History Main / PowerfulPick

* In AlitaBattleAngel, Dr. Ido uses a rocket-powered pick polearm as his weapon. The reach and additional power of the rocket enables its use against fully robotic opponents.

* Shit gets worse in ''Film/TheDescent'' when [[spoiler:Juno accidentally puts a climbing pick through her buddy's neck after a protracted fight with monsters. After said friend is found by another of Juno's friends [[YourCheatingHeart (who are now rivals because Juno slept with her husband)]] she gets hunted down in revenge.]]

In real life and fiction, some [[DropTheHammer warhammers]] and traditional axes also have a big spike on one side of their heads for punching through armor (and, on occasion, ribcages, heads and other things).

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s dwarfs use special axes: one side is a pickaxe, for prospecting; the other is a traditional axe, so you can stake your claim.

* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'': partially averted; pickaxes can be wielded as a weapon, but they are less effective than weapons made of the same metal. That being said, players frequently wield their pickaxes while mining, rather than simply wield another weapon, because it saves an inventory space that could be used to carry more ore. Also, some bosses have armor than needs to be broken with a pickaxe before you can actually start hacking away at it's HP with another weapon (though you can still use the pickaxe if you wish).

* The Grave Robber from ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' usually prefers throwing knives and darts for weaponry but carries a pickaxe as well. Presumably it's for breaking into mausoleums and the like, but it's just as effective at smacking the local {{Eldritch Abomination}}s very hard in the face. The pickaxe attack skill has the bonus of ignoring enemy PROT, making it very useful against armored opponents.

* The Grave Robber from ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' usually prefers throwing knives and darts for weaponry but carries a pickaxe as well. Presumably it's for breaking into mausoleums and the like, but it's just as effective at smacking the local {{Eldritch Abomination}}s very hard in the face.

-->--''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', Pickaxe description

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', picks are popular weapons among those of the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarven]] persuasion, an outgrowth of their traditional profession of mining. They are known for low damage but very powerful {{Critical Hit}}s (comparable to a [[SinisterScythe scythe]]). Ironically, picks' low damage means they're unable to damage stone without extraordinary strength, making them useless to use as actual picks. One would assume that they ignore the hardness of stone, like axes do with wood, but it's never specifically stated.

-->--''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', Fire Pickaxe description

* ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'': In "Tribute for the Pharaoh", Modesty and Willie are ambushed by a pair of crooks who were looting a tomb. The one who attacks Modesty is wielding a pick, and actually gets the best the best of her before an intervention from Willie tips the balance in her favour.

* Film/Alien40thAnniversaryShorts''. In "Ore", a female miner tries to land a blow on a Xenomorph using her mining pick. The alien is nimble enough to avoid most of her blows, but when she does hit the target [[GoryDiscretionShot we hear a scream and see an acid-scorched pick hit the ground]].

* The killer in ''Film/DeathOnDemand'' uses an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_axe ice axe]].

A SubTrope of ImprovisedWeapon and closely related to ShovelStrike, pickaxes are tools used to break up rocks and earth but like most handheld objects can easily be appropriated as a weapon. Like the sledgehammer, which is highly similar in use, most pickaxes are far too heavy to wield effectively against an armed or skilled opponent. On the other hand, it's large size and shape make it highly intimidating, and against slow moving enemies like zombies its power and ease of use make it a brutal skull-smashing machine. (That is, unless the spike gets stuck). While usually not as sharp as a conventional melee weapon, the narrow spike and heavy head of the pick make it [[AntiArmor effective against armor]]. Because of their original purpose, they're also exceptionally sturdy and not as likely to break as other improvised weapons. Ice picks, used as a climbing aid in icy regions, are also covered by this trope. Though smaller than mining picks, their blades will tend to have a sharper edge and the weapon will be easier to both control and conceal.

* In ''Film/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', Buzz attempts to take down the Phantasm with a pick he grabs from a wheelbarrow of tools in the cemetery. It doesn't work.

* Many of the people executed in [[TheKillingFields Pol Pot's killing fields]] were killed with pickaxes, rather than having a bullet wasted on them.