History Main / VariableLengthChain

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Amethyst's [[WhipItGood whip]] is as long as it needs to be, being anywhere from her height to ten times that length (in the same scene, even).

* In ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'', Yellow's fishing line. This would be averted if her rod had a reel, but no, her line is simply tied to the end of her rod.

** This also applies to other weapons such as Balrog Lune's whip, or the chains that the Libra Gold Cloth's shields have.

* From ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Mousse's entire fighting style consists of things stored in [[HyperspaceArsenal Hammerspace]], so it's not surprising that his arsenal contains chains which, when he does use them, shoot out rapidly and usually instantly wrap themselves around his target.

Lots of characters use chains and [[WhipItGood whips]], mostly [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon because it's cool]]. However, these often have the pesky problem of having limited reach, and if they're long they'll be heavy and bulky to carry. So how do you keep the cool while downplaying these inconveniences? By using Variable Length Chains! They grow long to reach a target, short when being carried, and even disappear entirely depending on needs.

** Andromeda Shun IS this trope. It's justified, in that his armor is mystic in nature and the chains are [[EmpathicWeapon somewhat]] [[EvilDetectingDog sentient]] on their own, but some of his attacks can get downright ridiculous. Really, the page picture doesn't do his mastery of this trope justice. In the Poseidon arc his fight with Io Scylla has him create a giant web of chains to stop an attack... and ''still'' have enough to attack Scylla. When idle, the lengths of the Nebula Chain hang about 1 or 2 feet long from each of his arms. However, he can unspool them to several dozen yards in a defensive ring around himself; by his own words, the chain can extend across the entire galaxy (and across dimensions!) to strike at a foe. D
uring the Dark Saints arc, when, after Seiya has fallen into a ravine, Shun pulls him up with one of his chains not by hoisting the chain up like rope, as anyone else would have done, but by ''retracting'' it into {{Hammerspace}} as if it were measuring tape. Shun did explain during the battle against the [[EvilCounterpart Cerberus Saint]] that the length and power of the chains is directly proportional to the amount of cosmos the user possesses, and if we take into account the flashback in which his teacher lectures him and his fellow trainees about how a Saint's cosmos is limitless... well, [[MoreThanInfinite you get the idea]]. And Shun loves to mention his chain can reach even ''different dimensions''.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Kyouko's [[WhipSword Whip Spear]].

[[caption-width-right:216:Andromeda Shun [[AccidentalInnuendo is into chains]]... ''[[NotWhatItLooksLike in a good way!]]'']]

* Shizuru Viola in ''Anime/MaiOtome'' has some sort of dual-bladed fighting stick (a bit like Darth Maul, only less - [[MagicFromTechnology or arguably more]] - teched up). Said blades discombobulate into chains of blade-chunks, but these appear to be variable-length and often greatly exceed the length of blade available when the weapon is in one piece. That said, all Otome technology seems to rely heavily on [[HammerSpace hammerspace]] so anything is probably possible.
** Her ''Anime/MaiHime'' incarnation's element (a [[BladeOnAStick naginata]] with WhipSword capabilities) also works this way, as she's able to swing it, wrap the blade around a bell several feet away several times, destroy the bell, and then wrap it aroind Natsuki before pulling it in.
* Nnoitra in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has a chain connecting his axe to his outfit, the length of which seems to vary.

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' has metal jaws on chains shooting from his wrists (though since we never see the other end of the chains, it overlaps with HyperspaceArsenal
** This is actually a combination of two weapons from Tadao Nagahama's previous SuperRobot show ''Anime/CombattlerV'', the Battler Gallager (jaws) and Choudenji Crane (actually a wrecking ball with a similar chain).
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s [[Anime/NarutoTheMovieGuardiansOfTheCrescentMoonKingdom third movie]], Lee combines a set of metal bars into nunchacks, then pulls them apart into a chain which is somehow long enough to wrap around a GiantMook and propel him high into the air.

** [[spoiler:Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki,]] could summon chains from her body powerful enough to hold down [[AnimalisticAbomination Tailed Beasts]]. Her distant clanswoman, [[spoiler:Karin]], later awakens the same ability. Tobi/[[spoiler:Obito Uchiha]], after gaining the Rinnegan, and [[spoiler:Madara Uchiha]], after his resurrection [[spoiler:and regaining his Rinnegan from Obito]], used this ability derived from power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to extract, reseal, and/or control the Tailed Beasts.
*** Justified on the basis that the chains are solidified constructs of chakra and they could generate chain links as long as they have sufficient energy to create and sustain them.
* Kurapika of ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' uses an arsenal of such chains in combat. Justified, as the in-universe magic (Nen arts & skills) features a school of controlling items and [[spoiler: averted as the chains are actually the manifestation of Kurapika's summoning Nen skill]]
* Andromeda Shun of ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' IS this trope. It's justified, in that his armor is mystic in nature and the chains are [[EmpathicWeapon somewhat]] [[EvilDetectingDog sentient]] on their own, but some of his attacks can get downright ridiculous. Really, the page picture doesn't do his mastery of this trope justice. In the Poseidon arc his fight with Io Scylla has him create a giant web of chains to stop an attack... and ''still'' have enough to attack Scylla. When idle, the lengths of the Nebula Chain hang about 1 or 2 feet long from each of his arms. However, he can unspool them to several dozen yards in a defensive ring around himself; by his own words, the chain can extend across the entire galaxy (and across dimensions!) to strike at a foe.
** Shun did explain during the battle against the [[EvilCounterpart Cerberus Saint]] that the length and power of the chains is directly proportional to the amount of cosmos the user possesses. Moreover, if we take into account the flashback in which his teacher lectures him and his fellow trainees about how a Saint's cosmos is limitless...well, [[MoreThanInfinite you get the idea]].
** Shun is definitely this along with the rest of saint from Andromeda Island, in sanctuary arc Shun's chain is capable to reach Saga in Pope's Chamber from Gemini Temple. And Shun loves to mention his chain can reach even different dimension, so don't ask how long...
** The Nebula Chain's "variable length" property is explicitly displayed during the Dark Saints arc, when, after Seiya has fallen into a ravine, Shun pulls him up with one of his chains --not by hoisting the chain up like rope, as anyone else would have done, but by ''retracting'' it into {{Hammerspace}} as if it were measuring tape.

* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', Sailor Venus' ''Love Me Chain'' is shown to work this way (justified via magic).
** And Tuxedo Mask has a Variable Length ''Cane''.

* Hades from ''Manga/FairyTail'' produces powerful magical chains from his hands as his signature magic. It's later revealed that before he used magic his preferred weapon was a chain-blade.

* Comicbook/GhostRider, possibly justified by the fact his chain in a magical artifact.

* In the ''Film/ScottPilgrim'' movie Roxy wears her chain whip as a belt when not in use. It seems to get a lot longer when she actually wields it.
** Considering that Ramona pulls a giant war hammer out of her purse a few seconds after Roxy shows off the belt, it could just be the Pilgrim-verse's CartoonPhysics coming into play.

* This is a justified trope with the monowire whips from ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}: Ultra-Tech'' can switch automatically from one to seven yards long, allowing the user to enjoy the benefits of different sized whips. It's justified because there is a spool of monowire in the whip, and being so thin it could be miles long.
** ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has it pretty much the same way.

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat''[='s=] Scorpion.
* The Belmont Clan's upgraded Vampire Killer whip in ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games.
** Some games also have the whip Nebula, which is a direct ShoutOut to the ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' version above, with the more common version of it automatically homing towards enemies.
* Kratos' dual swordchucks in ''VideoGame/{{God of War|Series}}'' have less than a foot of chain when on his back, and can become several dozen meters long when in BossBattle cinematics. Justified because the blades are explicitly stated to be magic.
* Selphie in ''VideoGame/{{Kingdom Hearts|I}}'', with a jump robe substituting for the [[FightingWithChucks nunchucks]] she wielded in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Interestingly, she doesn't have this trope in ''FFVII''.
* If this trope doesn't make you think of Ivy's weapon, then you haven't played ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]''. Sort of justified since she used alchemy and a fragment of [[EvilWeapon Soul Edge]] to forge it. The prototype that she made using only alchemy is so pathetic it's her [[JokeItem Joke Weapon]] in ''Soulcalibur II''.
** Oddly enough, while most examples of this trope grow infinite chain links, Ivy's weapon keeps the same number and stretches the length between them the further out her weapon extends.
* The Dark Prince's daggertail from ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' fits pretty well. In its normal form, it's a few links of spiked chain that are embedded in the Prince's arm, but the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Prince]] can lengthen them to a combat-worthy chain.

* [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Hookshot The Hookshot]] (and its variations, the Longshot and Clawshot) from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' certainly qualifies, given it both has a chain long enough, and strong enough, to carry Link a considerable distance, while not having a notable chain hanging out from the device itself. Not to mention that the weapon is one handed and (in the case of the Clawshot) [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Clawshot#Double_Clawshot can be]] [[DualWielding dual-wielded]].

* Axl Low from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is this, BIG TIME. In his [[IdleAnimation idle sprite]], the chain on his kusarigama is short enough that the whole thing isn't as long as he is tall. However, when battle comes around, some attacks can extend the chain the entire length of the screen! (And his [[OneHitKill Instant Kills]] show the chains stretching beyond ''that''.)
** His intro pose in ''Xrd'' additionally depicts Axl [[WeaponTwirling twirling]] [[SimpleStaff twin rods]] in his hands before [[BifurcatedWeapon linking them together]] to form a longer staff that's seen during a scant number of attacks in the ''XX'' installments. He then yanks on both ends to free the chains holding his weapon together, leaving Axl with his default kusarigama. Apparently, the chains are stored in {{Hammerspace}}.

* Dhelmise's [[AnchorsAway anchor]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is attached to such chain, and it uses it in an EpicFlail fashion. It is also used to coil around Pokémon during the Anchor Shot move, preventing them from escaping.

* On ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'', Linkara sent the "Scales of Justice" weapon image from ''ComicBook/JLAActOfGod'' to Spoony, who said one of the main things it would need to work was a ''much'' longer chain. Lo and behold this trope en effect when Linda Danvers uses it later, much to Linkara's frustration.
** Seeing as how the chain went from about a foot to six feet, it's ''really'' noticeable.
** Bear in mind that this is a universe where magic explicitly does not exist anymore.

* Pretty much any whip-type weapon in the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise, the most {{egregious}} being the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Gouf's]] heat rod (a metal tentacle that somehow all fits within a forearm only slightly larger than normal) and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Nataku's]] dragon fang (a dragon-shaped claw with a seemingly endless "chain" of red boxes, officially stated to be 250 meters in length).

[[folder:Music]]
Ludacris "whips" 'em in a video he's featured in, by Jesse McCartney. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bsXRqI1WbI How Do You Sleep]]
[[/folder]]

* Rider's chains in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' varied in length many times in any given scene. Also an example of ChainedByFashion.
** Also, we later find out that [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] the King of Heroes has some chains [[spoiler:called the chains of heaven in his [[HyperspaceArsenal vault]]]], said to be able to restrain [[spoiler: anything up to and including a god; in fact they're ''more'' effective against gods than against mortals]].

* In the Creator/DataEast UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Dark Seal'', the Knight can extend and twirl around his Morning Star very quickly.

* ''MortalKombat's'' Scorpion.
* The upgraded Belmont's Vampire Killer whip in ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games.
** Some games also have the whipo()xxxx[{::::::::::::::::::> Nebula, which is a direct shoutout to the Saint Seiya version above, with the more common version of it automatically homing towards enemies.
* Kratos' dual swordchucks in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' have less than a foot of chain when on his back, and can become several dozen meters long when in BossFight cinematics. Justified because the blades are explicitly stated to be magic.
* Selphie in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts''. Interestingly, she doesn't have this trope in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', the game she originates from.
* If this trope doesn't make you think of Ivy's weapon then you haven't played ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur.'' Sort of justified since she used alchemy and a fragment of [[EvilWeapon Soul Edge]] to forge it. The prototype that she made using only alchemy is so pathetic it's her Joke Weapon in ''[=SoulCalibur=] 2''.

** Also, we later find out that [[spoiler: Gilgamesh]] the King of Heroes has some chains [[spoiler: called the chains of heaven in his [[HyperspaceArsenal vault]],]] said to be able to restrain [[spoiler: anything up to and including a god; in fact they're ''more'' effective against gods than against mortals]].

* [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Hookshot The Hookshot]] (and its variations, the Longshot and Clawshot) from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' certainly qualifies, given it both has a chain long enough, and strong enough, to carry Link a considerable distance, while not having a notable chain hanging out from the device itself. Not to mention that the weapon is one handed and (in the case of the Clawshot) [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Clawshot#Double_Clawshot can be]] [[DualWield Dual Wielded]].

* Axl Low from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is this, BIG TIME. In his idle sprite, the chain on his kusarigama is short enough that the whole thing isn't as long as he is tall. However, when battle comes around, some attacks can extend the chain the entire length of the screen!
* ''VideoGame/NinjaSpirit'' has the Rising Dragon, a ''kusarigama'' whose chain can be extended and spun to sweep across the screen.

* In ''Webcomic/WickedAwesomeAdventure'', JET makes use of a variable-length [[http://www.wickedawesomeadventure.com/2010/06/117-use-hose-to-fill-terrarium.html rubber]] [[http://www.wickedawesomeadventure.com/2010/06/131-use-hose-lasso-with-plot-hook.html hose]].
* One of the bandits in ''WebComic/HeroOhHero'' uses a chain which expands from his sleeves. [[http://www.neorice.com/hoh_68 Not that it does him much good]].

* Dhelmise's [[AnchorsAway anchor]] in ''VideoGame/PokémonSunAndMoon'' is attached to such chain, and it uses it in an EpicFlail fashion. It is also used to coil around Pokémon during the Anchor Shot move, preventing them from escaping.

* ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'': The magical chain ''Spellbreaker'' used by protagonist Vlad Taltos, which aside from breaking enchantments, changes both the size and ''number'' of links when he's not looking. This is something that disturbs Vlad when he thinks about it too much.

** Some games also have the whip(sword) Nebula, which is a direct shoutout to the Saint Seiya version above, with the more common version of it automatically homing towards enemies.

* Hades from ''Manga/FairyTail'' produces magical chains from his hands as his signature magic.

* Employed by Choke Chain of ''MutantsAndMasterminds'''s META-4 setting due to her having been empowered by an agent of chaos.

* This is a justified trope with the monowire whips from ''{{GURPS}}: Ultra-Tech'' can switch automatically from one to seven yards long, allowing the user to enjoy the benefits of different sized whips. It's justified because there is a spool of monowire in the whip, and being so thin it could be miles long.

* Variable length or, "elasticity", is explicitly one of the qualities of e magical rope of ComicBook/WonderWoman's lasso of truth.

* In the "Alaskan Bull Worm" episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', Sandy uses a necklace-length piece of string to MacGyver a grappling hook for she and Spongebob to swing to safety on.

* A similar example to Sailor Venus' Love Me Chain is [[YesPrettyCure5GoGo Cure Lemonade's]] ''Prism Chain'', summoning a pair of two chains. Though, the chains are made of magical ''butterflies''.