History Main / DetachmentCombat

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/split2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Aren't you glad we don't have characters this silly any more? Oh, wait...]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/split2.jpg
[[caption-width:370:Aren't you glad we don't have characters this silly any more? Oh, wait...]]

* Displacers from ''TheBeyonders'' can do this by "displacing" their body parts.

* The Yellow Devil and its variations in the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games primarily attack by breaking their bodies into pieces and flying across the screen. They rarely stay fully formed for long, which is also generally the only time you can harm them. This tends to make them difficult fights.

* The second boss in ''[[XMen Wolverine: Adamantium Rage]]'' had four bladed arms, which he would detach and fling around at will.

* [[DemBones Sir Daniel Fortesque]] from ''MediEvil'' can rip off his own arm and use it as a weapon, though it isn't very effective and is usually meant to be used a last resort if your weapon is stolen.

* The ''WesternAnimation/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.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' had the Skidblamdir, carrying four ''Navskids''. HilariousInHindsight when ''Moonscoop'' produced ''FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes''.

* Many versions of the ''FantasticFour'''s Fantasticar are able to separate into mini-vehicles each of the Four can pilot.

* One of the bosses of ''[[{{Darius}} G-Darius]]'', Eternal Triangle, could split its body into three segments and trap the player in an electric triangle barrier.

Contrast with CombiningMecha. See also LosingYourHead. Does not mean that the combatant appears not to care about the fight - that's TranquilFury.

* [[{{Metroid}} Weavel]] can do this - his body splits apart at the waist, and the bottom half becomes a turret, while the top half starts bouncing around and slashing at you with a sword. Justified, since he is mostly robot (he just has a brain and spinal cord left).
* ''{{Toribash}}''

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

* ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity'' has the Serges Devil, whose use of this trope forces Mega Man to dodge its parts.

* Steve Ditko worked on a hero that could do this. His name was Jigsaw.

** 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 (and in fact, its various "segments" are based on Zeon mobile armors: the legs on the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Bigro]], the waist on [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the Big Zam]], and the chest on [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam the Apsaras]]). The regular Zeong can send its arms out on cables, and its head is an escape craft, but it's not quite the same.

* Nana from ''ElfenLied'' got her arms and legs torn off by Lucy, but her Papa gave her fake ones she can control with her vectors and she will sometimes shoot them at people for a long range attack.

* Mr. Potato Head in ''ToyStory'' can move each of his body parts separately and takes advantage of this when he has to fight. Due to his potential for sight gags though, he always gets creamed in a comical way.

* In ''PowerRangersRPM'', Tenaya 7 can detach her (robotic) hand and send it out. Early on, she snuck it into the Rangers' HQ and pulled an AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs. With just her ''hand''.

* One [[GoddamnBats particularly irritating foe]] in ''SonicTheHedgehog2'' was a mantis-like robot that tossed out its bladed arms when the player got too close. Thankfully, he could only do it once.

* [[{{Futurama}} Bender]], in a [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOA]], once beat the slime out of sewer monster after it tore his arms off - the arms just crawled up monster's back and punched it in the face.

* ''Rockman4MinusInfinity'' has the Serges Devil, whose use of this trope forces Mega Man to dodge its parts.

Detachment combat happens when a character, robot, monster, or spaceship has the ability to break into sections, with each piece capable of fighting separately.

* 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.

* The {{Fighting Fantasy}} world has the [[http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Living_Corpse Living Corpse]], a shabby zombie-like being that, when hit for the first time, splits into six parts, all floating around and attacking independently.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* 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.

* Undead creatures of Evil biomes in DwarfFortress have the bad habit, when dismembered, to keep fighting as each last individual parts.Cut their hand off, and the hand may come to life and strangle you.Behead them, and the head will chase you and bite at you.Punch their teeth off, and ''each single tooth will raise and attack''.

* ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' had this twisted example of a type of necromorph ([[{{Our Zombies Are Different}} Undead-like monster]] enemies that attack you throughout the game). This type of necromorph attacks similarly to most other necromorphs (get close enough and slash), but distinguishes itself by being tall and spindly in build. Once you 'kill' one of these by doing enough damage to it, however, it splits up into its head and four separate limbs and continues crawling, slithering (yes, the head slithers) and attacking the player via these appendages.

* ''{{VideoGame/Skullgirls}}'': Any place where Miss Fortune has a scar on her body is where she can detach her parts, owing to her being dismembered by the mob after she swallowed an immortality-granting gem. She utilizes this extensively in battle, especially with [[LosingYourHead her head]].
* ''{{Tekken}} 6: Bloodline Rebellion'''s [[RobotGirl Alisa Bosconovitch]] can remove her arms during a battle. She can also detach her head and use it as an explosive.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

** 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 (and in fact, its various "segments" are based on Zeon mobile armors: the legs on the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Bigro]], the waist on [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the Big Zam]], and the chest on [[{{ptitled636c0z1}} the Apsaras]]). The regular Zeong can send its arms out on cables, and its head is an escape craft, but it's not quite the same.

* ''{{Oswald the Lucky Rabbit}}'' does this often.

* [[JojosBizarreAdventure Jolyne Kujo]] pulls this off while fighting Enrico Pucci due to her ability to unravel herself.

* Prometheus class ships in ''StarTrekVoyager''. The [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Enterprise-D]] if you count saucer/hull separation.

* ''StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode "Bem", the titular character was a colony creature who could separate his head, upper torso, and lower torso (at least).

* "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, but he became a CanonImmigrant in at least one 'boot.

* ''Toribash''