History Main / ThePenIsMightIEr

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy and Willow have used pencils to take out vampires. Telekinetically, in Willow's case.

* In the ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' manga, [[ZenSurvivor Shogo Kawada]] managed to finally [[spoiler:kill the CompleteMonster director Yomeni Kamon with a pencil by stabbing at his throat]].

* In the ''BattleRoyale'' manga, [[ZenSurvivor Shogo Kawada]] managed to finally [[spoiler:kill the CompleteMonster director Yomeni Kamon with a pencil by stabbing at his throat]].

* In the revived ''BattlestarGalactica'', Felix Gaeta, asking Gaius Baltar about the path to Earth in the latter's prison cell, tries to kill Baltar with a pen, stabbing him in the neck, but missing the carotid artery. This leads to something of a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moment of Funny]] on Baltar's part during his trial, when, after Felix perjures himself on the stand, Baltar says (or more accurately, screams), "The whole fleet knows this man tried to stab me through the neck -- and you missed! Butterfingers!"

* In the first of the [[TheBourneSeries Jason Bourne]] films, Bourne surprises a knife-wielding assassin with a pen to the hand, causing him to drop the knife.

* In the revived ''BattlestarGalactica'', Felix Gaeta, asking Gaius Baltar about the path to Earth in the latter's prison cell, tries to kill Baltar with a pen, stabbing him in the neck, but missing the carotid artery. This leads to something of a SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny on Baltar's part during his trial, when, after Felix perjures himself on the stand, Baltar says (or more accurately, screams), "The whole fleet knows this man tried to stab me through the neck -- and you missed! Butterfingers!"

-->--'''TheJoker''', ''Film/TheDarkKnight''

* Killer Bee of ''{{Naruto}}'' is capable of using [[ShockAndAwe electricity]] and [[VibroWeapon vibrations]] to turn any pointed object into a deadly weapon, including the pencil he uses to write down lyrics which he managed to throw ''[[http://read.mangashare.com/Naruto/chapter-470/page012.html through a tree trunk]]''.

* Pretty much any solid object within two meters of Lucy in ''ElfenLied'' becomes a deadly implement. This is first demonstrated with pens during the [[FullFrontalAssault infamous]] [[{{Gorn}} escape]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment scene]].
* During her stint as a schoolteacher, Yoko from ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' manages to throw a piece of chalk so hard, ''it imbeds itself in the opposite wall''. Nobody gets hurt, but [[BadassTeacher damn if it doesn't make the kids focus on their work]].

** In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', TheJoker's "magic trick" involves making a pencil disappear...[[EyeScream into the eye of one of the Gotham Mob's thugs]]. ''Eraser end first.''

* Also in the spinoff ''{{Angel}}''.

* In an episode of ''BurnNotice'', Michael escapes a room full of bad guys using only a pencil. How? [[spoiler: He holds it against the bad guys' leader's neck, and threatens to punture the guy's artery unless they let him go.]]

* [[AllThereInTheManual In the sound novel of]] ''[[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Turn of the Golden Witch]]'', Rosa uses a sawed off rifle, a purse [[spoiler:with a bar of gold inside]] and a ''fountain pen'' to [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome fight off the goat butlers summoned by Beatrice.]]]]

* In one of the ''{{Halloween}}'' comics by Chaos, a young Michael Myers gouged out a fellow mental patient's eye with a crayon.

* The titular character in ''PsychoCopReturns'' kills one of his victims with a pencil into the eye.

* In ''Film/FridayThe13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'', FinalGirl Rennie manages to fend Jason off at one point by stabbing him in the eye with a pen.

-->--'''TheJoker''', ''{{The Dark Knight|Saga}}''

** In ''{{The Dark Knight|Saga}}'', TheJoker's "magic trick" involves making a pencil disappear...[[EyeScream into the eye of one of the Gotham Mob's thugs]]. ''Eraser end first.''

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* ''{{Discworld}}'': Ankh-Morpork Patrician Olaf Quimby II had his reign ended when he was killed by a disgruntled poet during an experiment to test the truth of the saying "The pen is mightier than the sword". In his memory, it was amended to read: "The pen is mightier than the sword only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp."

** Shirley from ''TalesOfLegendia'' uses feather pens as her weapons of choice, but lacks any artes that actually make direct use of them.

* In World 3 of ''FancyPantsAdventures'', Fancy Pants Man takes [[CreatorCameo Brad Borne]]'s pencil and uses it to collapse an otherwise BrokenBridge. It's surprisingly effective compared to the local ninjas and pirates, who use actual swords.

--> '''Fred''': Angel killed him with a pen.

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy and Willow have used pencils to take out vampires.

** In one book, a [[RunningGag running gag]] is a vampire who keeps filing personal-injury complaints against his employers. Apparently he chose to work in places such as a holy water dispensary, a garlic farm, and a ''pencil factory''.

* In ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'', Kim Bauer deals with a woman who is holding her hostage by stabbing her in the leg with a pen. Said woman is then shot by the police.

* ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' wields the Pen Module on his right leg. [[MST3KMantra Enough said]].
** To elaborate, said Rider tries to use it, but instead writes the word Baka on a window. Then we find out that whatever is written with said pen becomes solid, making them ''very'' useful as shields or just even using the ink to clog petrification lasers.

* Pretty much any solid object within [[InformedAbility two meters]] of [[ElfenLied Lucy]] becomes a deadly implement. This is first demonstrated with pens during the [[FullFrontalAssault infamous]] [[{{Gorn}} escape]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment scene]].
* During her stint as a schoolteacher, Yoko from TengenToppaGurrenLagann manages to throw a piece of chalk so hard, ''it imbeds itself in the opposite wall''. Nobody gets hurt, but [[BadassTeacher damn if it doesn't make the kids focus on their work]].

* In OnePiece, Mad Monk Urouge wields something that looks like a stone column. WordOfGod says that it's a pencil and he is looking for a sharpener.

* A non-lethal version occurs in ''Film/TheRunningMan'' when a {{jerkass}} attorney gets ArnoldSchwarzenegger to sign some documents before he's led off to certain death. There's no table so he tells Arnie to use his back. Arnie signs the documents, then puts in the full stop by stabbing the pen into the lawyer's back, causing him to run off screaming (with the pen still stuck in him) with Arnie commenting "Don't forget to send me a copy."

A subtrope of ImprovisedWeapon. May be used by an ImprobableWeaponUser or a CombatPragmatist.

* In ''{{Anime/Monster}}'', when the conversation veers towards Johan, a serial killer ends an interview with his psychologist with a pen. The psychologist gets away with a scare, but not for lack of success on the other man's part...

* In ''{{Durarara}}'', Seiji stabs [[MadeOfIron Shizuo]] with pens in both knees and through his palm. Shizuo shrugs it off, and walks away wondering if he'll need a band-aid.

** In ''{{The Dark Knight|Saga}}'', {{the Joker}}'s "magic trick" involves making a pencil disappear...[[EyeScream into the eye of one of the Gotham Mob's thugs]]. ''Eraser end first.''

* The protagonist of ''The Lost Empire'' (also known as ''The Monkey King'') acquires a magical pen that can expand into a sword. The trope title is in fact referenced, though in practice the sword-form is mightier.

** This is played with later, when in the fourth-act scene after Gaeta stabs Baltar, he asks someone for a pen. It's believed that after the incident with Baltar, Gaeta has been forbidden to carry pens on his person.

* Also in the spinoff ''{{Angel}}''.

* In ''[[TheLostRoom The Lost Room]]'', one of the Objects is a pen which can microwave people, which a small-time crime boss uses to enforce order.

* Beryl Benito, ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Hearts}}'', has to get extra credit. Her EmpathicWeapon is a massive paintbrush, taller than she is, which is waved at the enemy, applied to their faces, drawn magic circles with, or simply used as a heavy bludgeoning instrument. In a skit, she even declares that "They say 'the brush is mightier than the sword'!"

* Ma Dai from ''{{Dynasty Warriors}} 7'' uses a giant paintbrush as a weapon.

* GaiusJuliusCaesar stabbed one of his assassins with his stylus (a pointy thing for writing on wax tablets) before dying.

* ''KamenRiderFourze'''s eponymous Rider wields the Pen Module on his right leg. [[MST3KMantra Enough said]].

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Relm]] does her one better and kills people with both her brush and ''her drawings''.

* ''GetSmart'' - Max sticks a sword-wielding KAOS agent with a pen carrying a paralysis drug, and says...well, you know...

A subtrope of ImprovisedWeapon. May be used by an ImprobableWeaponUser or a CombatPragmatist. May invoke HighOctaneNightmareFuel, depending on how it is used, as the pen is rarely a ''clean'' weapon.

** In ''{{The Dark Knight|Saga}}'', {{the Joker}}'s "magic trick" involves making a pencil disappear...[[EyeScream into the eye of one of the Gotham Mob's thugs]]. ''[[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Eraser end first.]]''

* [[{{Firefly}} The R. Tam Sessions]]. "[[HighOctaneNightmareFuel I'll have to write it down.]]"

* A non-lethal version occurs in ''TheRunningMan'' when a {{jerkass}} attorney gets ArnoldSchwarzenegger to sign some documents before he's led off to certain death. There's no table so he tells Arnie to use his back. Arnie signs the documents, then puts in the full stop by stabbing the pen into the lawyer's back, causing him to run off screaming (with the pen still stuck in him) with Arnie commenting "Don't forget to send me a copy."
* In ''DeathRace'', Lists stabs a thug in the back with his pen during a fight, providing the vital distraction that allows the hero to turn the tide of the fight.

* The titular character in ''[[PsychoCop Psycho Cop Returns]]'' kills one of his victims with a pencil into the eye.

-->'''JamesBond''': Well, they said the pen is mightier than the sword.\\

** In ''NeverSayNeverAgain,'' Bond is equipped with an exploding dart pen.
* In ''{{Terminator}} 2'', Sarah Connor taunts her shrink about having previously stabbed him in the knee with a pen.

* During the tank battle of ''IndianaJones and The Last Crusade'', Indy's father uses his fountain pen to spray a German soldier in the face to blind him. Brody follows up by quoting the classic phrase.

* During the opening flashback detailing Danny Greene's life in KillTheIrishman, Danny's shown being {{Squick ''stabbed in the hand''}} by bullies, and keep in mind that he and said bullies are [[TeensAreMonsters High School age at best.]]

* During the opening flashback detailing Danny Greene's life in KillTheIrishman, Danny's shown being [[Squick ''stabbed in the hand'']] by bullies, and keep in mind that he and said bullies are [[TeensAreMonsters High School age at best.]]