History Main / DetachmentCombat

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

* ''Film/InspectorGadget 2'': G2 can break apart at the waist so that her torso and limbs work as separate combatants. Since she's a robot it's no problem.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/split2.jpg]]

* In ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'', The Alpha - Beta heavy fighter splits into the light Legioss (Alpha) fighter and the Tread (Beta) fighter - bomber.

** One of Sirene's signature attacks in the ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' series is her ability to fire off her arms at opponents - generally she'll fire one arm while keeping the other attached in most situations. She can use the detached arm to grab enemies and immobilise them, as seen when she used it on Ryo Asuka to stop him interfering in her fight with Devilman, or use her antennae to direct the arm towards opponents as a wickedly sharp missile or DeadlyDisc to tear straight through them.

** In part 1, Zeppeli explains that this is sort of how his Zoom Punch works: he temporarily dislocates his arm to extend the range of his punch, while using [[SupernaturalMartialArts the power of the Ripple]] to block the resulting pain and heal himself.

* Many versions of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'''s Fantasticar are able to separate into mini-vehicles each of the Four can pilot.
** A What If universe of a communist Fantastic Four had a Reed Richards with the ability to warp space so pieces of his body can appear and operate remotely from each other.

* ''ComicBook/{{Absolution}}'' has a minor character named Cluster, who can separate and telekinetically fling his body parts. Being an Avatar comic, it's gory.

* An early conceptual storyboard from ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' had the ''Enterprise'' facing off against the three Klingon cruisers that V'ger had assimilated at the start of the movie. During the fight the ''Enterprise'' is damaged, and she ends up separating her saucer section in order to avoid being a single target.
* The animated suits of armor in ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' do this during their skirmish with the invading Nazis. One suit's upper half is lifted off for examination by a perplexed officer, so its legs boot him from behind. Another suit's upper torso, head, and arm keep popping off to avoid harm when a German soldier jabs at it with a bayonet, then settle back into place. Justified because they're AnimatedArmor, so their various parts are no less enchanted to move than the whole.

* ''Literature/WildCards'' has an Ace who can do this. The parts can even regrow if not reattached in time.

* Sometimes shows up in the ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' universe. At the more mundane level, some fleet tender designs have a command section that can separate from the attached repair platform and operate on its own, although this is generally less for combat and more for emergency situations; serious military application tends to be more limited to unique BattleStar-type designs like [=OLD MAN=][[note]](hemisphere with twelve detachable rectangular platforms extending outwards from the base)[[/note]], the [=SOL=][[note]](cylindrical central section connecting two spheres)[[/note]], or the [=GILGAMESH=][[note]](splittable dodecahedron with a central section for thirteen parts total)[[/note]].

* ''Den Ace'', an ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' parody, had one of the finishing moves of the titular character involve detaching his head and throwing it at his enemy, after which it returns to him in a boomerang like fashion.

* The classic (fourth edition!) ''TabletopGame/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 TabletopGame/{{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 ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds''.

** The original description for Autobot Commander Optimus Prime was that he had three components that he could control - his robot mode, his trailer/command base, and the small vehicle Roller. Later interpretations generally treat the trailer as non-living and Roller as an AI controlled but independent drone.

* The zombie character Rottytops from ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' can fight baddies by detaching one of her legs and whacking them with it. She can also throw her head, and have her body teleport right under her head and reattach with her head.
* The second boss in ''[[Franchise/XMen Wolverine: Adamantium Rage]]'' had four bladed arms, which he would detach and fling around at will.
* One of the bosses of ''[[VideoGame/{{Darius}} G-Darius]]'', Eternal Triangle, could split its body into three segments, attack separately with each of them, and trap the player in an electric triangle barrier that his namesake suggests.
* Unlike ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'', whose power is merely a RocketPunch, ''VideoGame/{{Plok}}'' can throw all four of his limbs at enemies.
* ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' had this twisted example of a type of necromorph ([[OurZombiesAreDifferent 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.
** And if you get overwhelmed by them your head gets torn off and its head replaces it.
* One [[GoddamnBats particularly irritating foe]] in ''VideoGame/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.

* ''VideoGame/{{Toribash}}''
** The game allows you to detach 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.
** There are several game modes. Most of them are about not touching the ground outside the ring or with body parts which aren't feet/hands. One of them replaces your hands with long, thin sticks that instantly cut off every part they touch - essentially, swords. Due to arms being connected to pectoral muscles that are [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything two orbs making up the whole chest,]] taking a cut or a stab to there causes the whole arm from shoulder down to fall off. But, to the point - that arm is fully capable of twitching around with its elbow and wrist, and its hand-sword is as lethal to the enemy as it was. You also don't get disqualified for it landing on the floor. Sometimes an enemy running into your severed arm is what decides of the ultimate victory of yours.
* 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.
** Bounce Man from ''Mega Man 11'' is also capable of splitting into pieces and bouncing around the room, but he never does this on his own; it is always done as retaliation for striking him with the [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Pile Driver]].
* ''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]].
* ''VideoGame/{{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.

* [[DemBones Sir Daniel Fortesque]] from ''VideoGame/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. He can also detach his head and place it on a severed hand.
* Monsoon of ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' is capable of separating his entire body due to his body being made up of magnets. He can make use of this ability to avoid Raiden's sword attacks, and to attack Raiden with his various body parts both independently and from a distance.
* Sekibanki of ''{{VideoGame/Touhou}}''. Her spell cards has her [[LosingYourHead head]] flying off from her body to shoot at you. One series of spell cards even has her [[DoppelgangerAttack creating duplicates of her flying head to fight you with]].
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' features unique consoles for saucer separation on the ''Galaxy''- and ''Odyssey''-class cruisers, multi-vector assault mode in the ''Prometheus''-class escort, and dual vector separation on the Haakona Advanced Warbird (a Romulan ship built using stolen plans for the ''Prometheus''). The ''Odyssey''-class and ''Bortasqu[='=]''-class can also equip consoles that allow them to separate an independent section that is also available as a ship on its own, respectively the ''Aquarius''-class destroyer and ''[=HoH'SuS=]''-class bird of prey. Apart from the main faction ships, the cross-faction Elachi ''Sheshar''-class Dreadnought Cruiser is also capable of deploying the Assault Vessel that serves as its lower hull.
* In ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon The Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'', one boss is a daruma doll whose stacking segments try to slam into you by sliding across the screen one by one.

* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' has two during one boss battle. [[LevelAte Baroness von Bon Bon's]] waffle minion can separate into his individual pockets, which fly outward in straight lines. The Baroness herself can throw her head and regrow it while the previous one flies around and tries to attack you.

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

* ''WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit'' does this often.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has the Skidblamdir, carrying four ''Navskids''. HilariousInHindsight when ''Moonscoop'' produced ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes''.
* This was the main gimmick of Fallapart Rabbit in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}'', though he always did it by accident and [[RuleOfFunny it was played for laughs.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Bender once beats the slime out of sewer monster after it tears his arms off -- the arms just crawl up the monster's back and punch it in the face.

* HollywoodCyborg Garrison Kane of Creator/MarvelComics could send his limbs out to attack people. A disembodied hand slapping him in the face managed to severely gross out SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}.

-->--'''Visual Eye''', firing his eyes out of his head, ''WesternAnimation/TheTick''

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': This is the essence of Setsuna Tokage's quirk, Lizard Tail Splitter.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/WildCards'' has an Ace who can do this. The parts can even regrow if not reattached in time.
* Displacers from ''Literature/TheBeyonders'' can do this by "displacing" their body parts.
* The titular character of the ''Literature/OrsonCart'' series, a boy who was hit by a [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive]] lawn mower and can now separate his body parts at will.
* The H'rulka in the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' books fly around in gigantic ships (a necessity, given that H'rulka themselves are enormous gasbags that evolved on a gas giant) that turn out to be composed of smaller individual ships, with each of these being, essentially a one-man fighter. Of course, each of those one-man "fighters" is larger than a human frigate, but the H'rulka find them incredibly claustrophobic (a H'rulka doesn't even notice a human SEALS team entering his "fighter", the same way as a human might not notice an ant crawling around in his car).
* Sometimes shows up in the ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' universe. At the more mundane level, some fleet tender designs have a command section that can separate from the attached repair platform and operate on its own, although this is generally less for combat and more for emergency situations; serious military application tends to be more limited to unique BattleStar-type designs like [=OLD MAN=][[note]](hemisphere with twelve detachable rectangular platforms extending outwards from the base)[[/note]], the [=SOL=][[note]](cylindrical central section connecting two spheres)[[/note]], or the [=GILGAMESH=][[note]](splittable dodecahedron with a central section for thirteen parts total)[[/note]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* Sally from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' can detach her sew-together arms or legs, although she's a noncombatant who uses this power for escape or distraction.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' the saucer of the ''Galaxy''-class can separate and fight independently of the stardrive. However the saucer section is only seen participating in combat in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II". On all other occasions it is used as a large escape pod for the non-combatants like the families of the crew. Which was the original intention of the saucer separation feature; using it as an actual weapon was a tactic of desperation.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' introduces the ''Prometheus''-class escort, a "one-ship task force" capable of separating into three independently warp-capable sections for combat. Once split apart, the three component ships can surround an enemy vessel to create a devastating crossfire.
* The villain in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "I Fall to Pieces" could do this.

* Parodied in the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' parody ''Den Ace''. One of the finishing moves of the titular character involves detaching his head and throwing it at his enemy, after which it returns to him in a boomerang like fashion.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'': U4 Majin Buu.

** In Part 7, Mountain Tim can do this with his rope, Hot Pants can separate her body parts with her flesh spray, and Blackmore can do this in rain (which he likes to use for sneak attack biting). Needless to say, [[Creator/HirohikoAraki Hirohiko Araki]] is fond of this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'': The RECR could separate its limbs and torso and later recombine.

* The Yellow Devil and its variations in the ''VideoGame/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.

** One of Sirene's signature attacks in the ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' series is her ability to fire off her arms at opponents. She can use the detached arm to grab enemies and immobilise them, as seen when she used it on Ryo Asuka to stop him interfering in her fight with Devilman, or use her antennae to direct the arm towards opponents as a wickedly sharp missile or DeadlyDisc to tear straight through them.

* Creator/GoNagai woks:

* MFEnterprises' Captain Marvel could separate any of his limbs from his body by yelling "Split!", as shown in the page pic; to reunite, he'd shout "Xam!". (No relation to [[{{Shazam}} Fawcett's]] or [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Marvel Comics']] characters with the same name.)

* The classic (fourth edition!) ''TabletopGame/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]].

** Overlord (AKA Gigatron) is a massive self-combiner - his robot mode is made of two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet. The two combine into a huge robot that stands head and shoulders over Optimus Prime while ''combined with his trailer''. As with Magmatron, Overlord's two vehicle parts typically attack on their own but can strategize due to being shared by a single consciousness.

* ''Gatchaman'', called ''Anime/BattleOfThePlanets'' in the West. The five heroes can either go into battle in their individual craft, or combine into their super vehicle.

** And if you get overwhelmed by them your head gets torn off and it's head replaces it.

* In his fight with Sunny, Tommyrod from ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' loses his hand. Then turns out, he deliberatly let this happen, so his hand (which can live on it's own for few hours, due to insect-like nervous system of Tommyrod) can attack enemy from behind. Surprisingly, Sunny [[spoiler:been doing exact same thing with strains of his hair, that Tommyrod ripped off earlier]]

* The titular character of the ''Literature/OrsonCart'' series, a boy who was hit by a [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive]] lawn mower and can now seperate his body parts at will.

* Arcee from ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' does this, but there is a degree of ambiguity as whether she's this or a CombiningMecha. 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.