History Main / DetachmentCombat

** The Turn-X {{Gundam}} from ''Turn A Gundam'' has this as its most noteable ability - its limbs can break off, and break into smaller pieces, to fly around and attack the opponent from many directions at once.

[[folder: Myth and Legend]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* The classic (fourth edition!) ''MagicTheGathering'' card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2073 Tetravus]] functions much like this. It has slightly more modern descendants such as [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=244251 Pentavus]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247519 Triskelavus]].
* Lebendtod, a variant undead from {{Ravenloft}}, have this trope as their signature ability, although it's more useful to compel Horror Checks than to fight.
* The Anatomic Separation power in ''MutantsAndMasterminds''.
* In {{Dungeons and Dragons}} 4th edition, shard minds can break into shards and use it as movement and disorientation. It's not very effective though.
** Take a few feats and you can do it twice an encounter, throw it, and increase the aura.
*** An epic feat makes it deal damage.
** Oh, and it doesn't have to roll to hit.
** One ability by a Prestige shard mind class has your character explode into a hurricane of shards, covering several squares, able to move the hurricane, and still being able to attack anyone inside the field. Much, much more effective.
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* In Part 5, Ciocolatta can do this with some improvisation from his stand Green Day. This leads to one of the [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel nastiest, most gruesome useages]] of this trope.

* KamenRiderDouble's Joker Form {{Finishing Move}}s involve Double splitting in half vertically and striking the opponent with both halves.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Sockarang from ''{{Axe Cop}}'', with the added twist that his arms are ''socks''.

* Buggy's ability in ''OnePiece''. All parts of his body can fly around at will, but only if his feet are grounded, and he is also immune to being cut.

* The Turn-X {{Gundam}} from ''Turn A Gundam'' has this as its most noteable ability - its limbs can break off, and break into smaller pieces, to fly around and attack the opponent from many directions at once.

* ''{{Raideen}}'': '''[[God Bird, Change! Head Cutter!]]'''

* "Arm-Fall-Off Boy" of ''{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' infamy.
** It should be noted that Arm-Fall-Off Boy was just a joke in the comic's letters page.
*** He became a CanonImmigrant in at least one 'boot.

* The Guard Armor boss in ''KingdomHearts'' has autonomous limbs, which move and battle on their own when taken enough damage. It is necessary to defeat each of the limbs before finishing off the torso to beat it.

* ''Toribash'', a free-to-play semi turn-based online fighting game (BetterThanItSounds), allows you to detatch your (and your opponents') limbs through powerful enough strikes or pulls (using grabbing arms). Although you will get the equivalent of a stun if you lose a limb/body part, on your next turn you will still be able to control that body part, along with your fighter. As with nearly any situation that spawns out of the game, this can create some...[[HilarityEnsues interesting]] situations. For example, if someone tears off your arm, you better damn well grab his arm (or other body part) with the severed limb so he can't throw it down to the ground to disqualify you.

* The classic (fourth edition!) ''MagicTheGathering'' card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2073 Tetravus]] functions much like this.

* The Puzzler from {{Superman}} could split into living puzzle pieces.

You're surrounded by bad guys, outnumbered many to one. What do you do? Call for back up? No, it's time to [[IncrediblyLamePun split up!]]

* '''[[{{Raideen}} God Bird, Change! Head Cutter!]]'''

* FMEnterprises' Captain Marvel could separate any of his limbs from his body by yelling "Split!" (No relation to [[CaptainMarvel Fawcett's]] or [[{{Captain Mar-vell}} Marvel Comics']] characters with the same name.)

* The ''TeenTitans'' could separate their T-Sub, much like the [[FantasticFour Fantasticar]]. Cyborg occasionally remote-controlled his hands or limbs for various purposes, though it was never his first option.

** Inverted with one of the nine rookies recently introduced, who has the ability to detach other people's body parts and combine them with other people/objects.

* Buggy's ability in ''OnePiece''.

** Marine captain Berry Good also has this as his power.

* Big Volfogg of Gaogaigar Fame could split back into his smaller form along with his support units Gundober and Gunglue for a rush attack, then re-combine.

* FMEnterprises ''Captain Marvel" could separate any of his limbs from his body by yelling "Split!" (No relation to [[CaptainMarvel Fawcett's]] or MarvelComics' characters with the same name.)

* The Puzzler from [[{{Superman}} Superman]] could split into living puzzle pieces.

* Arcee from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen does this but there is a degree of ambiguity. The writers of the film initially conceived her as being one robot made of three bikes which would even combine together into a larger robot mode but the appearance of the combined mode was ultimately dropped and Michael Bay changed her into three separate robots which the toys agree with. HOWEVER, the novelization and comics portray her in the way the authors intended, with the combined mode appearing briefly in each.

* KamenRiderDouble's Joker Form [[FinishingMove Finishing Moves]] involve Double splitting in half vertically and striking the opponent with both halves.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukekubi Nukekubi]]which detach their heads, which then fly off to suck peoples blood.

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<<|CombatTropes|>>

Contrast with CombiningMecha. See also LosingYourHead.

* "Arm-Fall-Off Boy" of ''LegionOfSuperheroes'' infamy.

* The Great Zeong from the ''G Generation'' video games, apparently the original plan for the Zeong from ''MobileSuitGundam'' but nowhere near feasible for its time, does the same. The regular Zeong can send its arms out on cables, and its head is an escape craft, but it's not quite the same.

* Cluster bots in RobotWars, going into the arena as one unit, splitting up when the battle starts. The first and most notable was Gemini, and in the middleweight division, there was Typhoon Twins - which consisted of the lightweight bots Typhoon Lightning and Typhoon Thunder connected with essentially a piece of string and a sheet of paper at the start of the match. Originally a cluster bot was judged to have lost if one of the units was rendered immobile, but this was later changed.