History Main / RejectedByTheEmpathicWeapon

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': In the anime-only Doma arc, the Pharaoh attempted to defeat Weevil by fusing The Eye of Timaeus with Celtic Guardian (which was turned into a Poison Butterfly by Weevil). Timaeus doesn't cooperate because [[spoiler:of what happened in the Pharaoh's duel with Rafael: he used the Seal of Orichalcos, only to lose Yugi's soul]]. [[note]]Furthermore, The Eye of Timaeus can only fuse with specific Spellcaster monsters.[[/note]] It took until a visit to the valley of lost spirits for Timaeus to trust him again.

* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Mjolnir has deemed Thor unworthy to wield it multiple times, most famously in his first [[Film/{{Thor}} MCU film]], where it forms the core of his character arc.

In both of the above scenarios, you can fully expect the old user to '''not''' react well to [[EtTuBrute their weapon's betrayal]]. In better cases, this will eventually lead them to a [[JerkassRealization Jerkass]] or HeelRealization, where they go on a path of redemption that will allow them to eventually regain their old partner's trust, if not find a better one for themselves. On the opposite end of the spectrum though, the former wielder will go through a SanitySlippage, either [[EntitledToHaveYou obsessing that the weapon be returned to them]] or seeking a just as if not more powerful one that's [[EvilWeapon more in control of them]] than the other way around.

-->-- '''Agahnim''', ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Akira Himekawa)]]''

** In the adaptation of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', Agahnim turns Ghanti into the hydra Trinexx and sets her on Link. When Link gives Trinexx a near-mortal wound with the Master Sword and realizes too late what it really is, he gives into his hate for Agahnim, something that causes the sword to reject him [[spoiler:until Zelda breaks free from her CrystalPrison and gives him a CoolDownHug]].

You see, while it might ''sound'' like a good idea to give a powerful weapon or creature enough sentience that they are [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield capable of choosing their user]], and [[ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter usually is]], apparently some of them are just as a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter as humans can be, with their wielder turning out to be not as great as they thought. To be fair, however, it's possible their "[[TheChosenOne Chosen One]]" may have initially had some promise as a hero and/or had shown that they had some [[NobleDemon redeeming qualities despite their otherwise (seemingly) vile nature]]. Somewhere down the line, though, their user either TookALevelInCynic or went through a FaceHeelTurn that caused them to [[FallenHero lose those heroic attributes]]. So what does the weapon do? [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Try to jump ship, of course]].

You see, while it might ''sound'' like a good idea to give a powerful weapon or creature enough sentience that they are [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield capable of choosing their user]], apparently some of them are just as a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter as humans can be, with their wielder turning out to be not as great as they thought. To be fair, however, it's possible their "[[TheChosenOne Chosen One]]" may have initially had some promise as a hero and/or had shown that they had some [[NobleDemon redeeming qualities despite their otherwise (seemingly) vile nature]]. Somewhere down the line, though, their user either TookALevelInCynic or went through a FaceHeelTurn that caused them to [[FallenHero lose those heroic attributes]]. So what does the weapon do? [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Try to jump ship, of course]].

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts1'': The first game zigzags this a bit before playing it straight. As it turns out, [[TheHero Sora]] ''wasn't'' the one who was supposed to get the Keyblade, but rather his best friend Riku. However, after Riku's desire to see the outside world led to Destiny Islands being plunged into darkness, the Keyblade ended up choosing Sora instead. In spite of this, when Riku first meets with Sora after this incident, Riku is briefly shown to be able to take the Keyblade from Sora despite its OnlyTheChosenMayWield nature before playfully tossing it back to Sora and leaving. Once the two of them meet at the entrance of Hollow Bastion, Riku takes the Keyblade back in full after stating that Sora was just the "[[PretenderDiss delivery boy]]," with Donald and Goofy abandoning Sora in order to "follow the key" like they were told. After a pep talk from [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast the Beast]], Sora goes to confront Riku once more, with the latter attacking the former for his trouble. Luckily, Goofy defends Sora and Donald joins them soon after, leading Sora to understand ThePowerOfFriendship and making the Keyblade decide that Riku isn't worthy after all. And would you believe this is one of the ''less'' complicated storylines of this series?

* ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'': The series has the central setting of "the Chalk", where most riverbank encounters with [[LivingFigurehead the Wintersmith]] will invariably result in the already-practicing witches being BlessedWithSuck, showered with runic glory hexes before being forced to assemble a LotusEaterMachine for the other witches, or having their title of "witch" taken away unless they're able to use a non-living replica of the Wintersmith in improvised battle. This turns out to be unnecessary, as the [[EldritchAbomination Cunning Man]] hasn't gotten rid of any of the shovels used to pluck the hardened, wilting weeds (the sucky first possible option of the aforementioned three given by the Wintersmith), so an attempt by [[CulturedBadass Wee Mad Arthur]] to use the shovel to hack the non-replica into pieces and give it to the Cunning Man as a form of mockery results in the replica smashing the shovel against his face. The Wintersmith [[ExactWords didn't say anything about]] non-living ''and'' non-perpetually-moving (while gaining momentum at random points), after all.

* ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'': PlayedForLaughs in a ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' magazine write-up of the characters, which reveals that Yeagar's sword is a powerful, intelligent holy weapon with the ability to turn undead, heal disease, and several other powers. It initially was disgusted being wielded by DumbMuscle Yeagar, but its attempt to leave ended up accidentally killing a particularly pious cleric, so now the sword is catatonic with guilt.

* ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'': PlayedForLaughs in a ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' magazine write-up of the characters, which reveals that Yeagar's sword is an intelligent holy weapon with the ability to turn undead and heal disease, but being owned by DumbMuscle like Yeagar has rendered it catatonic.

* In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess2016'', the Master Sword rejects Link when he becomes a BloodKnight and allows Dark Link to manifest.

** Wands' preference for particular masters becomes a major plot point in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' and ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. [[spoiler:Through a series of disarmaments, Harry ends up the master of the most powerful wand in the world, the Elder Wand. This saves him at the critical moment when Voldemort tries to kill him with it, but instead the wand backfires the spell on Voldemort instead [[JustifiedTrope because he misread the chain of succession, twice]]: He thought that since Dumbledore was the master in ''Half-Blood Prince'' and therefore when Snape killed Dumbledore, Voldemort would inherit control since Snape (he thought) did it on his orders. When the Elder Wand underperforms, Voldemort kills Snape to be sure. In fact, Draco Malfoy had disarmed Dumbledore before Snape got there and the Elder Wand had counted ''that'' as defeating him, then Harry disarmed Malfoy and therefore Snape was never the wand's master to begin with.]]

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'': The series zigzags this a bit before playing it straight. As it turns out, [[TheHero Sora]] ''wasn't'' the one who was supposed to get the Keyblade, but rather his best friend Riku. However, after Riku's desire to see the outside world led to Destiny Islands being plunged into darkness, the Keyblade ended up choosing Sora instead. In spite of this, when Riku first meets with Sora after this incident, Riku is briefly shown to be able to take the Keyblade from Sora despite its OnlyTheChosenMayWield nature before playfully tossing it back to Sora and leaving. Once the two of them meet at the entrance of Hollow Bastion, Riku takes the Keyblade back in full after stating that Sora was just the "[[PretenderDiss delivery boy]]," with Donald and Goofy abandoning Sora in order to "follow the key" like they were told. After a pep talk from [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast the Beast]], Sora goes to confront Riku once more, with the latter attacking the former for his trouble. Luckily Goofy defends Sora and Donald joins them soon after, leading Sora to understand ThePowerOfFriendship and making the Keyblade decide that Riku isn't worthy after all. And would you believe this is one of the ''less'' complicated storylines of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''?

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': A Downplayed|Trope throughout the series. Attempting to use sources of raw magical power, such as the Element of Magic (Sunset Shimmer in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1 the first film]]), the Everfree geodes (Gloriosa Daisy in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree Legend of Everfree]]''), or collected magical essences (human Twilight Sparkle in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames Friendship Games]]'') '''does''' give unworthy users immense magical power -- but does so by corrupting them into [[DarkMagicalGirl unhinged, demonic beings]], with their original personalities grotesquely exaggerated or subsumed entirely. In Sunset and Twilight's cases, the experiences left severe emotional scars. Worthy users, by contrast, can use these same sources while maintaining self-control and only undergoing milder, magical girl-style transformations, as seen with the Rainbooms with the geodes and (the redeemed) Sunset Shimmer with the magical essences.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': {{Downplayed|Trope}} throughout the series. Those who attempt to use sources of raw magical power, such as the Element of Magic (Sunset Shimmer in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1 the first film]]), the Everfree geodes (Gloriosa Daisy in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree Legend of Everfree]]''), or collected magical essences (human Twilight Sparkle in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames Friendship Games]]'') '''does''' give an unworthy user immense magical power -- but does so by corrupting them into [[DarkMagicalGirl unhinged, demonic beings]] that exaggerate or subsume their original personalities. In Sunset and Twilight's cases, the experiences left severe emotional scars. Worthy users, by contrast, can use these same sources while maintaining self-control and only undergoing milder, magical girl-style transformations, as seen with the Rainbooms with the geodes and (the redeemed) Sunset Shimmer with the magical essences.
--> '''Twilight Sparkle:''' Magic turned you into something beautiful. The last time I tried to use it, it turned me into a ''monster''. I'm just so afraid it's gonna happen again.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'' plays with this when the BigBad, Sunset Shimmer, gains Twilight's [[CoolCrown Element of Magic]] in the movie's climax. Being an AmplifierArtifact, the crown's power is (theoretically) morally neutral... were it not for being an [[MadeOfGood Element of Harmony]]. Sunset is magically gifted enough that the Element still partially works, but the conflict between its nature and her own ends up [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil destroying her sanity]] and [[OneWingedAngel transforming her into a demon]]. After being defeated and separated from the Element's power, Sunset has a ''massive'' HeelRealization, fully realizing the implications of an artifact powered by goodness ''[[PersonalHorror literally transforming her into a monster]]''.

** ''Literature/TheIcewindDaleTrilogy'': At the end of ''The Crystal Shard'', Akar Kessell attempts to use the titular artifact while standing on deep snow and falls through once the energy makes it melt. He attempts to grip and use the artifact as he falls, but after all the failures, the Shard pushes away such an unworthy wielder.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': The Darksaber, originally introduced in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' but most relevant to ''Series/TheMandalorian'', is a unique lightsaber that is reputed to have a will of its own, preferring an owner with the motive to rule Mandalore (Creator/DaveFiloni's WordOfGod about the storyline supports this interpretation, and it seems to fit with Disney-era canon's lore regarding the kyber crystals that act as the cores of lightsabers). Less ambitious wielders like [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Sabine Wren]] and [[Series/TheMandalorian Din Djarin]] find the weapon heavy in their hands, while those who seek to rule like Maul and Bo-Katan Kryze swing the Darksaber as easily as their own limbs. Additionally, the Darksaber may curse the wielder if the weapon was not earned through combat. Bo-Katan being ''given'' the Darksaber by Sabine in ''Rebels'' is blamed by the Armorer for the genocide of the Mandalorians by the Empire. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane This is, however, subject to interpretation]]: it's not like the Empire has ever had any problems with enacting DisproportionateRetribution for resistance before ([[spoiler:and it ultimately turns out in season 3 of ''Series/TheMandalorian'' that Moff Gideon wanted Mandalore's [[{{Unobtainium}} beskar]] reserves for the Empire's sole use and would have wiped out the Mandalorians regardless of possession of the Darksaber]]).

* ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersOnceAndAlways'': After three seasons of unquestioned loyalty, Minh, Trini's daughter and (kind of) inheritor of the Yellow Ranger morpher, is the first person to show that the morphers themselves ''can'' and ''will'' reject the unworthy. This behavior retroactively explains two of Zordon's three rules (never use the morphers for personal gain and never escalate a battle unless forced to, both of which were strictly adhered to in the original series); in either scenario, the Power Morpher, being made for the ''defense of others'', would reject such selfish and belligerent behavior and potentially leave the wielder vulnerable. Minh's main motivation is to exact revenge on the Robo-Rita, whom had killed her mother the previous year. [[spoiler:It isn't until Minh dives in front of a deadly blast in defense of Billy that the morpher unlocks, allowing her to become the new Yellow Ranger.]]

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
** ''Literature/StarWarsAhsoka'' introduces the concept of "bleeding" a lightsaber's kyber crystal (the practice is first demonstrated in ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader''), a practice necessary because kyber crystals are naturally attuned to the true Force, the "light side", rather than TheCorruption of the "dark side", and will therefore perform suboptimally for users of the dark side. "Bleeding" the crystal essentially consists of {{brainwashing}} it with negative emotions to bend it to the user's will, and also invariably turns the blade red, explaining the franchise's use of GoodColorsEvilColors. A lightsider such as Ahsoka can cleanse a previously bled crystal and restore it to the light side, which usually results in a white lightsaber blade.
** The Darksaber is a unique lightsaber that has a will of its own, and seeks an owner with the motive to rule Mandalore. Less ambitious wielders like [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Sabine Wren]] and [[Series/TheMandalorian Din Djarin]] find the weapon heavy in their hands, while those who seek to rule like Maul and Bo-Katan swing the Darksaber as easily as their own limbs. Additionally, the Darksaber may curse the wielder if the weapon was not earned through combat.

* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer'', all Phoenix Kings of the High Elves must step into the Flame of Asuryan, a magical fire that judges if they are worthy to lead the elves. Those who pass judgement are granted supernatural vitality and their body is saturated with magical energy. However, when Malekith claimed the right to lead elf-kind and attempted to pass through the Flame, it rejected him and his body was instead horrifically burnt, leaving him on the verge of death. In the End-Times campaign, this was ultimately revealed to be a subversion - Malekith ''was'' actually intended to be the Phoenix King and had he endured the flames for just a few moments longer, it would have accepted him and healed his injuries.