Line #70 Main/WeaponizedLandmark


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3	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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6	[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Eiffel-Tower-superlaser.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:246:[[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys SURRENDER]] [[VerbThis ZIS,]] [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch SALOPE!]]]]
8
9	->''"What's this? Were we lured out? Who did that to the White House? They shouldn't call it the White House; they should call it the Fight House!"''
10	-->-- '''Jodie''', ''VideoGame/MetalWolfChaos''
11
12	What's even cooler than a MonumentalBattle? When said monument ''takes part'' in it.
13
14	A sister to LandmarkingTheHiddenBase, this trope takes the view that the [[RuleOfCool only thing cooler]] than placing a covert headquarters inside a [[EiffelTowerEffect world-famous monument]] is placing a ''mountain-cracking WeaponOfMassDestruction'' inside a [[EiffelTowerEffect world-famous monument]]. Merely housing personnel, labs, or arms isn't good enough; at a minimum, the superweapon should be hidden inside the landmark, while a sign of [[EvilGenius true genius]] is '''making the landmark the weapon itself'''. {{Nerdgasm}} levels double if the landmark [[TransformingMecha transforms]] into a mobile battle platform or HumongousMecha.
15
16	The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:He_saved_the_union.jpg Lincoln Memorial]] is a popular subject for this trope; apparently, the idea of [[{{Golem}} Giant Stone Abe]] getting off his ass and kicking someone else's has some appeal…
17
18	If the landmark is sufficiently old, this could end up as a LostSuperweapon. If the opposition ever discovers the location (or even existence) of the weapon, MonumentalDamage or a MonumentalBattle are all but assured. If the monument is ''itself'' deciding to shoot its lasers/crush people/cause mayhem, that's a LivingStructureMonster.
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20	'''Note:''' This trope covers weapons in ''real-world'' landmarks. Weaponizing fictional buildings or installations is almost a prerequisite in some works.
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25	* On an episode of ''Anime/BattleOfThePlanets'', the bad guys are able to retract the head of George Washington inside the mountain from Mount Rushmore where it becomes the face of a giant lava-monster thing.
26	* ''Manga/GetterRobo Hein'' uses the Art/StatueOfLiberty as a giant cannon/jet piloted by a HumongousMecha.
27	* The Primevals in ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' can assimilate pretty much any organic or inorganic matter and convert it into a body, but a few of them use landmarks; thus, we get MonstersOfTheWeek based on the Great Wall of China, two pyramids (one in Egypt and one in Mexico), a Moai and Art/TheSphinx. [[spoiler:Later on, we see Weaponized ''Planetoids'' when they possess ''the moons of Jupiter''.]]
28	** The sequel, ''Anime/GaoGaiGarFINAL,'' features Mic Sounders [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome defeating his opponent by playing a bass solo on the cables of Tower Bridge]] after his disc player is broken.
29	* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'', the secret weapon of the Information Alliance is a massive seaborne fortress created from ''Manhattan island''.
30	* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'':
31	** The new Statue of Liberty found on the Neo-American space colony is actually a WaveMotionGun. The blast fires from the torch, naturally. The old Statue of Liberty (or what was left of it) was [[MonumentalDamage destroyed]] in one of Domon's [[DynamicEntry Dynamic Entries]].
32	** Art/TheSphinx is also a giant Gundam now.
33	* In ''Anime/NurseWitchKomugi,'' the [[http://www.bigsight.jp/english/ Tokyo Big Sight convention center]] is featured as a giant TransformingMecha, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD3dtfJ4Vtw Big Sightron/Cytron.]]
34	* In a Osaka-centric episode of ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', the titular magical girls ended fighting the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ts%C5%ABtenkaku Tsutenkaku Tower]] after [[WickedWitch Majorina]] transformed the well-known landmark into the rampaging [[MonsterClown Akanbe]] [[MonsterOfTheWeek of the Week]].
35	* One episode of the 1978 series ''[[Anime/CaptainHarlock Space Pirate Captain Harlock]]'' reveals that Art/TheSphinx of Giza is actually an ancient Mazone superweapon.
36	* In ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Edo Phoenix can even ''create'' a facsimile of the clock tower that holds Big Ben using his [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Clock_Tower_Prison Clock Tower Prison]] Field Spell, making it a WeaponizedLandmark in spirit, at least. (Given how the Solid Vision Hologram system of the Duel Disks work, this also creates a MonumentalBattle ''anywhere'' he uses it, also in spirit.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Comic Books]]
40	* ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'': In the origin story of the Knights of Justice, MadScientist Dr. Henry Hyde converts the Washington Monument into a missile and fires it at the White house in an attempt to kill both UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill (who was inside the monument at the time) and UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt. Ultiman saves both leaders and restores the Monument to its proper place.
41	* In ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' #222, [[https://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/a/80/51ed8869f3cd9/clean.jpg "The Monumental Menace!"]] Cap fights an animated Lincoln Memorial statue.
42	* Parodied in a ''Film/SpyKids'' comic from an issue of ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures''. The evil organization. F.A.N.G. steals Mount Rushmore and places the heads aboard an enormous robot body, only to realize they have no plan for WHAT the robot is supposed to do afterward.
43	* The ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'' comic book series revealed a secret [[KillSat orbital space laser cannon]] housed in the top stories of the Chrysler Building; it uses a series of satellite-mounted mirrors to direct the shot towards its intended target.
44	* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': A 1971 story had Art/TheSphinx being [[AncientAstronauts left behind by aliens]] as a weapon.
45	* A literal instance occurred in ''ComicBook/PsiForce,'' when the title hero-entity clobbers a Russian paranormal with the Washington Monument.
46	* ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'': In ''Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo'', a live-sized statue of Hachikō (a famous Japanese dog) is animated by telekinesis.
47	* Mt. Rushmore was turned into a four-headed golem in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' #209, as seen on [[http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee175/koenmasgurl88/motivational%20posters/MotivationalEpicLevelGolems.jpg this poster.]]
48	** The idea was reused by writer Brian Azzarello in the ''Doctor 13: Architecture and Morality'' mini-series. "How do you hurt a ''mountain?!''" "Strip mining."
49	* ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' has the Eiffel Tower being weaponized by [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Robot Zombie Gustav Eiffel!]]
50	** Later, they also defeat an animated Lincoln Memorial. The Rumor defeats it by materializing an equally large stone John Wilkes Booth, who promptly assassinates Lincoln.
51	* In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', the Empire State Building is actually the machine that The Fraternity used to warp reality.
52	* ''ComicBook/WormwoodGentlemanCorpse'': At the climax of "Wormwood Goes to Washington", Abraham Lincoln's spirit possesses the Lincoln Memorial.
53	* In ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'', one of the pyramids of Egypt is revealed to be a mobile battlestation armed with a solar-powered death ray.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Fanfic]]
57	* The infamous fanfic ''[[http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/04/fan_fiction_friday_prince_william_kate_middleton_a.php Garfield's Royal Rescue]]'' by [=ShakespeareHemingway=] (an author who loves to portray Garfield as a GaryStu) has Prince William turn the Big Ben clock tower into a giant laser cannon.
58	* In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', the Civil Defense Tower is this. Then Dr. Wily gets hold of it…
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
62	* When the British invade in ''WesternAnimation/AmericaTheMotionPicture'', they have Big Ben as a HumongousMecha that kills ''Myth/PaulBunyan'' by sending a cuckoo through his head.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
66	* In ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', Thor uses the Chrysler Building's spire to concentrate and amplify his lightning.
67	* In ''Film/CanadianBacon'', by means of lying that the equipment is meant for climate measurement, R.J. Hacker manages to install the "Hellstorm" computer (which would trigger the launch of every nuclear silo in America) on the top of Toronto's CN Tower.
68	* In ''Film/GhostbustersII'', the Ghostbusters use positively-charged mood slime to turn the Statue of Liberty into an improvised HumongousMecha [[ThePowerOfLove Of Love]] against Vigo and Janosz.
69	* In ''Film/TheGreatWall'', the Great Wall of China is equipped with many fire catapults and also has an incorporated system of rotating blades in order to stop the Tao Tei from scaling the Wall.
70	* ''Franchise/MenInBlack'':
71	** ''Film/MenInBlackII'' has [[spoiler:the Statue of Liberty has a [[LaserGuidedAmnesia neuralizer]] capable of mind wiping the entire city hidden in its torch.]]
72	** In the cartoon, it was the Chrysler building.
73	** In ''Film/MenInBlackInternational'', the Eiffel Tower is a secret spaceport with a portal for alien refugees coming to Earth. The Hive turn it into a {{Hellgate}} for their own race to invade Earth.
74	* In ''Film/MortalEngines'', St Paul's Cathedral sits on top of the mobile city, and is used by Valentine for his 'energy project'. [[spoiler:A superweapon that deploys from the dome]].
75	* ''Film/Sharknado5GlobalSwarming'': The London Eye fires one of its capsules into the sharknado like a rocket. The Sydney Opera House changes into a battle-mode and fires off lasers and some of its shell sections at the oncoming shark-storm. In the animated credits sequence, an Egyptian pyramid takes off with rockets and zaps some spear-wielding sharks with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]].
76	* In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', the Decepticons' sun-destroying DoomsdayDevice is hidden inside one of the Great Pyramids of Giza.
77	* The Lincoln Memorial gets a BigDamnHeroes moment in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseumBattleOfTheSmithsonian''.
78	* In ''Film/XMen1'', Magneto hid his mutation-inducing device [[spoiler:inside the torch of the Statue of Liberty]].
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Literature]]
82	* In the ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' book ''Literature/BattleGround2020'', the Winter Court stores weapons inside the {{sculpture\|s}} Cloud Gate.
83	* In ''Fate of Flames'' by Sarah Raughley, set in a world where demon-like creatures called "phantoms" began attacking humanity in the nineteenth century, the Space Needle in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} was built as an electronic beacon to repulse phantoms from the city. It wound up going down, however, requiring [[MagicalGirlWarrior the Effigies]] to save the city after a lengthy siege. Nevertheless, it served as a prototype for similar anti-phantom towers in other US cities, most notably the Needle that dominates the New York skyline. In UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}, meanwhile, a similar anti-phantom device was installed in the Pont Saint-Michel bridge near the center of the city, the bridge being chosen for symbolic reasons as the site of a violent massacre committed by phantoms.
84	* In ''Literature/MortalEngines'', [[spoiler:a city-destroying laser is being built in St Paul's Cathedral.]]
85	* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', [[spoiler:all of the statues around Manhattan Island are actually [[HumongousMecha automata]] built by Daedalus -- just in case.]]
86	* Similarly, in ''[[Literature/YoungWizards So You Want To Be A Wizard]]'', the statues of Manhattan are temporarily brought to life by magic to help fight the forces of evil.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
90	* Taken completely literally in ''Series/DenAce'', which is a parody of the ''[[Franchise/UltraSeries Ultraman]]'' series. In order to fight a giant monster, the titular giant hero pulls Tokyo Tower out of the ground... and uses it as a club.
91	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
92	** In the very first episode of the new series, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]], the London Eye is used by the Nestene Consciousness to broadcast controlling signals during the (brief) Auton invasion.
93	** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan"]], the Statue of Liberty is transformed into a Weeping Angel. Granted, it doesn't do anything besides sit in the background with the signature Weeping Angel face. [[FridgeLogic One wonders how they keep bystanders from looking at it]].
94	* In ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo,'' Akebono Tower (an {{expy}} of TokyoTower) is transformed into a MonsterOfTheWeek.
95	* ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' episode "The Girl Who Was Death" was a tall story with Number Six after an archvillain and his rocket poised to destroy London, which was disguised as the Beachy Head lighthouse.
96	* Stonehenge is a LostSuperweapon that detonates Pyramids [[ApocalypseHow all over the world]] for… some reason in ''Series/StonehengeApocalypse''.
97	* The Gherkin in London is in fact a launch pad for anti-pirate trains in ''Series/TheWrongDoor''.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Pinball]]
101	* In ''Pinball/RevengeFromMars'', the humans' Secret Weapon is a giant Abraham Lincoln robot.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
105	* The board game ''[[http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23348/easter-island Easter Island]]'' is entirely based on the idea of the Moai being built as beam weapons by powerful wizards.
106	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'''s second edition, the ''sun'' is a massive battle station capable of firing death-beams and turning into a giant robot.
107	* ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'': There are gods and scions who think that The Statue Of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer and pretty much any other similar sized statue could be a giant war automaton that only needs the right key to activate. There's a statue of Vulcan in Alabama that's ''confirmed'' to be one, but nobody knows how to turn it on yet.
108	** Additionally, a Demigod or God with high enough Epic Strength can use landmarks as improvised ''melee'' weapons.
109	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
110	** The Fortress-Monastery. A giant and sacred church complex that serves as the home of a Space Marine Chapter and is dotted with enough firepower to discourage any would-be invaders.
111	** Ramilles Class Star-forts can service Cruiser-sized Imperial ships and destroy anything smaller than a battleship.
112	** The former flagship of the Word Bearers legion had a to-scale replica of the holy book written by their Primarch across the top of their hull. It was roughly a quarter-kilometer in height. ''It opened up'', to reveal an [[WaveMotionGun incredibly huge plasma lance]].
113	** Mount Everest has been hollowed out and now serves as the Astronomican, the psychic beacon that lets FTL ships know where they're going.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Video Games]]
117	* Early examples involve the ''VideoGame/AeroFighters'' series of {{Shoot Em Up}}s:
118	** Moscow's stage in ''Aero Fighters'' involves the Kremlin's spires and domes launching into the air, turning into floating gun platforms or gigantic missiles.
119	** ''Aero Fighters 2'' also features pagoda-missiles in the opening Tokyo stage.
120	** ''Aero Fighters 3'''s opening stage features the Tokyo Tower transforming into a HumongousMecha.
121	** ''Aero Fighters Assault'' puts a Weaponized Landmark on your side--in the very first stage. If the boss ("Super-X") gets within firing range of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (which you're supposed to protect), the building will suddenly rise up and transform into a dual WaveMotionGun that destroys the Super-X in one shot.
122	* ''VideoGame/BattleTanx: Global Assault'' features a campaign level where the Eiffel Tower is converted into a laser cannon.
123	* While not exactly a landmark, the Voyager II in ''[[VideoGame/{{Battlezone1998}} Battlezone II]]'' is a space probe on a mission of peaceful exploration, just as it is in real life... except that it is armed to the teeth and is well able to defend itself in case of any, uh, unfortunate encounters. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oewk8TX6KSs&t=27s Mostly well]], anyways.
124	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'':
125	** One mission in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' requires the player to turn the Eiffel Tower into a gigantic Tesla coil capable of destroying all of Paris. The Soviets also try to replicate Prism Towers by mounting them on the Mayan pyramids, and in the expansion Yuri not only [[RushmoreRefacement slaps his face]] on the Moai statues, he turns them into turrets firing [[EyeBeams lasers out their eyes]]. On a more realistic note, the game allows you to garrison buildings with basic troops. This includes such famous buildings as the Pentagon, the White House, and St. Basil's Cathedral.
126	** The {{Trope Namer\|s}} is ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', which is '''loaded''' with these: [[spoiler:Mount Rushmore]] has gigantic laser cannons mounted inside [[spoiler:the Presidents' heads]] (one of which has the range to hit Moscow), [[spoiler:Griffith Observatory]] has a giant cannon built into it, [[spoiler:Leningrad's Winter Palace]] transforms into a humongous space center, the [[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/RapaNui Moai Heads]]]] are actually weapons turrets or man-cannons... It got to the point where there's a building category named "Weaponized Landmark", because of the sheer ubiquity of these things in the game. In fact, the only monument that isn't weaponized in some way is [[spoiler:the Statue of Liberty]].
127	* The weaponized Moai in the ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' series--one of the earliest examples in video games, having appeared from the very first game and serving as a series staple after that.
128	* In ''[[https://reviewersunite.com/2017/05/31/jumping-the-soapbox-los-disneys/comment-page-1/ Los Disneys]]'', a satirical Creator/{{Disney}}[=-=]bashing total conversion mod for ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'', [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney World]] becomes the capital of the Republic of Los Disneys, formerly known as the state of Florida until Disney bought it from a bankrupt US government. The animatronics on famous rides like ''Ride/ItsASmallWorld'' and ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion'' turn out to be [[HostileAnimatronics programmed to kill intruders like you]], and your goal is to reach an underground lab beneath the park where CEO Michael Eisner seeks to clone Creator/WaltDisney and bring him back to life as TheAntiChrist in order to TakeOverTheWorld. ("Sounds ridiculous? I assure you, this is no joke.") Destroying Walt's frozen corpse sets off a DoomsdayDevice, with nuclear missiles launched out of Cinderella Castle.
129	* The kaiju game, ''VideoGame/HakaiouKingOfCrusher'', have the Statue of Liberty serving as it's FinalBoss, where it has been converted into a mecha whose torch can blast bolts of electricity all over the place.
130	* The Sphinx in ''VideoGame/MetalSlugCodeJ'' has been converted from an ancient statue to a giant Sphinx-mecha capable of firing missiles from it's headgear and laser bolts from its eyes.
131	* In ''VideoGame/MetalWolfChaos'', Alcatraz Island houses a gigantic electromagnetic cannon, and the White House is encased in armour and weapons to make it the "Fight House".
132	* In ''VideoGame/{{Octogeddon}}, the FinalBoss is [[spoiler:''the White House itself'']]. It can fly around firing giant laser beams and can be monted on a GiantMecha among other things.
133	* In ''VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure'', the villainous forces find the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which turns out to be [[spoiler:an ancient nuclear-powered weather-control machine]], though it seems the bad guys knew all along. It can also be flown like a colossal airship and has at least enough fuel to travel non-stop from Babylon to Paris.
134	* The third game in the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' series has the Arc d'Triomphe secretly hiding a massive artillery piece known as the "Revolver Cannon", which as the name implies, resembles a handgun enlarged by a factor of about 200, set in an artillery mount. It is used to launch the heroes in their PoweredArmor on a suborbital trajectory -- in the fourth game, this cannon is even used to transport four of them from Paris to Tokyo in a matter of minutes.
135	* The ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam and Max]]'' adventure game "Abe Lincoln Must Die!" reveals that Abe's statue is actually a cybernetically-animated robot that [[spoiler:eventually goes on a rampage across the country.]]
136	** And what would possibly destroy him? [[spoiler:An ICBM hidden inside the Washington Monument. "Most powerful presidential monument ever" MY FOOT!]]
137	*** [[spoiler:Not even that completely destroys him. [[OnlyMostlyDead His head is still intact and living]].]]
138	* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiZombieNation'', the Statue of Liberty is transformed into a Medusa, with snakes replacing her crown. Also, she can use her torch as a flamethrower.
139	* Wat Pho, aka the reclining Buddha, is a recurring locale in ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. It's actually camouflage for Shadowloo's base in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha III''. If you lose, the statue's face crumbles to reveal a mechanical skull; it then fires a laser into the stratosphere, which is reflected by M. Bison's KillSat and [[NonStandardGameOver nukes a major city]].
140	* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesShreddersRevenge'': [[spoiler:Krang's ultimate goal is to convert the Statue of Liberty into his new robot body. You fight it in the final level.]]
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Website]]
144	* Back in the early 2010s when Website/{{Cracked}} was still hosting their weekly Photoshop contests, one of the funnier entries, [[https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_189_11-things-cia-keeping-from-us 11 Things The CIA Is Keeping From Us]] have its winner being [[spoiler:Theodore Roosevelt's head on Mount Rushmore]] converted into a HumongousMecha. Which is triggered by a BigRedButton.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Webcomics]]
148	* The Eiffel Tower was built ''very differently'' in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' as the heart of the Master of Paris's power it, like the rest of the city, can be used to fight attackers.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Web Original]]
152	* The French Sentai homage ''WebVideo/FranceFive'' revolves around the idea that the Eiffel Tower is a shamanic totem holding the evil galactic empire at bay. The tower was destroyed in episode 4, but episode 6 shows that it was rebuilt following a long and hard battle resulting in the defeat of said empire.
153	* ''WebAnimation/PigeonImpossible'' has [[spoiler:the Washington Monument]] acting as a housing for a Titan II ballistic missile.
154	* ''WebVideo/TheMonumentMythos'': After being in a dormant state for over 100 years, the Statue of Freedom - which is being possessed by the very man who sculptured her and his daughter - is awakened by [[WesternTerrorists the ADA]] during their [[AllohistoricalAllusion storm of the U.S Capitol]] in [[AlternateHistory 1977]]. She goes berserk and murders dozens of ADA members, leading into the U.S government to use her as a weapon against dissenters.
155	* [[http://lysol-jones.deviantart.com/art/O-Force-Obama-126331565 This image.]]
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Western Animation]]
159	* The opening credits of ''[=2DTV=]'' had UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush pressing The Button, which caused [[RushmoreRefacement his own face to please on Mount Rushmore]] and launch a missile out of its head.
160	* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' has Mount Rushmore weaponized with a newly-installed CIA anti-missile laser defense to destroy missiles trying to destroy the monument. It turns out both Stan and Hayley were unknowingly part of a test made by Bullock, who disguised himself as a hippie wanting to destroy Mount Rushmore.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' weaponized the Warner Bros. water tower in "Super Strong Warner Siblings." This is also an actual building, though it has a greater role in the cartoon.
162	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' features Shake [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext sneaking off from a tour at the White House and starting a nuclear war with the Russians]]. Said nuclear weapons are revealed to literally be the pillars of the White House's facade and the cupolas of Saint Basil's Cathedral.
163	* In the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' SeriesFinale, Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S., Sector V uses a weapon against the Delightful Children called the [[FunWithAcronyms R.E.B.R.I.D.G.E.R.A.T.E.R.]] (Revered English Bridge Really Is Doubly Great Enemy Roadblock And Totally Ends Rundowns). Subverted in that it is only a replica of London Bridge. Well, ''maybe'' it could have been the real one... Stranger things have happened in this cartoon...
164	** The comics have the KND use the Great Wall of China to flush away the People’s Liberation Army.
165	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' had Mandark turn the UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington portion of Mount Rushmore into a [[HumongousMecha giant golem/mecha]]; Dexter responds by animating [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Lincoln's portion of Mount Rushmore]]. The "golems" stop fighting when they [[NotSoDifferentRemark realize they're similar]] (in particular, famous for their honesty) and walk off arms-over-shoulders to have a friendly conversation.
166	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has a variation with 20th Century Fox's iconic searchlight logo, which is an actual building in Hollywood. The tour guide explains that the searchlights are designed to blind pilots and film the resulting crashes.
167	* An {{Elseworld}} episode of ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', "Worlds Without End", featured an alternate reality where the Joes were defeated years ago and COBRA now rules the United States. That reality's Destro concealed a weapon called the Parasite Matrix that captures and crushes hostile aircraft in a web of energy in the top of the Washington Monument.
168	** Another episode, "Red Rocket's Glare", had COBRA buy out a chain of [[GreasySpoon "Red Rocket" roadside diners]] in order to replace the kitschy fake rockets on the roof of each restaurant with real ones.
169	* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}'', one of the animated-statue guardians of Metlar's lair appears to be the Colossus of Rhodes. In a later episode, Metlar animates the Statue of Liberty. [[spoiler:Subverted, as he ''marries'' her rather than uses her as a weapon.]]
170	* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures,'' where [[CircleOfStandingStones Stonehenge]] isn't the weapon of mass destruction the cultists in London claim it to be. It was a [[spoiler:UFO landing site]], however.
171	* Dr. Wily animated the Statue of Liberty via magic in the Ruby-Spears ''WesternAnimation/{{Mega Man\|RubySpears}}'' cartoon. As Art/LadyLiberty broke off one of her crown's spikes to attack, she was restored to normal at the end.
172	* A minor landmark, but on ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', the Red Squirrel hides a missile inside [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra%27s_Needle Cleopatra's Needle]] at Central Park.
173	* The animated short ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEjUAnPc2VA Pigeon: Impossible]]'' has an ICBM hidden in the Washington Monument.
174	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' revealed that the Eiffel Tower was actually a SteamPunk ecto-containment grid. [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy (Apparently, Gustave Eiffel was, well, a Ghostbuster.)]] This was revisited in the Ghostbusters comic book series ''Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression''.
175	* This has popped up a couple of times in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. One episode sees [[EnemyWithout Toxic Rick]] do this to a moontower to spread a toxifying wave across the planet, and apparently one of the things the Galactic Federation did when they took over the Earth was weaponize the Eiffel Tower. Later on as revealed in a ColdOpen for one episode in Season 5, the Statue of Liberty was actually a TrojanHorse that housed a giant female mecha inside of it. Never trust the French indeed.
176	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' ''Treehouse of Horror VIII'', France launches a NeutronBomb from the Eiffel Tower at Springfield.
177	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has an episode where an animated Lincoln memorial comes to life; the Super Best Friends defeat him with a giant stone John Wilkes Booth.
178	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''
179	** From ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' cartoon, Stonehenge (or an {{Expy}} thereof) is an alien signaling probe and containment device.
180	** And while it's technically not a monument ''per se'', the [[spoiler:second]] moon is [[spoiler:actually a planet-heating RayGun]].
181	* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', it turns out Art/TheSphinx and three pyramids around the world are actually part of Apocalypse's mutation-inducing machine (similar to the one in the ''X-Men'' film but worldwide).
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Real Life]]
185	* The Eiffel Tower has indeed served as a militarized landmark during its existence, though it didn't become anything as wacky or awesome as shooting lasers. During UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the tower's radio transmitter was used to jam German radio communications, and it played a pivotal role in slowing down German advance into Paris and helped Entente powers secure victory in First Battle of the Marne.
186	* Joe Davis, renowned artist and MadScientist, is, [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18507_5-works-legitimate-mad-science-passed-off-as-art_p2.html according to a Cracked.com article]], planning to build a 10-story tower as a monument to hurricane victims that harnesses excess nitrogen in the air during a lightning storm… ''and fires it back into the sky in the form of a giant laser''.
187	* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Park_%28disambiguation%29 Battery parks]], inverted in that they started as bunches of really powerful weapons, then the ground that they were on/in later became landmarked parks.
188	* The [[TropeNamers original]] [[TheAlcatraz Alcatraz]] began life as a coastal defense fort/military base, complete with [[{{BFG}} artillery]]. It is no longer such, however.
189	** The same is the case for the US MilitaryAcademy at West Point, which once defended a strategically important bend in the Hudson River.
190	** The pedestal of the statue of the Statue of Liberty sits atop an old military fort.
191	* The Rock of Gibraltar is armed with gun batteries.
192	* One popular UrbanLegend about the Ride/DisneyThemeParks is that Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom has missile silos installed in its turrets. The game ''Los Disneys'', mentioned above, takes this urban legend and runs with it.
193	* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_ship museum ships]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_guardian gate guardians]], in that they were weapons ''to begin with'' and disarmed and turned into landmarks. In most cases, despite being relatively intact, the costs and effort it would take to repair and bring the equipment [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece back into service]] is prohibitively high to the point of impracticality but not completely impossible.
194	* The European castle could be classed as such with its battlements, arrow slits and sluices for hot fluids to be poured on would-be invaders. Edinburgh Castle gets special mention for rising over the city centre on its own mini mountain and having cannons that could fire over the city as far as the waters of the Firth of Forth.
195	[[/folder]]

Context Main / WeaponizedLandmark