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[[quoteright:250:[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ash_poke_ball.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:What would a [[TheBeastmaster Pokémon trainer]] be without their trusty Poké Balls?]]

A Signature Device is a tool, weapon, or object that all members of a certain group (usually {{Differently Powered Individual}}s) possess and marks them all as similar in some way.

They often serve as a TransformationTrinket or other kind of distinctive weapon. They might also be CounterpartArtifacts of some kind.

Most stock costumes include some, generally examples of TruthInTelevision. Particularly:
* Scrubs, stethoscopes and clipboards for doctors
* Guns and badges for police officers
* Cellphones, [=PDAs=] or headsets for businessmen

Compare MarkOfTheSupernatural.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
%% * Air blades in ''Manga/AirGear''.
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', members of the Survey Corps have the 3D Maneuver Gear and the dual swords. The intro demonstrates the Gear in action just to drill this in. (3D Maneuver Gear allows the user to get airborne at a moment's notice - useful given they fight giants that can only be killed by cutting out the back of their necks.)
%% * The Beyblades from ''Franchise/{{Beyblade}}''
* The Zanpakouto in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' are unique blades weapons that all shinigami, Arrancar, and Visoreds use.
%% * Knightmare Frames from ''Anime/CodeGeass''.
%% * Digivices for the Digidestined from ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}''
* The Diaries (of all sorts from phones to coloring books) in ''Manga/FutureDiary'', are used by the 12 Diary holders to compete in a battle royale competition for who becomes the next god. Each Diary tells the future in a unique way based on their owner's personality.
* In ''Anime/EdenOfTheEast'', each of the Seleção is given a distinctive cellphone which connects them to the concierge service to execute their commands and serve as a credit card. They are each numbered from 1-12.
* ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'': State alchemists have standard-issue pocket watches, which are often used to identify them as such.
%% * The eponymous Franchise/{{Gundam}}s
%% * Controllers in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' each have one.
%% * Devices in ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. Except for Yuuno, who gave his to Nanoha at the beginning of the first season.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Almost every shinobi wears a headband with a metal plate, engraved with the symbol of the village they represent. These can be taken away when someone dishonors their place as a ninja, and not wearing one is seen as disrespectful.
%% * Tennis rackets in ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis''
* Soul Gems in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' are {{Soul Jar}}s that the magical girls obtain after agreeing to the MagicalGirl contract Kyuubey offers. They have to maintain its purity lest it turns dark with corruption. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, corruption is ''inevitable'', and in fact the Soul Gem is ''designed'' to eventually go corrupt.]]
%% * The Vongola (Mare/Acrobaleno Pacifiers) Rings from ''Manga/Reborn2004''.
* The transformation wands from ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', which are used to activate a Sailor Guardian's TransformationSequence.
%% * The Guns from ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'' that the Letter Bees all use.
* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'': Each of the heroes that work for Hero TV have similar comm wrist bands that alert them to emergencies to respond to during their off time.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
** Every incarnation of has a form of Duel Disks, a device worn on the arm that allows the wearer to play Duel Monsters with the full holograms-and-LP-counters trappings no matter where they are. The original introduced them in the Battle City arc, and they proved so convenient that they became ''de rigeur'' for later installments.
** ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' has the Duel Runners, which are... well, the fandom meme is "CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!" for a reason. It's possible to detach the dueling part from a Duel Runner and use it as a Duel Disk by itself, but most of the dueling in the series is done in motion.
* The spell books from ''Manga/ZatchBell'' are used by Mamono owners to command their mons in battle. If the books are destroyed, the Mamonos are banished back to their home realm.
%% * Zoids in... you guessed it!... ''Franchise/{{Zoids}}''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
%% This is literally only one person%% * Batman has a wide variety of these in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. The most famous is easily the Batarang, which despite the "-rang" part of the name are more like bat-shaped shuriken. He also [[TropeCodifier made the]] UtilityBelt [[TropeCodifier a commonplace concept]].
* If you are a Comicbook/{{Green Lantern}}, you will have two elements: the [[IconicOutfit Green Lantern uniform]] and the Green Lantern Ring. The latter sometimes ''creates'' the former when you put it on. This was later spun off into an entire spectrum of different-colored Lanterns, all of which have their own rings.
%% * Legion flight rings from ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', all of Mei's female relatives wear a talisman often made of jade containing their red panda spirit which serve as one use TransformationTrinkets.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
%% * ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'': Proton Packs and ghost traps.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Lightsabers indicate that a wielder is a Jedi or force-sensitive, and red ones specifically indicate a Sith.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
%% * In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
%% ** The silver, anti-magic sword and unstainable grey cloak of the Wardens is this.
%% ** Played with - focii help focus a wizard's magic in large part because they believe it will. However, there are also items imbued with power. Harry's are the staff and wand and duster (and gun).
%% ** Wizards robes are both a symbol of office and because magic interferes with electronics, including heaters.
* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': Each dragonrider is gifted a specialized sword colored to match their dragons, and a [[MarkOfTheSupernatural scar where they touched their dragon]].
* In ''Literature/ThePowderMageTrilogy'', Privileged, the setting's most prominent type of magic users, wear special gloves without which they cannot cast their spells.
%% * In the Literature/SwordOfTruth it's the ... Sword of Truth. For the Seeker of Truth.
%% ** At the palace of the prophets, the Rada'Han is this for wizards.
%% ** Confessors' dresses.
%% ** Higher-rank wizards wear simpler clothes.
%% ** Defenders of the Lord Rahl wear special weapons with his crest.
%% ** War Wizards' gear is this.
%% ** The rings in the lips of the female slaves of the Imperial Order.
%% ** Darken Rahl's curved knife.
%% ** The Mord-Sith Agiel. [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience Various colors of leather outfits]], too.
%% * The Aes Sedai rings in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The sonic screwdriver, first introduced in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E6FuryFromTheDeep "Fury from the Deep"]], quickly became the Doctor's go-to trinket in almost all of their incarnations. The only Doctors that lacked the device on-screen were the First and Sixth Doctors -- the former because it didn't exist yet, the latter because the sonic screwdriver was temporarily retired [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E4TheVisitation midway through his predecessor's run]] before coming back at [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie the very end of his successor's]].
** The Tissue Compression Eliminator served as the Master's signature weapon in the Classic Series, tying in with his nature as ruthless, yet plagued by a cartoonish ComplexityAddiction, thanks to its gimmick of fatally shrinking people down to the size of action figures so that he can leave them as calling cards. The TCE is so thoroughly associated with the Master, in fact, that both the Peter Pratt and Creator/AnthonyAinley incarnations first made themselves known by leaving shrunken corpses lying around for the sake of a WhamShot. It made a return in the New Series, with Sacha Dhawan's incarnation announcing his true identity with the shrunken body of the real O.
%% * TransformationTrinket belts for Franchise/{{Kamen Rider}}s.
%% * Morphers for the titular ''Franchise/PowerRangers''.
%% * The Swords that the Series/ShadowChasers use.
%% * "Garage Door Openers" for all Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}} team members.
* Pretty much every Starfleeter on ''Franchise/StarTrek'' will be seen using a tricorder at some point. This is because Starfleet is all about science and exploration, and tricorders are powerful scientific tools.
%% * [[TheParalyzer Teslas]] and [[CommLinks Farnsworths]] for ''Series/Warehouse13'' agents.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': The Assassins will almost always be seen wielding their Hidden Blades, a weapon used since the very inception of the Order. Every non-Assassin who wields one was either gifted the tool, forcibly obtained it from an Assassin (whether through stealing or as a battle trophy), or happens to be a turncoat from the Order.
* The Belmonts from ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' almost always have the same set of secondary weapons: throwing knives, throwing axes, cross, holy water, and stopwatch. Even moreso, all Belmonts wield the whip Vampire Killer. Allies will wield all sorts of weapons though.
* Keyblades in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', key-shaped swords used by the protagonists that can open and close any lock, whether literal or metaphorical, and can only be wielded by those with strong hearts.
%% * Pickaxes and crafting tables in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', given what the game is all about: mining and [[ItemCrafting crafting]].
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Poké Balls, which are used to catch the titular Pokémon and the Pokédex, which is a digital Pokémon encyclopedia for the Pokémon trainers, or at the very least skilled and/or important ones. Receiving one at the beginning of the game indicates you're now a trainer.
** Gym badges also indicate someone is taking the gym challenge.
* Player Pins for Players in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' mark them as players of the Reaper's Game trying to win and be revived.

[[/folder]]

%% [[folder:Western Animation]]
%% * Masks in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''.
%% * The Assault Weapon Systems in ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}''.
%% * The Guardians and their keytools in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''.
%% * The communicators designed by Robin and Cyborg in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', which actually serve as a plot point.
%% [[/folder]]
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