Line #40 Main/ThePenIsMightier


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6	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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13	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1294948920028093000
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15	%% From Edit International's "How To Survive A Terrorist Attack - Air Or Ground!"
16	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pen_stab_2040.jpg]]
17
18	->''"How about a magic trick?\
19	''[places a pencil standing upright on a table, eraser end up]''\
20	I'm going to make this pencil disappear.\
21	''[slams a thug's head onto the table so that the pencil is driven into his eye socket, and he then falls over dead]''\
22	...TA-DA! It's... Ah, it's '''gone'''..."''
23	-->-- '''The Joker''', ''Film/TheDarkKnight''
24
25	You know, [[LiteralMetaphor they weren't joking when they said the pen was mightier than the sword]]. Or the pencil. Or the paintbrush. In the proper hands ''any'' writing tool can become [[ImprovisedWeapon a truly deadly weapon]], and earns extra badass points for the user at the same time--especially if used against an opponent with one of those piddling "real" weapons.
26
27	Typically, the writing tool will be used as a stabbing weapon, aimed for the head, throat, or chest. Occasionally it may be used as a throwing weapon. The pen or pencil may be used for more than just stabbing however; for example, an inkpen may be used to spray ink in the face of an attacker.
28
29	Paint brushes being used to write spells and {{curse}}s on opponents are common in eastern works; most popular depictions of this are derived from [[http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/211Traditions9846.html a Chinese folktale]] about a boy who could bring paintings to life when he signed them. An evil emperor would force the boy to draw him vast riches and [[TheDogBitesBack he would instead conjure a dragon or tsunami to kill the emperor]], depending on the telling.
30
31	Bonus points if, after the pen is used, someone makes a [[BondOneLiner snarky comment on the pen's superiority]].
32
33	A subtrope of ImprovisedWeapon. May be used by an ImprobableWeaponUser, a CombatPragmatist, an ArtAttacker or a MadArtist.
34
35	[[TheProblemWithPenIsland Easily confused with something]] [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Sean Connery]] has been [[http://www.wannafork.com/humor_video_play.php?ID=595 searching all his life for]].
36
37	Not to be confused with ThePowerOfLanguage, which covers figurative uses of this phrase. Has [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant nothing to do with]] a certain [[TheProblemWithPenIsland body part]].
38
39	Compare OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement.
40
41	----
42	!!Examples:
43	[[foldercontrol]]
44
45	[[folder:Advertising]]
46	* Parodied in a Geico ad series which mocks Stock Phrases. In this particular sketch, "Is the pen mightier than the sword?", a ninja brandishes his sword. The camera changes to a guy signing for a package with a pen. He opens the package and removes a taser, which takes the ninja out instantly.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
50	* In the ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' manga, [[ZenSurvivor Shogo Kawada]] managed to finally [[spoiler:kill the director Yomeni Kamon with a pencil by stabbing at his throat]].
51	* Ichibe from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' uses Ichimonji, a massive calligraphy brush that can alter the fabric of reality by changing the names of people and objects.
52	* David from ''Anime/BloodPlus'' once escaped a tense situation by grabbing a hostage and threatening to stab him in the neck with a pen.
53	* In ''Anime/ACertainMagicalIndexMiracleOfEndymion'', Mallybath Blackball wields a magic quill pen that gives her DishingOutDirt powers.
54	* ''Manga/DeathNote'' features a considerable amount of murder via pen, but not by stabbing, but rather RewritingReality. At least, [[spoiler:until near the end when Teru Mikami uses his pen to commit suicide, with [[HighPressureBlood a truly ludicrous amount of blood]]]].
55	* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'', Reiko Ota telekinetically throws fountain pens that explode when they hit their targets.
56	* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}''
57	** Seiji stabs [[WorldsStrongestMan 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.
58	** Later in the light novels, [[spoiler:Mikado]] stabs Aoba through the hand with a ballpoint pen.
59	* Pretty much any solid object within two meters of Lucy in ''Manga/ElfenLied'' becomes a deadly implement because of her telekinetic vector abilities. This is first demonstrated with pens during the [[EstablishingCharacterMoment infamous escape scene]].
60	* In the finale of the Anime adaptation of ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'', Yuuji, mortally wounded, uses a [[ConspicuousConsumption golden pen]] on a desk to kill his Arch-Enemy, Heath Oslo - a [[DeathByIrony technique Oslo taught him]].
61	* At some point in ''Manga/FutabaKunChange'' a member of [[MartialArtsAndCrafts martial arts calligraphy]] club demonstrates blocking a sword with his calligraphy brush. An explanation follows that the brush is made of steel and this particular martial art was developed back when such random attacks on calligraphists were common.
62	* ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'':
63	** Saejima painfully [[NoseShove shoves pencils up Maruyama's nose]]. Later, Maruyama returns the favor, and Fumiya slams Saejima's head into the floor. He hates the nickname "pencil sharpener" he gets afterwards.
64	** Yagyo Atsuki's first appearance has him carve the word "{{oni}}" into the back of people's hands with a pencil. Later we see it carved into their cheeks too.
65	* In ''Manga/HotGimmick'' Ryoki saves Hatsumi from [[spoiler:being raped by Azusa's gang]] by throwing one of them to the ground, sitting on top of them and threatening to drive a pen through his cheek (since the guys are models, this would ruin his career as well as being ''fucking agonizing''). When [[spoiler:Azusa]] thinks he's bluffing, Ryoki scratches the guy's face to show he's serious. [[spoiler:He doesn't end up having to do it though.]]
66	* In ''Manga/LoveHina'', Motoko manages to block a full-on katana slash with Keitaro's studyin' pencil. Maybe because it's full of his hopes and dreams, as she claims - or maybe some of his [[MadeOfIron peculiar invincibility]] just soaked in over the years.
67	* In episode 20 of ''Manga/LovelyComplex'' [[{{Yandere}} Mimi]] nearly stabs Risa through the hand with a mechanical pencil.
68	* 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...
69	** Tenma also uses a ballpoint pen to save himself from a group of Neo-Nazis.
70	* In an early episode of ''Manga/NabariNoOu'', Raimei throws a handful of pencils at Miharu to test him. He, of course, didn't even notice.
71	* Killer Bee of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' can imbue objects with [[ShockAndAwe lightning chakra]] to make it [[VibroWeapon vibrate at high speeds]] (though it isn't unique to him) to turn any pointed object into a deadly weapon. He first shows this off by using the pencil he uses to write down his rap lyrics which he managed to throw ''through a tree trunk''.
72	** [[SnapToTheSide The look of shock on Kisame's face]] was priceless.
73	* In ''Manga/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.
74	** While it's not always clear whether Oda is being serious when he answers fan questions, the ''One Piece'' world is wacky enough that this could actually be true.
75	* Episode 14 of ''Anime/PsychoPass'' opens when a criminal wearing a helmet that throws off the Psycho-Pass scanners walks into a pharmacy and [[ShearMenace stabs a pharmacist in the mouth with a pair of scissors]] and then kills a second pharmacist by stabbing her in the femoral artery with a ballpoint pen. When police arrive at the crime scene, the forensics drones end up [[{{Squick}} digging out multiple pens]] out of the female victim's body.
76	* Alone (Hades), the BigBad from ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', occasionally uses his painting brush for close combat fighting, which is not all that necessary considering his PhysicalGod status.
77	* In ''Manga/ShugoChara'', Amu's "Amulet Spade" character transformation fights with a paintbrush.
78	* During her stint as a schoolteacher, Yoko from ''Anime/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]].
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Comic Books]]
82	* In the ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' story "Video Nasties", a heavily injured, bedridden teenager manages to grab a pen and stab a villain who was holding a woman hostage. It distracts the villain long enough for Batman to take him out.
83	* In ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'' #11, architect-turned-supervillain 'Faulty' Towers uses technical pens filled with poison as a weapons, hurling them like darts.
84	* Bullseye in ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' uses pencils, among [[ImprovisedWeapon many other things]], as darts to kill people.
85	* In ''ComicBook/DeathVigil'', Starlock is Clara's veilripper, and it takes the form of a quill pen. Clara finds out that she can draw wherever she wants with it, but she later finds out its true potential to [[ThinkingUpPortals Think Up Portals]] and tap into and fix other people's memories (although the latter ability is hinted to be ''her'' ability, not the veilripper's). In addition, like all veilrippers, it can be used to seal necromancers' powers.
86	* In one of the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' comics by Creator/ChaosComics, a young Michael Myers gouges out a fellow mental patient's eye with a crayon.
87	* "Ink", a henchman in ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'', got his nickname because he [[OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement once killed a man with a pen]].
88	-->'''Larry:''' Stabbed him in the neck?\
89	'''Cavella:''' Stabbed him in [[EyeScream the eye]]. [[{{Squick}} Just kept going 'til he hit brain]].
90	* ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool'': Gwenpool's introduction has her using a pen to upgrade her weaponry.
91	-->'''Gwen:''' [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/de/85/fbde85dd9cedf005a5b01fe79e1c42c1.jpg Trade you pen for gun!]]\
92	'''{{Mook\|s}}:''' ''[[ImpaledPalm Aaah!]]''\
93	'''Gwen:''' ''[AsideGlance]'' I know. It's a ''terrible'' trade.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Fan Works]]
97	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10238893/1/Losing-Even-That Losing Even That]]'' has a scene where Miranda and Thane discuss the number of ways they know how to kill someone with a pen. She knows sixteen, he knows eighteen. The incident that started this conversation? The crew is out of [[MustHaveCaffeine regular coffee]], and think the person [[FelonyMisdemeanor responsible should be killed with a pen]].
98	-->'''Shepard:''' Definitely a pen-killing-worthy offense.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
102	* In ''Film/ThirtyMinutesOrLess'', The Major has a pen gun. After he uses up its only bullet, he tries to stab a man with it.
103	* ''Film/ArtOfTheDead'': During Louis' vision , MadArtist Dorian Wilde kills a critic by stabbing him in the neck with a paintbrush.
104	* In ''Film/Batman1989'', Joker declares that "The pen is truly mightier than the sword!" after he kills one of Grissom's allies by stabbing a '''really''' sharp ink quill into the man's throat.
105	* ''Film/{{Becky}}'' initially improvises weapons from her art supplies, including stabbing Cole with sharpened pencils.
106	* ''Film/BloodBrothers2007'' has a fight scene where a mook gets a fountain pen into the jugular.
107	* In the {{Wuxia}} film ''Film/BrothersFive'', one of the five brothers is a WarriorPoet scholar whose preferred weapon is a [[ImprobableWeaponUser long Chinese brush with razor-sharp bristles]], which he used to kill more than 20 mooks throughout the movie.
108	* ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'': Jason Bourne surprises a knife-wielding assassin with a pen to the hand, causing him to drop the knife.
109	* Creator/JoePesci kills a man this way in ''Film/{{Casino}}''. Rather disgusting to watch.
110	* A character gets a crayon in the eye in ''Film/TheChildren''.
111	* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ComicBook/TheJoker's "magic trick" involves making a pencil disappear...[[EyeScream into the eye of one of the Gotham Mob's thugs]]. ''Eraser end first.''
112	* In ''Film/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.
113	* In ''Film/OperationGoldenPhoenix'', the protagonist (played by B-lister and kickboxer-turned-actor Loren Avedon) kills a mook via pen in the guts. Two seconds before letting out this line.
114	--> "This isn't a pen. It's a weapon."
115	* Dr. Wai from ''Film/DrWaiInTheScriptureWithNoWords'' packs a pen as his default weapon. One with a hidden GrapplingHookGun and RazorFloss built inside. One fight scene have Wai fighting six ninjas using his pen and ''winning''.
116	* In ''Film/{{Exam}}'', [[spoiler:White]] stabs [[spoiler:Black]] with a pencil: possibly the only item in the examination room that could be use as a stabbing weapon.
117	* In ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan'', FinalGirl Rennie manages to fend Jason off at one point by stabbing him in the eye with an ink pen (that is claimed in-universe to be Creator/StephenKing's).
118	* In ''Film/HollaIfYouHearMe'', a man is stabbed in the head with a pencil, while one of the killers gets a pen in the neck.
119	* In ''Film/GrossePointeBlank'' Martin uses a fountain pen a high school friend gave him to finish off an assassin.
120	* ''Film/TheHunt2020'': On the plane, Ted stabs Randy in the throat with a pen he borrows from the stewardess. After the carnage is over, he hands the pen back to her.
121	* During the tank battle of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', 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.
122	* In ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020'', Cecilia manages to repeatedly stab the eponymous villain with a fountain pen, which has the added affect of [[spoiler: making his invisibility suit short-circuit from the waist up]].
123	* ''Film/JamesBond''
124	** In ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', Bond is equipped with a pen that has a poisoned needle in it.
125	** Played with in ''Film/GoldenEye''. Q whips up a bomb [[ShoePhone shaped like an ordinary ballpoint pen]]. Three clicks of the button arms it, three more disarms it.
126	-->'''Bond''': They always said the pen was mightier than the sword.\
127	'''Q''': Thanks to me, they were right!
128	** In ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain,'' Bond is equipped with [[PocketRocketLauncher an exploding dart pen]].
129	* When Viggo is impressing on Iosef just how deadly John is in ''Film/JohnWick'', he mentions he [[OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement once saw John kill three men in a bar with a pencil]]. The improbability of this is lampshaded by Abram in ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'' ("A ''pencil''. How the fuck do you do that?!"), and later in the film, John kills two assassins with a pencil when they attack him for the seven million dollar bounty on him posted by [[spoiler:Santino]].
130	** Notably, the pencil killing is one of the most gruesome ones shown on-screen, with John pinning one assassin's head against a bartop and then driving the pencil through his ear canal like a railway spike. With the second one, he holds the pencil against a wall and slams the back of the assassin's head against it.
131	* During the opening flashback detailing Danny Greene's life in ''Film/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.]]
132	* The protagonist of ''Film/TheLostEmpire'' (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.
133	* ''Film/NakedKiller'' have Kitty fighting a triad boss in his office. As the boss beats her down and orders a mook to restrain her, Kitty managed to snatch a pen from a nearby desk, kill the mook with a stab in the throat, and shove the pen repeatedly into the boss' [[GroinAttack dick]].
134	* The eponymous character in ''Film/PsychoCopReturns'' kills one of his victims with a pencil to the eye, and tells him to "keep an eye out" afterwards.
135	* In the climax of the film ''Film/RedEye'', the heroine surprises the antagonist holding her captive with a well-aimed pen through the throat.
136	* A non-lethal version occurs in ''Film/TheRunningMan'' when a {{jerkass}} attorney gets Creator/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."
137	* In ''Film/ShanghaiGrand'', the protagonist played by Leslie Cheung disarms a triad mook by stabbing him in the neck with a fountain pen.
138	* ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'': Hannibal Lecter palms Dr. Chilton's ballpoint pen and fashions it into a handcuff key that allows him to escape.
139	* The final conflict in ''Film/ASongIsBorn'' is resolved not by guns, but by music.
140	* ''Film/StarredUp'': During the standoff when the warders are trying to take him to solitary, Eric grabs the prison psychologist Baumer's pen and holds it to the eye of a warder. Baumer is able to talk him down and get his pen back.
141	* In ''Film/{{Stoker}}'', India stabs a bully with her pencil when he tries to grab her. When she pulls away, the tip is covered in blood.
142	* In ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', Sarah Connor taunts her shrink about having previously stabbed him in the knee with a pen.
143	* In ''Film/WhenEvilCalls'', an overachieving student--DrivenToSuicide by the prospect of TheBGrade--kills himself by inserting sharpened pencils [[NoseShove up his nostrils and then slamming his face into his desk]], driving the pencils into his brain.
144	* In ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'', President Sawyer stabs the BigBad with a pen. Sawyer did a poor job of it, though, getting him in the shoulder as opposed to the jugular, and the BigBad fought him off.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Literature]]
148	* ''Maximum Security'', the third book in the ''Literature/CHERUBSeries'', has Lauren fighting off and seriously injuring an attacker with the first thing she could grab--a hotel biro.
149	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
150	** 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."
151	** In one book, a RunningGag 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''.
152	* The ghost in the Creator/StephenKing short story ''[[Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes Sneakers]]'' died from being [[EyeScream stabbed in the eye]] with a pencil.
153	* In ''Literature/{{Cell}}'', [[spoiler:the Headmaster]] dies when the nearby flock of phoners forces him to ram a pen through his eye into his brain.
154	* Played with in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians''; the title character has a pen that ''turns into'' a sword.
155	* An indirect example in ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', when Hannibal Lecter uses the writing part of a ballpoint pen carelessly left in his cell to fashion an improvised handcuff key.
156	* Occurs in ''Literature/{{Soulmate}}'', when the vampire Thierry [[spoiler:or rather Maya disguised as him]] corners Hannah in her bedroom and forcibly drinks her blood. Hannah gets backed up against her desk and is able to grab a pencil and drive it through Thierry's hand; she threatens to shove the next pencil through his heart. As Hannah realizes, pencils are actually more effective weapons against vampires than you'd think because they're made of wood, which is [[OurVampiresAreDifferent toxic to vampires]] if it gets into their bloodstream; wounds inflicted by wood take much longer for them to heal despite their HealingFactor.
157	* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' [[AwesomenessByAnalysis the Number Man]] threatens to inflict a ShatterpointTap on someone's skull with a pen.
158	* Calligraphy brushes are commonly used as weapon in {{Wuxia}} genre by fighters who specialized in hitting {{Pressure Point}}s, since all they have to do is hit at the right spot.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
162	* In ''[[Series/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.
163	* In the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS05E03Unleashed Unleashed]]":
164	--> '''Spike''': I had a wee spat with a werewolf myself once. Fought for over an hour! Brutal. Vicious. I almost lost my--
165	--> '''Fred''': Angel killed him with a [[OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement pen]].
166	** That being said, it only really worked since it was a ''{{silver\|bullet}}'' pen.
167	** Angel later gets [[ImpaledPalm stabbed in the hand]] with a pen, ironically because the stabber CouldntFindAPen (he had to sign a document in blood).
168	** In "[[Recap/AngelS04E13Salvage Salvage]]", Angelus does the same to a [[VillainCred demon who asks him for his autograph]].
169	* A season 5 episode of ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'' has John Steed shrunk to the point he can use a penholder as a spear, striking at baddies' ankles to distract them before Ms Peel attacks.
170	-->'''Steed:''' The pen is mightier than the sword.\
171	'''Peel:''' Well, between us we've written them off.
172	* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}''
173	** Felix Gaeta, sent to talk to Gaius Baltar in the latter's prison cell, tries to kill Baltar with a pen instead, stabbing him in the neck but missing the carotid artery. Later on, during his trial, when, after Gaeta 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!"
174	** 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.
175	** ''Battlestar'' likes this trope. During TheMutiny Arc, Romo Lampkin stabs a marine with a pen. The first thing he does after that? He reclaims the sunglasses that the marine took from him and refers to the now-dead marine as his "[[BondOneLiner pen-pal]]".
176	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
177	** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Choices Choices]]", a vampire corners Willow in a supply room. She uses her telekinetic powers to raise a pencil and stake him.
178	** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E6BandCandy Band Candy]]", Giles is making Buffy rehearse for her SAT tests during graveyard patrol when a vampire attacks them. She stakes it with her pencil, then cheerfully points out that it's broken, so she can't do the questionnaire. Giles calmly produces another pencil.
179	* In an episode of ''Series/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 puncture the guy's artery unless they let him go.]]
180	* ''Series/{{CSI}}'':
181	** In "Cat's in the Cradle'', it is discovered that the VictimOfTheWeek was stabbed to death with a glitter pen.
182	** In "A La Cart", the VictimOfTheWeek in the BStory is stabbed through the temple with a ballpoint pen while dining in a blacked-out restaurant. The nib of the pin snaps off in the victim's brain, and the leaking ink that would have stained the killer's hand becomes an important clue.
183	* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter uses a pencil to wound Mitchell Ellison during his attack on the ''New York Bulletin''.
184	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': The "R. Tam Sessions", a series of videos from [[TheWoobie River's]] time at the [[SchoolForScheming Academy]], showing her in a series of "interviews" with a "counselor" that [[SanitySlippage chronicles her gradual descent into madness]]. The first video (which is the second half of the last session) shows her counselor collapsing after having been stabbed in the throat with a pen. The ''last'' video is of her seeming to be remarkably lucid and clear, and her last words before the video cuts out is her asking for a pen to write something down. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Whether this is due to her madness, being ordered to do this by her "handlers," or simply River striking out at her tormentors in the only way she can manage]] is up in the air.
185	* ''Series/GetSmart'' - Max sticks a sword-wielding KAOS agent with a pen carrying a paralysis drug, and says...well, you know...
186	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
187	** Sylar [[CrucifiedHeroShot crucifies]] Isaac against his own painting of the future, using his own paintbrushes, before he kills him.
188	** He also has Claire telekinetically pinned to a sofa as he taunts her and then kisses her, she retaliates by grabbing a pen and stabs him right [[EyeScream in the eye.]]
189	* ''Series/ItsOkayToNotBeOkay'': Flashbacks reveal that Do Hui-jae killed the Moon brothers' mom by slitting her throat with a fountain pen.
190	* ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' has, among his bag of tricks, a giant ink brush that appears on his right foot. At first, he was ready to [[{{Pun}} write it off]] as useless, but his friends discovered that the ink quickly solidifies into a metallic substance. So far, he's used it to "draw" barriers and to block a MonsterOfTheWeek's [[TakenForGranite petrification beam]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And to draw Santa's sled during the]] ChristmasEpisode.
191	* ''Series/LawAndOrder'': In "Doped", the killer tries to commit suicide by stabbing himself in the neck with a ballpoint pen. Lupo and Bernard are just barely able to save him in time.
192	* In ''Series/TheLostRoom'', one of the Objects is a pen which can microwave people, which a small-time crime boss uses to enforce order.
193	* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS19E5 Death by Persuasion]]", the first VictimOfTheWeek is stabbed in the neck with a poisoned quill pen.
194	* In the [[PrisonEpisode Prison Season]] of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', while Earl was narrating this notion, an inmate stabs another inmate in the back with a pen.
195	* ''Series/MythBusters'' had to put Q of ''Film/JamesBond'' fame (see above) to the test. They loaded up a few pens with explosives. A conventional pen proved surprisingly lethal, creating a hole roughly twice the size of a fist in a dummy, but did not work as it did in the film. The team then tried a fairly large pen such as the type companies give as swag with their logos. It removed a dummy's arms and upper torso. James Hyneman then loaded up an absurdly large novelty pen - the kind over a foot long and several inches in circumference - with explosives. The results were predictable.
196	* ''Series/ThePunisher2017'': Before his partnership with the Punisher begins, Micro temporarily sedates him with a needle hidden in his pen.
197	* ''Series/RipperStreet'': In "Tournament of Shadows", after being tortured, Homer Jackson agrees to sign a fake confession for a corrupt Scotland Yard officer. When the officer looks and sees that Jackson has written, ''"SUCK MY YANKEE BALLS"'' instead of his name, he furiously motions to his hulking mook - who really should have taken away the pen before attacking a surgeon who knows exactly where to stick it.
198	* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'': Lampshaded in "The Spy Who Shoved Me", when Agent James Smith informs Cody he can kill him with an ordinary pen.
199	* ''Series/WhodunnitUK'': In [[spoiler:"Instant Coffee"]], the murderer uses a fountain pen to inject poison into the orange juice of the VictimOfTheWeek.
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
203	* One ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip had Jason apply this trope in his D&D games by arming his warrior with a pen. Marcus' character immediately cuts him down.
204	[[/folder]]
205
206	[[folder:Pinball]]
207	* Creator/SegaPinball's ''Pinball/GoldenEye'' has the "Q's Pen" mode, where you must hit the target three times to detonate Bond's exploding pen from the film.
208	[[/folder]]
209
210	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
211	* Wrestling/BoboBrazil and [[Wrestling/EdFarhat the Sheik]] would often attempt to cut each other open with pencils.
212	* Wrestling/TheUndertaker stabbed Wrestling/BrockLesnar's hand with his pen after they did the contract signing for their Wrestling/WrestleMania XXX match.
213	* During the contract signing for their match at Wrestling/Wrestlemania XIX, Wrestling/VinceMcMahon stabbed Wrestling/HulkHogan in the head several times with a fountain pen.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
217	* Creator/EddieIzzard talks about an alleged AwesomeButImpractical self-defence manoeuvre that involves pushing a pen between an assailant's middle and ring fingers and squeezing their fingers together.
218	[[/folder]]
219
220	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
221	* After ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}: [[AfterTheEnd Hell on Earth]]'' was released, there was a push to make the Librarians from [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guys]] with no real role in combat into {{badass bookworm}}s, including the development of entirely new [[MagicAIsMagicA arcana]]. One such supernatural ability, aptly named ''the Pen is Mightier than the Sword'', turns writing implements into deadly weapons. At its highest level, a magical pen does almost as much damage as a LaserBlade, and is better at defense!
222	* A ''TabletopGame/HeroSystem'' supplement magazine once gave instructions/stats for running "Hack Writing" as a (none-too-serious) Martial Art. It originated when an ancient messenger, facing execution for being the bearer of bad news, decided to take someone with him and used his stylus as a weapon. Organizations such as The Brotherhood of the Pen use specially-crafted writing implements designed for maximum damage. Special maneuvers include "Cut & Paste" ("The writer cuts his victim's legs out from under him and then pastes him one."); "Narrative Hook" ("The writer simply reaches out and grabs his target."); and "Writer's Block", a defensive measure. ("The first maneuver taught to hack writers. Some are so skilled with it that it's all they do.")
223	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' features not a pen but an iron brush. It is a weaponized scholar's brush in an Asian-themed setting, where any person of refinement or education is expected to know some calligraphy. It's really not a great weapon mechanically aside from being easily concealed, but it can kill and be enchanted, plus a clever player can certainly find uses for a weapon which allows them to appear to be an unarmed scholar or aristocrat.
224	* In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the Blue Scribe P'tarix is unable to use the magic that he catalogues so in battle he stabs his enemies with sharpened quills made from the feathers of a [[FeatheredFiend Lord of Change]].
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Video Games]]
228	%%(ZCE)* Imaginary-Barry in ''VideoGame/AlanWake: The Signal'' DLC quotes[=/=]lampshades this after Alan takes out a wave of Taken. Granted, words in typewriter-font are utilized throughout the game, but ItMakesSenseInContext.
229	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Amorphous}}''. As an achievement says, there is no pen, and the sword is ''[[{{BFS}} really big]]''.
230	* In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' you can buy a newspaper report detailing a murder in which the victim was stabbed to death with a quill. Justified by the fact that the chief suspect is a doctor is a half-orc with an expert knowledge of anatomy [[spoiler:as well as Arcanum's master trainer in the BackStab skill]].
231	* ''VideoGame/ColdWinter'' have this happening in Kim's flashback, when she was forcefully recruited by Red Chinese agents in exchange for her brother's life. Kim instead kills everyone in the same room with her, capping it by shoving a pen down the recruiter's [[EyeScream left eye]].
232	* In ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider'' you can upgrade your crossbow to utilize random everyday objects as a substitute for crossbow bolts. There's an achievement specifically for killing someone by firing a fountain pen.
233	* Ma Dai from ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 7'' uses a giant paintbrush as a weapon.
234	* In World 3 of ''VideoGame/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.
235	** In World 4 he upgrades to a fountain pen, which refills by killing ink monsters or standing on ink fountains and allow him to shoot a damaging stream of ink.
236	** Fancy Pants is a playable character in the game ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/381115 Newgrounds Rumble]]'', where he has his pencil as his weapon of choice.
237	* The dictator Pagan Min in ''VideoGame/FarCry4'' kills an [[YouHaveFailedMe underperforming soldier]] with a fountain pen in his EstablishingCharacterMoment. If the player obtains it later in the game, it's revealed to be [[JustifiedTrope specially reinforced]] to double as a weapon.
238	** In Pagan's [[PromotedToPlayable playable]] appearance in ''VideoGame/FarCry6'''s "Control" [=DLC=], he uses this pen in a majority of his takedowns, which include repeated stabs to the neck or a single stab [[EyeScream through the eye]].
239	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Relm kills people with both her brush and ''[[ArtAttacker her drawings]]''.
240	* Mitama from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' proclaims it is "the mightiest of all!" during one of her [[PreMortemOneLiner critical hit quotes]]. Fitting, as she's an [[WarriorPoet avid haiku poet]].
241	** In addition, there is a LethalJokeWeapon called a Quill Pen, in which, as a Dagger-type weapon, is strong against swords and katanas. This could be a possible reference to the old saying "A pen is mightier than a sword".
242	* One of the bosses in ''VideoGame/TheGladiator'' is a sorceror named "The Black Judge", whose sole weapon is a long paintbrush whose drawings manifests as projectile attacks. If he draws an emblem on the floor, it will explode in a circle of flames that can hurt you instantly.
243	* One of the possible player Stands in ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureThe7thStandUser'' is Napalm Death, a fancy calligraphy pen that creates explosions from writing. Badass.
244	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', the villain Yuga has a long, paintbrush-shaped wand for casting spells and summoning monsters. [[spoiler: When he takes over Ganon's body, the paintbrush is fused with the evil king's trident]].
245	* ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'': [[spoiler:Wong Tou]] uses a fountain pen as a weapon, except that the nib (aka the pointy part) of the pen is actually a very thing extendable blade just long enough to turn the pen into a long knife. He uses it as a short knife, though only for stabbing.
246	* In the second ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' game, Danny and Leo can both equip ballpoint pens, and make good use of them. Stealth kills with them involve [[EyeScream gouging out eyes]] and [[ImpromptuTracheotomy giving people new breathing holes]].
247	* [[BlindWeaponmaster Hangan]] in ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji\|2016}}'', who fights with a giant calligraphy brush.
248	* In reference to the ''John Wick'' example above, ''VideoGame/Payday2'' has a pencil (though called The Pen) available as of the Search for Kento event via a code. Incredibly, and especially in a game renowned for awful melee weapons, The Pen is actually somewhat usable: while its power and range is obviously pitiful, it can attack incredibly quickly, enough to activate the Overdog skill for setups which have it and boost its damage on successive strikes to an impressive degree.
249	* ''VideoGame/ProjectZomboid'': The main utility for pens and pencils [[UtilityWeapon scribble on the map and write in notebooks and sheets of paper]][[note]]for some odd reason, red and blue pens cannot be used on anything other than the map, although mods correct this limitation[[/note]], although the game allows the player to wield normal everyday pens and pencils as melee weapons, which works about as well as you would expect against zombies: it only connects at grappling range, deals subpar damage, and it's pretty much guaranteed to break on the first stab.
250	* Nogiku from ''VideoGame/SengokuRance'' uses a pen about the same size of a spear in battle.
251	* Discussed in ''VideoGame/SongOfHorror''. One key item in chapter 3 is a mechanical pencil, and upon closer examination, most characters will only comment that the point is long and thin; if you play as police officer René, he will mention that in the past he was almost stabbed by a perp wielding one such pencil.
252	* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'', with its love of {{Art Attacker}}s and {{Improbable Weapon\|User}}s, takes this to its logical conclusion: the Ballpoint Splatling, first introduced in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', turns the pen into a ''gun''. More specifically, a gun of the GatlingGood variety, with the unique ability to switch between close- and long- range fire while shooting. Presumably, someone wanted to see what happens when you combine this trope with the ''[[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight other]]'' weapon that's mightier than the sword.
253	* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', Shadow Mario carries a giant paintbrush that can be used to open portals and create monsters.
254	* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
255	** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'': Beryl Benito 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'!"
256	** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'': Shirley uses feather pens as her weapons of choice, but lacks any artes that actually make direct use of them.
257	* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'': The Blue Scribes P'tarix and Xirat'p use their quills as a FlyingWeapon as their melee attack when enemies get close enough to their flying disk.
258	[[/folder]]
259
260	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
261	* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney: Resolve'' features a fountain pen as a key aspect of the mystery on how a victim came to be poisoned: namely, the killer emptied the pen, drew the poison up into the inkwell, then dropped the poison into the victim's drink.
262	* ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaSeries'': Somewhat of a favored murder method of [[spoiler:protagonist Yuuji, back when he was still a brainwashed child soldier/assassin of series villain Heath Oslo, in ''VisualNovel/TheLabyrinthOfGrisaia''. As bit of [[LaserGuidedKarma poetic revenge]], it was Oslo himself that thaught Yuuji this, and this is exactly how Yuuji puts an end to him at the climax of ''VisualNovel/TheEdenOfGrisaia''.]]
263	* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'':
264	** In "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: fight off the goat butlers summoned by Beatrice.]]
265	** In ''Ougon Musou'' Rosa's grappling attack, she gets a [[PsychoticSmirk really nasty smile on her face]] while [[EyeScream stabbing her opponent in the eye]] with a pen.
266	[[/folder]]
267
268	[[folder:Webcomics]]
269	* Matt from ''Webcomic/TheDementiaOfMagic'' simply [[http://dementiaofmagic.net/d/20050302.html uses]] [[http://dementiaofmagic.net/d/20050304.html both]]: First he uses the quill to tickle Stephanie while she's casting, causing her to miscast, then exploits this opening to stab her.
270	* A humorous example appears in ''Webcomic/TiffanyAndCorey'' where [[https://tiffanyandcorey.blogspot.com/2018/03/fountain-pen.html Tiffany squirts ink]] from a fountain pen at a store clerk.
271	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Sara stabs the soldier trying to rape her in the face with a pencil.
272	* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', when it comes to a five-on-one fight against Jimmy Bae's gang, Gray starts it off with a bang by plucking the pen out of his pocket and stabbing Helmet through the hand with it. It traumatised Helmet so much that Gray clicking a pen later on causes him to freeze on the spot.
273	[[/folder]]
274
275	[[folder:Web Original]]
276	* Website/CollegeHumor: In the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3k5oY9AHHM Font Conference]]" video, featuring [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personifications]] of Word document text fonts, French Script is a bit of a FrenchJerk who immediately offers up his seat when he's interjected by Rage Italic, an angry German wearing lederhosen.
277	[[/folder]]
278
279	[[folder:Web Video]]
280	* ''WebVideo/AskANinja'' mentions a samurai who killed himself with a pen while signing up to become a samurai.
281	* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': The fight between Franchise/JamesBond and Film/JohnWick combines [[Film/{{Goldeneye}} the pen bomb]] and [[Film/JohnWickChapter2 John's pencil-killing skills]] into [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the world's deadliest]] [[MundaneMadeAwesome fight over a pen]].
282	* In ''WebVideo/HitlerRants'', Hitler's "Pencil of Doom and Mass Destruction" is capable of, by banging it on his table with a map, doing anything from making people fall comically down to ''blowing up planets''.
283	* During the Website/ChannelAwesome [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny First Year Anniversary]] [[WebVideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl Team Brawl]], WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd uses one of his pens as a throwing weapon against the Nostalgia Critic, knocking his gun out of his hand.
284	* Spoofed by ''Creator/{{Tobuscus}}'' in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vpUj3a48IQ this video]], in which he patents a gun with a pen bayonet.
285	[[/folder]]
286
287	[[folder:Western Animation]]
288	* When Stan in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', [[HiddenSupplies is showing off his guns...]]
289	-->'''Stan''': [[ShoePhone Pen gun]]. Mightier than the sword. [[SwissArmyWeapon Sword gun]]. [[SpoofAesop Mightier than the pen gun]].
290	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' episode "[[Recap/MetalocalypseS1E7Performanceklok Performance Klok]]", the band's therapist calls his old band to gloat about how he's in a new one... the scene changes to several cobweb-covered skeletons, one of which has his monogrammed pen sticking out of an eyesocket.
291	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E15MissionaryImpossible "Missionary Impossible"]] has Homer try to stab a representative of PBS with a bank pen. The chain was too short.
292	* In ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryKids'', a villain once effortlessly parried Droopy's sword attacks with a quill pen, boasting, "The pen is mightier than the sword!" Droopy nonchalantly countered by [[WaterGunsAndBalloons chucking a water balloon]] at him.
293	[[/folder]]
294
295	[[folder:Real Life]]
296	* According to one wartime reporter, pens are just sharp enough to pierce skin, but just dull enough to ''really freaking hurt''.
297	* The Officeguns.com ''Super Maul'' can shoot pens through a soda can. It can be built from standard office supplies.
298	* An ImprovisedWeapon technique taught to CIA agents during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar involved a pencil jutting out from between the knuckles of a fist, rammed upward through the soft part of the jawbone into the brain.
299	* UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar stabbed one of his assassins with his stylus (a pointy thing for writing on wax tablets) before dying.
300	* It's no knife, but a fountain pen does have a blade-like writing tip. Get stabbed in a large vein or artery like the jugular and it can be deadly, no doubt, and that's not to mention the poisonous effects of ink on the body's cells.
301	* Averting this trope is why patients in mental asylums are given chalk or crayons for writing and drawing instead of pens or pencils. Though many teachers and students know how a thrown chalk can hurt, chalk is not quite as potentially lethal.
302	* Tactical pens sold by many self-defense websites are designed to be much more durable than a garden-variety ballpoint pen so they can be used more effectively as a stabbing weapon. [[MundaneUtility They still write, though]].
303	* In Hull University, UK, a jealous student stabbed his female friend in the head, mouth and throat about 90 times with a pen as well as asphyxiated.
304	* Any blunt, strong-built pen or marker, even if that pen is not a tactical pen, can be used as a Kubotan or Yawara stick.
305	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ThePenIsMightier