", when Leela kicks Glurmo (the slug-like Wormulonian Slurm Factory guide), splitting him in half. Each half reforms into a half-sized version of Glurmo ([[FridgeLogic complete with smaller-sized clothing, for some reason]]), with a strangely distorted voice. They show up again later in the series, [[ContinuityNod still half-sized and odd-voiced]].
* A series of shorts on {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} had a pair of IneffectualSympatheticVillain alien invaders who landed on a planet inhabited by a little alien that split into two more when they first tried to zap it with their laser guns. They took advantage of the alien's ability by zapping it numerous times, making more little aliens happily willing to serve their every need. Things go out of hand (as they always do for them) when too many zaps causes too many little aliens running around, which makes the pair zap them even more, which of course makes even more of them. Eventually, they're forced to leave the planet as it overflows with little aliens.

%%* Wooldoor Sockbat did this in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''.

* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'': In the episode "Mixed Signals," Rex slices the starfish E.V.O in half not knowing about its ability to divide, thus causing it to continually divide into smaller and smaller units, making it even harder to catch. Rex and co finally manage to subdue it after the creature is injected with a serum causing it to reassemble into its complete form.
* A recurring gag in several of ''Creator/TexAvery'''s cartoons is after a character gets smashed by a heavy object he'll turn into multiple miniature versions of himself which will then fuse together to become full-sized again, one such example comes from "Big Heel-Watha" when Screwy Squirrel hits the title character with a mallet.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "Lava Men", Superman discovers that punching the Lava Man causes it to split into a bunch of blobs that grow into identical Lava Men.
* In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10|2016}}'' Ben gets a new alien (Gwen gives him the name Slap Back) who splits in two every time his back is hit (so one becomes two, two become four, and so on). The kicker is that every time it happens the copies are two times heavier and stronger than before.

* TruthInTelevision for many RealLife asteroids, especially the smallest ones, that are believed to be fragments of larger ones destroyed in collisions with others long ago. In a few cases the orbits of some are so similar that are considered to form an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_family asteroid family]], created by the disruption of a larger body. This trope is also the reason why blasting apart a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth with a nuclear bomb might not be the best idea. Instead of one big impactor, you'd end up with a bunch of smaller ones - still traveling in the same approximate direction, [[OhCrap and possibly radioactive.]]

* Can be a big problem in weed control. Mowing or stomping or pummeling may kill the original plant or fungus, but the act of destruction will spread the seeds or spores around a wide area causing the problem to get worse. Many invasive weeds can resprout from cuttings and root fragments as well.

* Often a problem when dealing with Organized Crime or Terrorist networks. Killing the leader doesn't simply cause their followers to give up and go home; instead, these followers fight to fill the power vacuum, becoming fragmented and generally more violent in the process. So instead of dealing with one well-disciplined organization, law enforcement suddenly has to deal with countless autonomous organizations. This effect has been observed in both the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels after major Drug Lords were killed or arrested and with Al-Qaeda after their leadership was killed and dispersed.

* The larger rocks in the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}} game ''Astrosmash'' would split into two smaller rocks when shot.

* In ''Quartz'', a ShootEmUp for the UsefulNotes/AtariST, shooting a Hadron will split it into several smaller Quarks, which themselves must be shot to release Neutrino pickups.

* The small versions of the bacteria monsters in the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' game burst apart into three tiny blobs that continue attacking the player and die in one hit.