History Main / TelescopingRobot

* ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' featured several such characters, usually cyborgs rather than robots. While the toys obviously kept the telescoping to the realm of physical possibility, their depictions in comics and cartoons frequently threw reason out the window.

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[[quoteright:320:[[WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TeenageRobot_telescoping.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[-[[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Where does she keep all those wonderful toys?]]-] ]]

When in trouble, or in need of opening a file of whoop-ass, a SuperRobot's limbs extend, armor appears, {{Death Ray}}s will sprout up from nowhere, hatches will open up in various parts of their bodies to reveal missiles (beware the missile ''codpiece'' and ''bustier!)'' and they become ten metric tons heavier than before. The cooler sequences will qualify as TechnologyPorn.

See also TransformingMecha, HyperspaceMallet, SwissArmyWeapon, ImpossiblyCompactFolding, RetractableWeapon, and ShapeshifterBaggage. Can lead to a MacrossMissileMassacre. Human-sized robots with this power are usually SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids and/or [[DoAnythingRobot Do Anything Robots]].

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Mazinger-Z has two extendable, razor-sharp axe blades (properly named Iron Cutter) embedded into its forearms, several drilling missiles stuck into its upper arms, and its belly has a hatch to launch MORE missiles from. And then you have his MidSeasonUpgrade JetPack, the Jet Scrander, which can shoot shurikens from the wings. Manga/NewMazinger (a one-shot story set on an alternative universe) went deeper in this trope, and in one scene, many hatches opened up all over its body, revealing dozens of missiles underneath.
** ''Anime/GreatMazinger'': Great Mazinger stores one sword in each shin, several cutting blades along its legs, and the buckle-like glass adorning its midsection is a hatch that opens up to launch a missile from. Oh, and two wings and a JetPack can unfold from its back.
** ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'': Grendizer has one scythe stored in each shoulder that can be joined to form a twin-ended weapon called the "Double Harken". The blades could also fly away as {{PrecisionGuidedBoomerang}}s. And that's still discounting all the weapons hid in its flying device.
** ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'': Mazinkaiser has THREE blades hidden in its body (two of them in its shoulders and the bigger one in its chest), and its midsection stores seemingly endless numbers of giant missiles (In Mazinkaiser's ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' appearances, The ammo counter for this attack was, at least once, set to ''99'').
* ''Anime/CombattlerV'': The HumongousMecha and the individual vehicles had more weapons than any other HumongousMecha. Its arms alone could store its fists, a three-pointed dagger to make its [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming move]] easier, an assortment of sharp projectiles, a blow-torch, a clamp...
** To drive the point home, Combattler's attack list in VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha was ''three pages long'' (most units barely fill one).
* ''Anime/VoltesV'': Its belt was in reality two whips, its midsection stored a couple of spinning tops, the ornament on its chest hid his sword's blade...
* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': The ornament on his chest were in reality two daggers, and they covered a hatch that opened up to reveal its ChestBlaster. [[ArmedLegs Its feet were armed with retractable spikes]]...
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''
** Gundam 0080 has a puzzling example of this near the end of the series, where [[spoiler:the Gundam NT-1's forearm-plate opens up to expose a set of minigun barrels that, themselves, could not fit in the forearm. It turns out that there are [[http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/File:Arm.jpg diagrams]] to explain the arm gun's operation...with still no explanation of how those long, protruding barrels fit under smaller, backward-sloping armor covers, but it at least explains how it carries ammunition, since the entire forearm's main support structure is...the ammo drum itself.]]
** ''Anime/TurnAGundam'': Turn A Gundam can similarly fit tons of weapons and other junk inside of it. Unlike most examples, this is justified, however, as the Turn A is almost completely hollow. It has virtually no internal mechanisms, using special [[SomeKindOfForceField I-field]] generators to move around. According to design notes, the Turn A actually has the power to teleport equipment from specialized arsenal bases into the multipurpose silos in its chest.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': The Shenlong Gundam and its MidSeasonUpgrade Altron Gundam can turn their arms into dragon's head-shaped claws, which are shown extending well beyond the length the arm segments would suggest. The ''Endless Waltz'' version of Altron has even longer range, but also a potential justification since the fangs are mounted on red, accordion-like segments which seem capable of telescoping or hiding within each other for storage space.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** Gurren Lagann! Giga Drill Breaker! They actually give it a HandWave in the that they're using "[[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning Spiral Energy]]", which is explicitly able to create matter out of nothing. [[spoiler:Which is also something of a deconstruction, as overuse of this will eventually result in "Spiral Nemesis", which will create so much energy and mass as to ''make the entire universe implode'']].
** Played straight with Viral and Kamina's second fight, wherein Viral responds to the Gurren-Lagann's boost of power by turning his Ganmen's face into guns.
* In ''Anime/GenesisOfAquarion'', the titular robot has an attack called the Infinite Punch, which causes Aquarion's arm to open up and another arm to extend out of it. Now imagine that new arm opening up and extending out its own. Repeat the process until Aquarion is able to stand 10 miles away from the enemy, throw a punch, then have that chain-punch extend to the point that it ''smashes the enemy into the moon''.
* ''Manga/GetterRobo'': The three forms of each Getter tend to look very little like their [[CombiningMecha component parts]] as well as nothing like each other, then there's the issue of [[ThisIsADrill all]] [[AnAxeToGrind its]] [[MacrossMissileMassacre weapons]]. [[HandWave Hand-waved]] by the use of Getter Rays which, in an idea later recycled by ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', will cause the universe to collapse if overused. The use of advanced nanotechnology is also shown, if Getter-1's transformation sequence from the OVA is to be believed.
** Nanomachines are an OVA-only explanation, the manga chalks it up to Getter Rays. That's also why Getter Go has no hidden weapons or illogical combinations -- it runs on plasma.
* Many of the megadei in ''Anime/TheBigO'' (including the title robot) can do this.
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': Both the anime and the manga versions of Chachamaru. Although she's primarily a quiet girl, at times she reveals anything from gatling guns to massive swords. These weapons can be as big as she is, at times. [[AWizardDidIt She is a ]]''[[AWizardDidIt magical ]]''[[AWizardDidIt robot, though]].
* The first in anime was the "Synchron System" in the J9 Trilogy (''Anime/{{Braiger}}'', ''Baxinger'', and ''Sasuraiger''), which enabled ordinary-sized cars and motorcycles to change into hundred-ton mecha.
** Much like ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', the mechanism behind this actually becomes a major plot point, as it also figures in a scheme to increase Jupiter's mass to the point where it could become a second sun.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the ''MarvelUniverse'', Machine Man is an android who is best known for his telescoping limbs in addition to other functions. He is [[DoAnythingRobot full of useful devices!]]
* Also from Marvel, the villain Stilt-Man wears a suit of robotic armor with extending legs. And this is his ''[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway only]]'' [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway super power]]. The second Scourge had telescoping legs in his bag of second-hand villain tricks, presumably based on Stilt-Man's design. The depowered mutant Tattoo showed up in the post-ComicBook/CivilWar ComicBook/NewWarriors team using PoweredArmor with extendable arms and legs, although she fared even worse than old Stilty, dying in one of the team's first battles. At least she didn't [[{{GroinAttack}} take an anti-tank missile to the nuts]].
* Yet another Marvel example: M-11, from ''ComicBook/{{Agents of Atlas}}'', a robot who's equipped with telescopic limbs, a DeathRay, and Electro-Hands, among other things.
* Finally, in ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}},'' Karima Shapandar looked like an ordinary human until she deployed her ''endless'' array of instruments of destruction. She got a redesign upon her move to ''Comicbook/XMen,'' though, sadly.
* ''Robotboy's'' Super Mode. When activated, asskicking ensues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'': The Iron Giant when in war mode. He at least has the space for most of it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* R2-D2 from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Every hatch, detail, bolt and panel opens up and has an improbable number of really nifty devices behind them. The Expanded Universe later justified it by saying that the R2-series of droids are designed to be highly modular. So presumably a lot of his tools get switched out or replaced offscreen or between movies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the first ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' novel, Jim [=diGriz=] asks his Special Corp robot if it has any compartments he can use to stash his clothes as he has to change into another disguise. The robot then appears to explode as all kinds of drawers and hatches open up in its body.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/SmallWonder'': VICI. Once she even began malfunctioning after extending her neck too much and getting a thingamajig disconnected
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The ''TabletopGame/{{Mekton}} Zeta'' RPG called this "Expanding Plasma" as a shout-out to ''Anime/{{Braiger}}''. (It's a line from its theme song.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' featured several such characters, usually cyborgs rather than robots. While the toys obviously kept the telescoping to the realm of physical possibility, their depictions in comics and cartoons frequently threw reason out the window.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* KOS-MOS from ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}.'' A mild subversion. While KOS-MOS does have a tendency to pull weapons out of "thin air" she actually justifies it for them. Her Knife and Gun are pre-equipped in compartments (she IS a robot and thus is not physically limited by the flesh rule) and her R-blade/Drill/Cannon are morphed from existing body parts. Her REALLY flashy weapons though are explained that she calls them through the U.M.N. and thus is essentially warping new weapons in from another place (not actually carrying them on her person) much in the same way as characters summon A.G.W.S. and E.S. units.
* The Clumsy Robot from ''Videogame/EarthBound'' is a cute little thing that would probably come up to your knee, and also contains enough ordnance to level a city block. And ''still'' has enough room for some sandwiches.
* In ''James Pond 2: Codename Robocod'', Robocod can extend his midsection to grab onto ceilings and high platforms.
* ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'': RobotGirl Aigis can pull chainguns, missle launchers, anti-air cannons, jetpacks and more out of her back.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', Some of TheEngineer's constructs, most notably the sentry gun, have this happen, mainly when being upgraded.
* In ''Videogame/SpaceEngineers'', concealing weapons underneath ship armor is very popular. On the other hand, the ship actually needs the internal space to fit the weapons and the mechanism to deploy them. It's also liable to end in disaster if the pistons or rotors jam, which can cause [[HoistByHisOwnPetard rockets to misfire straight into the delicate internals of the ships]]. The trailer for the UsefulNotes/XboxOne port has a space station with turrets that rise out from hidden ports.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}': Played straight by the "infinity" form of Spybot.
* ''Webcomic/BeyondTheCanopy'': Tiny Tin is a several-story-tall SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid capable of folding himself into a handheld sphere.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Soundwave in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' could go from a tape player to a 5 story robot, where does the extra mass come from, where does it go? [[ShapeshifterBaggage Who can know]]!
** This is indicative of ''Transformers'' in general. For instance, the original Megatron turns into a pistol which is then used by Starscream.
** Or more absurdly, by a human!
** In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated,'' Longarm earns his name by being able to extend his arms to great length (legs as well.) [[spoiler: This is only a small part of his shapeshifting abilities, which let him change his robot mode almost entirely, to hide the fact that he's actually Shockwave, Megatron's eyes and ears on Cybertron.]]
*** Swindle [[spoiler: and Sari after her upgrade]] display the more standard variant of massive amounts of weaponry folding out of their bodies.
** Transformers actually justifies it, if never explicitly in the shows. They all have a personal pocket dimension that holds the extra mass when they're not using it.
*** Including guns, optional hand attachments, all the various cassettes Soundwave and Blaster store in their chests, and Optimus Prime's trailer (before becoming a Powermaster)
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': [=XJ9=], known as Jenny to her friends, provides the page image for a reason. She can telescope her limbs and neck thousands of feet, [[LampshadeHanging sometimes attached to a giant spool as thick as she is tall]]. And we've lost count of how many weapons she has in her HyperspaceArsenal after about two hundred. The only real limit to her power is RuleOfDrama. First, she can't "retract" (if that's the right word) without some hardware work, which means she can't appear "skinny" (and since she's a ''teenage'' robot she considers this a problem). Second, adding more upgrades to her form (as she did compulsively in one episode) will start adding unsightly mass that restricted her movement.
* Bender in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' seems to have whatever abilities the plot needs, including arms that extend well beyond the plausible.
** Also in Futurama, the Masked Unit could do this: his day-to-day form is an unassuming robot, until Bender starts to insult him and he telescopes into his ''pro-wrestler'' form. (Strangely for a comic spot, this is one of the most realistic examples on the page, as the transformation only consists of [[FakeMuscles taking up more space]] and changing voice pitch. Robot pro-wrestling is [[{{Kayfabe}} entertainment]], after all.)
* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', while technically a cyborg, has telescoping arms and legs, as well as various tools that extend of all parts of his body.
* ''The Robonic Stooges'' had Film/TheThreeStooges as cyborg/robot/android secret agents with telescoping limbs and other built-in gadgets.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'':
** GIR of will occasionally deploy a plethora of weapons from his head.
** Zim's PAK (kept on his back) also contain an array of devices as needed, mainly his telescoping spider legs. [[note]]It also contains Zim! His mind runs on the hardware inside the PAK. The Irken body is an organic husk attached to their real computer brain. Yes, this is canon (and the reason Tak's consciousness could end up in her cruiser).[[/note]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'' loves this trope. Not only the Super Robot himself has it but also the monkeys, all able to transform their small hands into much larger weapons.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robotboy}}'': The main character goes from doll-sized to adult human-sized regularly and has a small army's worth of weapons.
* Bobert from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' can go from just a little shorter than Gumball, to a massive freaking, [[MoreDakka gun-covered]] battle form when he gets pissed.
* Frequently played straight and parodied (as everything else on the show) in ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject'': Zeta was designed as a KillerRobot who uses a HolographicDisguise to get close to his targets. His head and limbs can changes size to account for differently-sized individuals.
* Doctor Gross from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is a {{Cyborg}} whose "mods" work like this, with her proclaiming her "scissor hands" and "telescopic legs" to be no different than artificial hearts or glasses. [[spoiler: Her MixAndMatchCritters and protege Tiffany have similar abilities.]]
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' in "Jack VS Aku". One of the assassins ordered by Aku is a gigantic robot with a telescoping cannon built into his chest...that extends reeeeeally far. By the time it has fully extended, the bore of the barrel is so tiny that the bullet that comes out is the size of a pea and has almost no velocity leading it to bounce harmlessly off of Jack's sword. Moreover the comical length of the cannon cause the robot to lose balance and fall over. [[MadeOfExplodium And then he explodes]].
* The titular Big Guy from ''WesternAnimation/BigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot'' had telescoping Machine Guns, Missile Launchers, Thrusters, Grenades, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a lighter]] all built into his frame. He does have the bulk to contain it all within him, but it would effectively leave him an empty shell with no servos to actually move (let alone having enough structural integrity to sustain the amount of damage he does).
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In one episode, Mr. Cat experiments on Quack Quack (a duck) in a laboratory to give him telescoping limbs.
* ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder'': Dynomutt's most commonly displayed ability is his telescoping limbs.
[[/folder]]
----

* In the first ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' novel, Jim [=diGriz=] asks his Special Corp robot if it has any compartments it can use to stash his clothes as he has to change into another disguise. The robot then appears to explode as all kinds of drawers and hatches open up in its body.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

!Examples:

[[folder:Anime]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' when in war mode.
** He at least has the space for most of it.
* R2-D2 from ''[[StarWars Star Wars]]''. Every hatch, detail, bolt and panel opens up and has an improbable number of really nifty devices behind them.
** The Expanded Universe later justified it by saying that the R2-series of droids are designed to be highly modular. So presumably a lot of his tools get switched out or replaced offscreen or between movies.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/SmallWonder'': VICI. Once she even began malfunctioning after extending her neck too much and getting a thingamajig disconnected

* [[WesternAnimation/{{DynomuttDogWonder}} Dynomutt's]] most commonly displayed ability is his telescoping limbs.

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'': Both the anime and the manga versions of Chachamaru. Although she's primarily a quiet girl, at times she reveals anything from gatling guns to massive swords. These weapons can be as big as she is, at times. [[AWizardDidIt She is a ]]''[[AWizardDidIt magical ]]''[[AWizardDidIt robot, though]].

* Finally, in ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}},'' Karima Shapandar looked like an ordinary human until she deployed her ''endless'' array of instruments of destruction. She got a redesign upon her move to ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}},'' though, sadly.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{DynomuttDogWonder}} Dynomutt's]] most commonly displayed ability is his telescoping limbs.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Dynomutt}} Dynomutt's]] most commonly displayed ability is his telescoping limbs.

* ''WesternAnimation/DynoMutt Dyno-Mutt's]] most commonly displayed ability is his telescoping limbs.

* In ''Videogame/SpaceEngineers'', concealing weapons underneath ship armor is very popular. On the other hand, the ship actually needs the internal space to fit the weapons and the mechanism to deploy them. It's also liable to end in disaster if the pistons or rotors jam, which can cause [[HoistByHisOwnPetard rockets to misfire straight into the delicate internals of the ships]]. The trailer for the XboxOne port has a space station with turrets that rise out from hidden ports.

** Also in Futurama, the Masked Unit could do this: his day-to-day form is an unassuming robot, until Bender starts to insult him and he telescopes into his ''pro-wrestler'' form.

* ''TheIronGiant'' when in war mode.

* The ''{{Mekton}} Zeta'' RPG called this "Expanding Plasma" as a shout-out to ''Anime/{{Braiger}}''. (It's a line from its theme song.)

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Mazinger-Z has two extendable, razor-sharp axe blades (properly named Iron Cutter) embedded into its forearms, several drilling missiles stuck into its upper arms, and its belly has a hatch to launch MORE missiles from. And then you have his MidSeasonUpgrade JetPack, the Jet Scrander, which can shoot shurikens from the wings. NewMazinger (a one-shot story set on an alternative universe) went deeper in this trope, and in one scene, many hatches opened up all over its body, revealing dozens of missiles underneath.

* ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':

* ''Manga/GetterRobo'': The three forms of each Getter tend to look very little like their [[CombiningMecha component parts]] as well as nothing like each other, then there's the issue of [[ThisIsADrill all]] [[AnAxeToGrind its]] [[MacrossMissileMassacre weapons]]. [[HandWave Hand-waved]] by the use of Getter Rays which, in an idea later recycled by ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', will cause the universe to collapse if overused. The use of advanced nanotechnology is also shown, if Getter-1's transformation sequence from the OVA is to be believed.

** Much like ''GurrenLagann'', the mechanism behind this actually becomes a major plot point, as it also figures in a scheme to increase Jupiter's mass to the point where it could become a second sun.

* ''SmallWonder'': VICI. Once she even began malfunctioning after extending her neck too much and getting a thingamajig disconnected

* ''Persona4Arena'': RobotGirl Aigis can pull chainguns, missle launchers, anti-air cannons, jetpacks and more out of her back.

* Also from Marvel, the villain Stilt-Man wears a suit of robotic armor with extending legs. And this is his ''[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway only]]'' [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway super power]]. The second Scourge had telescoping legs in his bag of second-hand villain tricks, presumably based on Stilt-Man's design. The depowered mutant Tattoo showed up in the post-ComicBook/CivilWar NewWarriors team using PoweredArmor with extendable arms and legs, although she fared even worse than old Stilty, dying in one of the team's first battles. At least she didn't [[{{GroinAttack}} take an anti-tank missile to the nuts]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''.
** Ironically, despite appearing in the picture at the top of this page, Jenny could count as a subversion. In one episode she continually upgrades herself, but at the same time adds a ''lot'' of mass.
** Another time, it's played straight - she can telescope to ridiculous proportions but can't "retract" (if that's the right word) without some hardware work.

* In ''[[GenesisOfAquarion Genesis of Aquarion]]'', the titular robot has an attack called the Infinite Punch, which causes Aquarion's arm to open up and another arm to extend out of it. Now imagine that new arm opening up and extending out its own. Repeat the process until Aquarion is able to stand 10 miles away from the enemy, throw a punch, then have that chain-punch extend to the point that it ''smashes the enemy into the moon''.

* The ''{{Mekton}} Zeta'' RPG called this "Expanding Plasma" as a shout out to {{Braiger}}. (It's a line from its theme song.)