Line #129 Main/RayGun


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_10647k_8701.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Set phasers to "highly visible."]]
6
7	->''"Rays! From the silliness of the shrink ray to the devastation of the death ray, these are the very foundations of mad science!"''
8	-->-- '''Professor Medulla''', ''Film/SkyHigh2005''
9
10	[[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud PEW! PEW! PEW!]]
11
12	Any gun that shoots light, rays, waves, or something similar. Initially popular during the appropriately named RaygunGothic era of ScienceFiction, but back then it was based on pure {{Phlebotinum}}, as shooting such things from weapons wasn't known to be possible. In short, the ray gun was falling out of favor for being unrealistic. Then [[LifeImitatesArt the laser was discovered]] in TheSixties. Suddenly the ray gun was [[ScienceMarchesOn brought back]] from being a DiscreditedTrope.
13
14	But even now it's still treated as an ImpossiblyCoolWeapon, as lasers in fiction [[ArtisticLicensePhysics are often used in ways they can't really be]]. And while other ray guns do exist in RealLife (the US Army has been experimenting with microwave crowd dispersal wave generators, for example), they're still CoolButInefficient. However, they can very believably become practical in futuristic settings, where greatly improved science and technology would allow for the limitations to be far more easily overcome.
15
16	The term "ray gun" became a cliché even by the 1940s, having strong associations with ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'', ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' etc., and from at least Creator/EEDocSmith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' novels, was increasingly replaced by the more bad-ass-sounding generic "blaster," Smith himself generally choosing to refer to the weapons by their maker just as we would refer to a Colt or Smith & Wesson.
17
18	They are also popular as a form of FamilyFriendlyFirearms. One odd aspect of ray guns in a lot of fiction, especially animation and comic books, is that despite being much niftier-looking than a stream of bullets, [[AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe they're actually much less harmful to be struck by than a regular bullet would be.]] It's extremely common for CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth to get hit with an "energy beam" and fall down dramatically, but he will scarcely ever actually have a new hole burned through him, and a couple of scenes later we will see him pulling himself painfully to his feet again and saying something corny like, "Ow! Anybody get the license of the truck that hit me?" The effect seems more comparable to getting punched really hard than to actually getting shot. This is sometimes justified by the ray gun having a "stun setting," or by the hero wearing body armor or having [[NighInvulnerable super powers.]]
19
20	There actually are "real lasers" in weapons research and development -- like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-1 Airborne Laser]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_High_Energy_Laser THEL.]] These lasers are supposed to burn through targets (like missiles) and [[ShootTheFuelTank cause their fuel/warhead to explode]] or their airframe to disintegrate when it hits, although this is also a continuous beam and requires some time to work. Solid-state pulsed lasers are also in development, which fire bursts of energy and are lighter than fluid-based lasers, but harder to cool. Last but not least, the heat from a powerful laser wouldn't just burn through clothing or make a neat, bloodless, pin-sized hole. There's a common misconception that laser beams cauterize wounds, but real laser wounds are every bit as bloody as knife wounds. It can also cause the water in the body to boil, expand and rip the surrounding tissues apart, much like a high velocity bullet impact. There are also electrolasers under development, which ionize the air so that electric current can be sent along the beam's path. Ironically, all of these characteristics make lasers far more effective as weapons than their portrayal in most fiction, which is in fact the main reason that the military is developing them in the first place. It's also probably the main reason we're not likely to see realistic laser weapons in children's shows.
21
22	A SubTrope of EnergyWeapon, ImpossiblyCoolWeapon, and FantasticFirearms. A SisterTrope to LaserBlade. Contrast KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter, for settings where ray guns are CoolButInefficient.
23
24	A SuperTrope to:
25	[[index]]
26	* DeathRay
27	* DisintegratorRay
28	* FreezeRay
29	* HypnoRay
30	* LightningGun
31	* PlasmaCannon
32	* ReflectingLaser
33	* ShrinkRay
34	* TransformationRay
35	* WaveMotionGun
36	[[/index]]
37
38	Compare PureEnergy and also WeWillUseLasersInTheFuture when a ray gun is the best weapon in the setting.
39
40	Not to be confused with [[Manga/YuYuHakusho ReiGun]], [[MagneticWeapons Railgun]], [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan the president]], [[Franchise/StarWars Nute Gunray]] or [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion the Rei]] or [[ReiAyanamiExpy a Rei]] with a gun.
41
42	----
43	!!Examples
44
45	[[foldercontrol]]
46
47	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
48	* In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'', the Gamma androids use energy pistols called Gamma Blasters, in contrast to their rivals who use KiAttacks. Their creator, Dr. Hedo, created them in the same vein as superheroes, hence their chosen armaments.
49	* "Beam weapons" are ubiquitous throughout the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise: brightly-colored, slow-moving energy beams typically capable of melting through even the heaviest armor in a heartbeat. As beams are significantly slower than light and usually impossible to survive a direct hit from, tactics revolve around not getting hit in the first place and/or closing as fast as possible to melee range. In the original Universal Century timeline, they're identified specifically as particle beams utilizing the fictional Minovsky Particle that [[MinovskyPhysics makes all the technology of that timeline possible]].
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Comic Books]]
53	* ''ComicBook/AdamStrange'': Adam carries Rannian tech including a ray gun and JetPack.
54	%%* ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire'':
55	%%* ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'': Ray guns.
56	* ''ComicBook/{{Foolkiller}}'': Foolkiller's Purification Gun, a laser pistol with a 30 yard range able to disintegrate a man if directly hit or burn a hole in a reinforced brick wall in minutes.
57	%%* ''ComicBook/IgnitionCity'': Common among spacers, but tightly controlled.
58	* ''ComicBook/ReidFlemingWorldsToughestMilkman'': Reid receives a ray gun as a Christmas present from his mother. When he also receives a prank gift from Mr. Crabbe, Reid decides to try out his new ray gun on Crabbe's roof.
59	* ''ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}'': Ray guns were a thing for Marvel Comics in the '60s and '70s with minor threat every agent of S.H.I.E.L.D carrying plasma pistols as their main gun. In the 2000s, Marvel backed away from having a such a big jump in tech and so S.H.I.E.L.D began using carbines and machine guns with a futuristic aesthetic.
60	* ''ComicBook/{{Silverblade}}'': One member of the CarnivalOfKillers Vermillion hires to kill Milestone wields a laser gun
61	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol. 1]]: The Saturnians have [[ArtificialGravity Reverse Gravity]] Ray guns.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Fan Works]]
65	%%* ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace''. Megan Delaney goes into GunPorn detail while selling one to [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Captain Proton]], but [[SpecialEffectsFailure finds it difficult to tell them apart from common household objects]].%%Quotes aren't context. Describe in own words.
66	%%-->"Oh please," said Malicia. "Kinetic energy weapons are so passé. Why shoot nasty little holes in people when you can reduce them to their component molecules at the speed of light? Behold: the Mark One BEM-Blaster! It's light, sexy, and easily marketable as an action toy. The barrel has radiator fins for dumping excess heat and pleasing your girlfriend. A telescopic sight [[NoScope no-one bothers to use]]. Invisible power source [[ArtisticLicensePhysics violating all known laws of physics]]. Three settings: Melt, Vaporize, and [[DisintegratorRay Disintegrate]]. Ray focus is adjustable from fan-beam (for room-clearance and blinding photo-electronic equipment) to needle-beam (for slicing through hull plate and shooting nasty little holes in people)."\
67	%%"What are you babbling on about?" snapped Demonica. "That's your hairdryer, you insolent fool!"\
68	%%"Oh... sorry... well how about this one: the [[Series/BlakesSeven Blakes VII]] sonic lance."\
69	%%"And that's your curling iron!"\
70	%%"The [[Series/Space1999 Space M1999]] laser?"\
71	%%"Staple gun!"\
72	%%"The [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]] Phase R..."\
73	%%"Dustbuster!" everyone chorused.
74	* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': One of Dib's new teammates, Steve, eventually creates some makeshift energy guns for the team to use against the Irkens. At first, they're pretty unreliable, as they'll short out if used too much, but after a while he fixes this and starts using them regularly.
75	* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager'': Subverted. The only ray gun seen is a cumbersome crew-served weapon burdened with a nucleo-electric power pack, liquid-helium cooling coils and radiation-proof gunshield. Its beam is only visible when firing through smoke and ash, and is diffused by smoke and distance so when B'Elanna Torres (who is wearing tungsten alloy space armor) is fired upon it just sets off her radiation alarm.
76	* ''Fanfic/VoiceOfTheCondor'': Shortly after Tao turns on a slew of hidden functions in the Golden Condor, its [[SpaceshipGirl onboard AI]] busts out a rotating, sun-shaped energy turret in the Condor's neck to scare Lord Shimatsu. Towards the end, when faced with the [[EvilKnockoff Dark Condor]] and its superior Black Suns, Esteban has the Condor use its backup battery to overcharge the turret. It works well, but overheats the turret before long.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
80	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Blasters, the default ranged weapons in the setting, fire short slow-moving laser beams. Turbolasers are a more powerful ship-mounted variant, intended for use against other vessels or stationary targets.
81	%%* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'': The antimatter guns.
82	* ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' has Dex build one for the protagonist. It's unreliable and the shots are a parody of SpecialEffectsFailure: goofy slowly spreading rings straight out of period comics and cheap science fiction. However, it's very impressive at melting Totenkopf's robots.
83	* ''Film/TheHidden'': The good alien has a special type of gun that is required to kill the evil alien, but he needs it to leave its human host first as it incinerates their own kind but is harmless to human tissue.
84	* ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'': When Marty disguises himself as "[[ImMrFuturePopCultureReference Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan]]", you can see that he has a 1980s hair dryer tucked into his belt as though it were a ray gun of some kind. In a DeletedScene, he threatens George with it, claiming, "My heat ray will vaporize you if you do not obey me!"
85	* ''Film/The6thDay''. The "foosh gun" is a chemical laser handgun used by the villains (and later by the protagonist). While it has a [[RuleOfCool visible beam]], there's a [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome realistic effect]] of flames that vent from the sides of the handgun on firing, as waste gas from the chemical reaction is expelled.
86	* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
87	** ''Film/ManOfSteel'' has the Kryptonian plasma rifles and pistols that shoot mostly blue energy projectiles.
88	** ''Film/{{Justice\|League 2017}} [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague League]]'': Parademons pack plasma rifles that shoot mostly red energy projectiles, and they brought heavy turret guns of the same tech with them.
89	** ''Film/Aquaman2018'': Atlanteans developed water-powered blaster rifles technology. David Kane adapts this technology into the helmet of an armor that he develops, becoming Black Manta.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Literature]]
93	* Creator/EEDocSmith probably did more to popularize ray guns than any other single author back in the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
94	* Creator/IsaacAsimov:
95	** In one book they use "atomic ray guns" that apparently boil the blood of any organic thing hit until it explodes.
96	** "Literature/CChute": When Demetrios Polyorketes tries to ambush one of the Kloros that boarded their ship, it blasts him with a pinkish ray that leaves him paralyzed and in great pain.
97	** "Literature/TheFeelingOfPower": Technician Aub uses a protein-depolarizer on himself to [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide]]. The results [[BeigeProse aren't given in detail]].
98	** In the ''Literature/FoundationSeries'', they use Atom Blasters (shortened to just "blasters" in the later books, after the age of RaygunGothic had passed).
99	** ''Literature/TheStarsLikeDust'' (a very distant prequel to the ''Foundation'' series) also features "blasters". In the ''Foundation'' books and in ''The Stars, Like Dust'' these blasters very much avert the "Family-Friendly Firearms" type of Ray Gun; descriptions of the effects of a blaster on a human body tend to mention large parts of that body being blasted away, with other parts left "a charred remnant".
100	** "Literature/VictoryUnintentional": The Jovians greet the ZZ robots by opening fire with some sort of heat ray, raising the ambient temperature of their target ninety degrees centigrade (roughly 150 degrees Fahrenheit). The ZZ robots were built to be nearly indestructible, so they don't notice the effect immediately.
101	* In ''Literature/LoneHuntress'' Lisa prefers to remove her prosthetic limb before climbing into her PoweredArmor, replacing it with a ArmCannon containing an array of weaponry - a laser, a LightningGun, FreezeRay, and a LaserBlade all see use. The tradeoff is that all of them are connected to her armor's power supply, giving her a greatly reduced "ammo" capacity. By contrast, a standard laser rifle consists of a handle, a "barrel" that is actually the laser itself, and then a nice big battery for sustained firing.
102	* ''Literature/TheDreamsideRoad'':
103	** Orson carries a personal blaster, powered by the solar cell that fuels all of his electric weaponry.
104	** [[SignatureTeamTransport The Aesir]] has a larger roof-mounted model.
105	** Some [[TheRemnant Liberty Corps troops]] also wield energy projectiles.
106	* The short story [[http://www.thinkage.ca/~jim/raygun.htm "The Ray-Gun: A Love Story"]] is about a ray-gun.
107	* The most common weapon in ''{{Literature/Valhalla}}'' is the microwave gun, which as the name suggests, is a gun that fires microwave beams. Described as having invisible beams and making no sound, this stands as somewhat of a subversion to the common ray gun trope.
108	* One ''Literature/{{Biggles}}'' story mentions these as a possible explanation for the inexplicable crashes of multiple Allied aircraft flying a particular supply route. It turns out to be something rather simpler: [[spoiler:Japanese intelligence officers were slipping packets of chewing gum laced with a powerful narcotic into the cockpits of the planes, causing the pilots to pass out at the controls.]]
109	* Creator/ArthurCClarke, always a stickler for hard science in his short stories, subverts this. A group of pub patrons lampshade this trope while arguing whether ray guns can even exist, prompting one to tell a story within a story of an astronomer that [[spoiler: uses a highly polished mirror to reflect his wife's headlight beams back in her face when she's driving home from one of her trysts - attempting to murder her by driving her off a dangerous road. Unexpected outcome ensues. It wasn't the tryst that annoyed him - is was the light pollution from her headlights interrupting his studies of the heavens that drove him to such measures.]]
110	* Literature/NorthwestSmith uses a "Heat Gun" in the stories by C.L. Moore.
111	* Used in the tagline of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfProfessorJackBaling'': Brilliance. Madness. Ray Guns.
112	* ''Literature/MarkDelewenAndTheSpacePirates'' has Mark and Tirt using one each; in stun mode.
113	* The "Heat Ray" weapons used by the Martians in the classic ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898''.
114	** Also the disintegration weapons used along with the heat rays in [[Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953 the 1953 film version]].
115	* The Literature/{{Boojumverse}} features ray guns as standard sidearms. They are used by Colonel Sanderson in "Mongoose" and Black Alice in "Boojum".
116	* Nita in the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series has a spell that manifests as a hand-held terawatt linear particle accelerator rifle.
117	* ''Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory'' is a tongue-in-cheek sales catalog of SteamPunk destructive devices, though it's implied many of their UpperClassTwit customers are CompensatingForSomething.
118	* Literature/CaptainFuture's proton blaster is shown on the PulpMagazine covers shooting a stream of ever-expanding rings. In the Creator/AllenSteele {{reconstruction}} novel ''Avengers of the Moon'' this is handwaved as [[BlowingSmokeRings smoke rings]] created by the [[EnergyWeapon invisible plasma beam]].
119	* In one of the [[Literature/KnownSpace Gil the ARM]] stories by Creator/LarryNiven, someone tries to murder Gil with a hunting laser. Fortunately he sees the reflected flash in a window and fires back before the weapon recharges. It's mentioned that it would be easy to build a laser that fired a continuous invisible beam, [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction but that wouldn't be very sporting.]]
120	* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': Andalite shredders and Yeerk Dracon beams fill this purpose (and even have phaser-like power levels so they can stun, blow holes in, or vaporize targets). Despite the name, shredders are actually the less evil of the two- the Yeerks reverse-engineered Andalite shredders so they didn't kill as quickly, the victim feeling their cells exploding. Spacecraft-mounted versions are powerful enough to ignite a planet's atmosphere from orbit.
121	* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle''. The radiation emitted by the vibration pistols and crew-served atomic disintegrators is invisible, so a 'tracer beam' is used for aiming. There's also reference to the smell of ozone and the potentially lethal effects of secondary radiation from a near miss by a disintegrator beam.
122	* Laser weapons are mentioned as a threat in ''Literature/{{Friday}}''. More realistically than usual for this trope, they are treated as invisible instant death. Earlier in the same continuity in ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', mining lasers are used to attack spacecraft.
123	* ''Gold in the Sky'', the 1958 sci-fi thriller by Alan E. Nourse. The sons of an AsteroidMiner are investigating his death at the hands of an evil mining corporation. They assume he found a rich ore strike and was murdered for it. Halfway through the novel they remove Dad's [[SpaceWestern ancient .44 revolver]] from its holster to defend themselves and discover it's a completely unfamiliar weapon not constructed for human hands, with no hole in the muzzle, yet it can burn a six-foot wide hole in half-inch steel plate. It's then they realise the stakes are [[NotOfThisEarth way higher than illegal claim-jumping]].
124	* This trope is initially averted in the setting of Literature/TheExpanse, where humans still rely on hurling chunks of high-velocity metal into their enemies in both personal and spaceship combat. [[RayGun Ray guns]] do appear deep in the series thanks to alien technology, but they're huge [[WaveMotionGun WMD-level]] blasters capable of tearing whole planetoids to pieces. They also need to be powered by matter-antimatter reactions, which are at a nigh-fictional level of technology in the setting. Special mention goes to a booby trap the humans stumble into: The aliens '''engineered a black hole''' in order to use its deadly gamma ray burst as a giant RayGun.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
128	* Phasers and disruptors in ''Franchise/StarTrek''.
129	** The tie-in ''Star Fleet Technical Manual'' actually features a weapon called a 'ray gun', although this is actually a mislabeled prop used in the show as a signal beacon.
130	** The ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton'' [[ShowWithinAShow holodeck program]] in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' has a {{Zeerust}} 1930's scifi look, including ray guns and [[EvilGenius Dr.]] [[LargeHam Chaotica's]] DeathRay. When Paris is coaching Janeway on how to act inside the program, he reminds her to use the term "ray gun" instead of "phaser".
131	* ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' believes KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter, but there are a couple of examples.
132	** The Lassiter is an antique laser gun stolen by the crew of Serenity in the episode "[[Recap/FireflyE11Trash Trash]]".
133	** Also the laser gun used by Rance Burgess in "[[Recap/FireflyE13HeartOfGold Heart of Gold]]". It's a sign of his wealth and status that [[GunPorn he enjoys bragging about]].
134	* The overabundance of "ray guns" of similarly-cheesy design in sci-fi is lampshaded in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]]", when the Doctor is shown a bunch of unidentified alien devices suspected, largely on the basis of shape, of being weapons. As he searches for something that might actually hurt the MonsterOfTheWeek, he tosses aside the rejects, reciting:
135	-->'''Doctor:''' [[BillBillJunkBill Broken... broken... hair dryer...]]
136	* ''Series/RedDwarf'''s bazookoids are mining lasers used as weapons.
137	* Common in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. The best-known would probably be ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''' Blade Blasters, which also become dirks.
138	* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': Blasters exist alongside regular firearms and are issued to all CPB officers.
139	* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': Ray guns appear multiple times. Wonder Woman's bracelets work as well against them as they do against bullets.
140	** In "Going, Going, Gone", [[BigBad Sheldon Como]] and Vladimir Zukov try to hold off Wonder Woman with these as she assaults Como's submarine. [[spoiler: They're hopelessly overmatched]].
141	** In "Mind Stealers from Outer Space", the alien Skrill use them for multiple purposes including attacking Wonder Woman and leveling a building.
142	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S4E17Lithia Lithia]]", Major Mercer was armed with a laser pistol when he placed in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]] [[{{Zeerust}} in 2015]].
143	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E1Two Two]]", the soldiers from both armies were equipped with laser weapons, judging by the discarded rifles that the man and woman find.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Magazine]]
147	* ''{{Magazine/Analog}}'':
148	** The [[Recap/Analog1941 January 1941 issue]] has an image on page 103, the first page of Creator/ManlyWadeWellman's "Literature/LostRocket". In this image, a cosmonaut in outer space is firing flames through space with a handheld gun.
149	** The [[Recap/Analog1942 November 1942]] issue features a character firing some sort of energy beam from a gun, but it is blocked by SomeKindOfForceField.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Music]]
153	* The main weapons used by the Killjoys in Music/MyChemicalRomance's ''{{Music/Danger Days\|TheTrueLivesOfTheFabulousKilljoys}}''. Jet Star, lead guitarist Ray Toro's character, was even called 'Raygun Jones' in early concepts.
154
155	* Weapons used by Music/{{GFRIEND}} in the [[SpaceOpera space opera-esque]] music video "[[https://youtu.be/i1n_1jrUEjU Fingertip]]".
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Pinball]]
159	* All of the futuristic explorers in Creator/{{Atari}}'s ''Pinball/MiddleEarth'' pinball are armed with either {{Laser Blade}}s or Ray Guns. Makes sense, given that they're exploring a LostWorld filled with [[{{Kaiju}} giant dinosaurs]] and [[KillerGorilla monster apes]].
160	* The unnamed male character in ''Pinball/TheAtarians'' uses one.
161	* Stewie Griffin in Creator/SternPinball's ''Pinball/FamilyGuy'' shoots the letters in P-I-N-B-A-L-L with one.
162	* Used by the spaceships in ''Pinball/StellarWars''
163	* In ''Pinball/LaserWar'', everyone is armed with Ray Guns shooting [[EnergyWeapon easily-dodgable laser beams.]]
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
167	* ''1001 Science Fiction Weapons'' for D20, by Plain Brown Wrapper Games, has most of the subtropes, and a few extra concepts besides; including a whole section (or more) on:
168	** [[PlasmaCannon Plasma weapons]] .
169	** Multiple tech levels of [[EnergyWeapon lasers]].
170	** Some energy-based stun weapons.
171	** {{Death Ray}}s.
172	** Life-draining and life-transference rays.
173	** {{Shrink Ray}}s.
174	** Rays that makes matter explode.
175	** A solar ray.
176	** Mind-affecting weapons such as evil rays and self-immolation rays (which make targets harm themselves by any means available, not limited to immolation).
177	** Flesh-melting and warping rays.
178	** A short section on {{disintegrator\|Ray}}s.
179	** Entropy projectors.
180	** Lepton weapons.
181	** Coagulators (which harm only living things with blood, making their blood coagulate inside them and being ideal for times when you need to kill someone sheltering in your ship's reactor room) and even more exotic things, like the energy weapons of the mysterious Witherslant Masters and the ray specifically made to harm plant matter and nothing else. Plus the Generic Ray guns, which fire a beam that looks suspiciously like a scratch on the film. Add other energy weapon concepts, like sonic, microwave, ion, particle beam... loads of bloody fun.
182	* ''TabletopGame/{{Mekton}}'' has an elaborate construction system for equipment from switchblades to planet-killing space fortresses, including a dizzying array of "Beam Weapons" (ray guns).
183	* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' has a Ray Gun in its space expansion (aside from any number of -aser weapons), which appropriately enough gives a bigger bonus for any player named Ray, Raymond, or Reagan.
184	* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' has laser pistols and rifles, energy pistols, blasters, stun guns, and [[{{BFG}} plasma generators]]. Lasers are actually more common than projectile guns, and so reflec (shiny plastic) armor is more common than kevlar.
185	* ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'': A staple. Nicola Tesla developed modern versions of these based off Ancient Martian designs and the Ancients even had Heat and Freeze Rays. They massively outclass most conventional weapons in the setting and include the ability to stun enemies.
186	* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' naturally offers a range of laser, plasma, and fusion weapons to meet all your needs.
187	%%* ''TabletopGame/RetroRaygun'' has it right there in the title.
188	* ''TabletopGame/{{Slipstream}}'': Rayguns are common weapons, given the retro style of the setting.
189	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has a number of ray-gun-wielding troops.
190	** The standard Imperial rayguns are classified as "las weapons". They fire a laser beam capable of blowing a man's arm off (they've been most often been compared to midrange caliber rifles in terms of kinetic force). Though they're [[RunningGag unfavorably compared to flashlights]], they're almost invariably fielded in [[BeamSpam huge numbers]]. The Imperium also fields meltaguns, which are a short-range, anti-tank ''microwave'' gun. Just pray that the guy shooting one at you happens to be a lousy shot, or [[ChunkySalsaRule bad things happen]].
191	** The Necron Gauss Flayer is an electromagnetic DisintegratorRay that shoots bolts of green lightning that can break down the Weak Force that holds matter together, tearing its target apart at the molecular level. The catch? The ray has to be fired through a crystal with exact specifications, right down to the atom, so it's virtually impossible for any other race to emulate.
192	[[/folder]]
193
194	[[folder:Video Games]]
195	* ''VideoGame/AlienShooter TD'' from Sigma Team, has by far the most expensive unit being the Light Energy soldier. And he's well worth it. Carrying a ray gun, which at the lowest type does only slightly less damage against bare flesh than the equivalent shotgun but fires at greater than [[MoreDakka the rate of submachine gun]], it's against armored enemies that the ray gun really shines. Armor is a [[ArmorAsHitPoints second layer of health]] that takes significantly less damage against physical attacks. The ray gun does massive damage against armor, often making it disappear in one or two shots. The ray gun also has very large amounts of ammo and with the proper skill, [[BottomlessMagazines the magazine will regenerate]] - saving money on buying ammo in the field.
196	* ''VideoGame/BioShock2: Minerva's Den'' introduces the Ion Laser, which accurately to what the name states fires a continuous beam of concentrated energy as long as the player holds the trigger and has ammo. The beam has two extra variants, Thermal (sets targets on fire) and Burst (can be [[ChargedAttack charged up]]).
197	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'', of all games, has a ray gun, by name, available randomly in the ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'' bonus mode and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDjR3vkOQeU sneakily hidden in one of the singleplayer levels,]] along with its larger cousin, the [[GratuitousGerman Wunderwaffe]],[[note]]Wonder Weapon[[/note]] on a downloadable map. The former fires green rays surrounded by rings, and the latter some sort of electricity. Both have a very retro RaygunGothic look to them, and are very good at killing zombies.
198	* Several of the weapons in ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' are various forms of ray guns. To give but two examples: the Carbonizer [=Mk16=] fires a giant beam that cooks enemies from the inside, and the alien Strike Rifle can be charged to fire a OneHitKill beam.
199	* Aside from the obvious example of the alien blaster, the ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' series has a number of weapons resembling ray guns, such as the laser, plasma, [[MagneticWeapons Gauss]], and (most especially) pulse guns.
200	* Averted with most weapons in the ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' series, which fire tiny kinetic projectiles at superfast velocities. A few exceptions do appear, however, such as the Collector's particle beam weapon, along with the geth's plasma shotgun and pulse rifle.
201	* ''VideoGame/MDK2'' has ray guns as Max the robot dog's most powerful weapon. And with his multiple arms, he can have 4 of them!
202	* In the first ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' game, you can find and use a retro-looking laser gun on the [[FunWithAcronyms HARM]] space station. It instantly disintegrates the target and has enough charge for about 500 shots.
203	* In ''VideoGame/Orphan2018'', the boy finds a ray gun that he can wield as a weapon against the alien invaders.
204	* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Goro Akechi's ranged weapon of choice in the Metaverse are these, although in reality they are children's toys. The AnimatedAdaptation reveals that [[spoiler:when he was younger, one of his favorite toys was a ray gun that he'd play with when pretending to be an ally of justice.]]
205	* The ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' series has a few. The original ''[[VideoGame/QuakeI Quake]]'' features the Enforcer enemies, who are soldiers with laser guns which shoot reddish-yellow projectiles, later available to the Ranger as the Laser Cannon in ''[[ExpansionPack Scourge of Armagon]]''. ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' and ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'' both have the [[BottomlessMagazines infinite-ammo]] blaster pistol, a RangedEmergencyWeapon, and its [[{{BFG}} bigger and not-so-emergency sibling, the Hyperblaster]].
206	* The first ''VideoGame/PowerStone'' game has an unlockable Ray Gun which fires rings of energy. The sequel introduces more types of energy weapons, such as the Beam Gun, 3-Way Shotgun, 5-Way Shotgun, and [[Franchise/MegaMan Powerful Buster]].
207	* All five ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games have the "Ray Gun" item. Unlike some other energy weapons though, it only has limited ammo.
208	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': One of the Soldier's many, many alternate weapons is now a small handheld ray blaster called the "Righteous Bison" or a larger over-the-shoulder one called the "Cow Mangler 5000". The Engineer and Pyro have ray guns of their own, with the "Pomson 6000" for the former, and the "Phlogistinator" and "Manmelter" for the latter. A later update gave the Engineer and Scout a pistol reskin called the [[FunWithAcronyms C.A.P.P.E.R.]].
209	%%(ZCE)* ''VideoGame/TimeGal'': This is Reika's primary weapon.
210	* The Dispersion Pistol from ''VideoGame/UnrealI'' is a [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture boxy]] and [[UsedFuture well-used]] sidearm that can be upgraded straight into HandCannon territory with the right pickups. It's never stated just ''what'' it actually fires.
211	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' has two instances of this. On one hand, it contains the weapon type known as Rayguns, which in this game are closer to the size of [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/xenoblade/images/4/46/Douglas_img_chara11-02.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/303?cb=20150226115014 gatling guns]] and on the other hand, one of the elements you get is beam. Almost every gun type weapon has one under the beam element, meaning you can have assault rifles, snipers, gatling guns, psycho launchers and dual guns also be rayguns by definition. And of course, the default raygun is a beam element.
212	[[/folder]]
213
214	[[folder:Webcomics]]
215	%%* ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower'': How to [[http://www.angryflower.com/cracken06.html defeat the storyline]] as demonstrated by Freddie coming to the rescue of Bob.%%ZCE
216	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Agatha loves [[MadScientist building this from scrap]]. Latest version is capable of putting holes ''[[WaveMotionGun through distant mountains]]''.
217	%%* ''Webcomic/{{Girly}}'': OHNOLOOKOUTIT'SARAYGUN!
218	%%* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Tedd didn't invent his but loves to tinker with it.%%With what?
219	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Eridan's personal weapon, Ahab's Crosshairs, is a rifle that fires a powerful energy beam from its lance-shaped tip. After the Scratch, Roxy uses a similar, shorter rifle as her default weapon.
220	* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob:'' an alien [[ICallItVera nicknames]] his ray gun [[StealthPun Nancy]] -- which is to say, [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan "Nancy Ray Gun."]]
221	* ''Webcomic/TheLydianOption'': The prisoners collect a variety of ray guns from the corpses of other escapees.
222	* ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'': Scarlet manages to make a ray gun out of a [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=199 movie prop]] belonging to Art, this comes back to [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=282 haunt him later.]]
223	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Riff rarely leaves home these days without an inflatable ray gun in tow.
224	* ''[[http://zeera.comicgenesis.com/ Zeera the Space Pirate]]'': A RunningGag is that ray guns and hair dryers are pretty much indistinguishable from each other.
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Web Original]]
228	* An episode of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZkqC4Lz8dU How it Should Have Ended]] mocks this trope, showing a member of the avengers shouting "Pew! Pew! Pew!" while firing.
229	* Yaeger's pistol, the ''Lumiére'', in ''WebVideo/TheMercuryMen''.
230	* ''WebAnimation/BeeAndPuppycat's'' Puppycat ''is'' a Ray Gun. Though he seems to need someone [[EquippableAlly to hold him and cock his tail]] so he can fire.
231	[[/folder]]
232
233	[[folder:Western Animation]]
234	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': As the theme tune says, ''...racecars, lasers, aeroplanes...''. Gyro's "Furniture Mover Ray" from "The Money Vanishes", appears in the opening. Huey, Dewey and Louie are wielding it against the Beagle Boys.
235	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' had a ray gun which turned people into some guy named Ray.
236	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoe'', where such weapons were prominent on both sides.
237	* Crazy Stunts duel pistols in ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce''.
238	* In the ''WesternAnimation/Birdman1967'' episode "Monster of the Mountains", the villain Chang threatens Birdman and Birdboy with a "uranium ray" gun, but Avenger (Birdman's pet eagle) swoops in from behind him to knock it out of his hands.
239	* Rick Sanchez of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' pretty much always has at least one, [[MadScientist personally-made]] though unlike most, his tend to be wildly gory and/or lethal.
240	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'':
241	** The Kraang use laser pistols, rifles and cannons. The episode "TCRI" features them using a LightningGun.
242	** Tiger Claw has two laser pistols. One fires hot, red energy blasts, the other [[FreezeRay fires ice beams]].
243	[[/folder]]
244
245	[[folder:Real Life]]
246	* Although they turned out to be mistaken, Allied advisers who learned of the plans for German "reprisal weapons" in the mid-years of UsefulNotes/WW2 put both "death rays" and "engine-stopping rays" higher on the list of suspects than "long-range rocket missiles".
247	** Apparently ''radar'' originally came to the attention of the British government after they put out a request for proposals for directed-energy weapons.
248	* Appropriately enough, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla developed plans for his "Teleforce", essentially a particle-beam weapon, but unfortunately ([[MadScientist fortunately?]]) never actually built a working device.
249	* The Soviet laser pistol was an attempt at this, with such being called "Soviet laser [[RevolversAreJustBetter Revolver]]". Naturally though, despite their name, they were not used to fire [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]]. Rather, they were meant to disable optical sensors on enemy aircrafts.
250	* Microwave anti-drone "rifles" use directional energy pulses to disable drone aircraft. But, similar to the previous example, they work by using the {{EMP}} to [[ImpededCommunication overload the target drone's radio control system]].
251	[[/folder]]
252

Context Main / RayGun