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alt title(s): Energy Weapons Power Glows meets Weapons And Wielding. Science and logic need not apply — the Rule Of Cool is in charge here.
Some will argue it is made of or propels Pure Energy.
Subtropes:
Contrast to Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better, is when the fiction uses weapons just like or similar to Real Life Weapons despite the tech level of the story.
Examples
Film
- Star Wars isn't limited to lightsabers. For instance, "light whips" — which make a bit more sense than a lightsaber, as the "energy" tendrils actually have a solid metal core.
Live Action TV
Webcomics
- Parodied in the webcomic Isometric, where a villain facing defeat proclaims himself inventor of the electric whip when the hero corners him, only for the hero to point out that he had merely pulled electric cables out of the wall.
Anime
- In Gundam, normal energy weapons are fine for the small fry, but energy-based melee weapons are just about the only thing that can settle a duel between Gundams. An especially egregious example is Deathscythe's energy scythe in Gundam Wing, which knows both how to come to a point and to curve. In this case, though, you do get an answer: The plasma used in beam weapons can also be guided and shaped by specially-aligned magnetic fields, essentially forming a surface tension around the 'blade'. When it makes contact with a solid object, the field is disrupted around the point of contact, allowing the plasma to do its work. See Minovsky Physics
 (wikipedia), even if it is extensive technobabble and handwaving.
- Then there's the ridiculousness of G Gundam 's Argo Gulskii. He wears a pair of gigantic beam manacles — the bracelets are metal, as are the first links attached to them, but if he pulls them too far apart, a blue beam chain snaps between them. Yes, with individual beam links. This is even worse with his Gundam, the Bolt Gundam. Aside from the obligatory head-mounted vulcan guns, the only armament it has is the Graviton Hammer — a ball of metal with a handle that fires a super-long, super-huge version of the beam chain between his handcuffs. What's worse is that the beam chain doesn't burn anything — he can hold the chain and swing the ball in a smaller circle, and even gets tied to a gigantic spire of rock by his own weapon once!
- Gundam SEED attempts to justify it. One of the Strike's swords was essentially a giant potato peeler with the blade replaced with a laser. Hence, there were two solid bits for the beam to start and finish at.
- Gundam 00 subverts the beam saber stereotype, establishing such weapons as highly impractical in its setting, as energy is an extremely scarce resource. Thus far, melee energy weapons are only available to a small number of Super Prototype Humongous Mecha.
- It also subverts in a different way, with Gundam Exia's GN Blade, an enormous metal blade that was designed to penetrate GN Fields, something that normal beam sabers couldn't do.
- The Third Angel (Sachiel) in Neon Genesis Evangelion came equipped with what was essentially an energy spear. The Fourth Angel (Shamshiel) had energy whips in place of "arms". In a typical Evangelion subversion, the Evas themselves had nothing but giant-sized versions of mundane weapons to work with — and even then, no swords, only knives (sonic knives, though), spears (The Lance of Longinus, to boot) and guns (really big guns, larger than your average ship based artillery cannon). The only time an Eva got to wield an Energy Weapon, it was a monstrous particle beam sniper rifle that sucked down the entire power output of Japan to fuel a single shot.
- Zegapain not only has weapons made from light, but also armor made from light. Result: a cool-looking glow on the mechs.
- Megazone 23
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has energy scythes, energy whips, energy swords, energy daggers, and who knows what else. Of course, they're also pseudo-magical so you could probably Handwave it.
- In Code Geass, Luciano Bradley's Knightmare wields an arm-mounted laser drill lance.
- In Bleach, Uryu Ishida obtains the Seeleschneider (Soul Cutter). Essentially, spiritual energy extends from the handle and uses high-rotation physics similar to a chainsaw to cut away at spiritual pressure, which most powerful beings in Bleach are made of and use as energy. However, there's a surprise: Like all Quincy weapons, the Seeleschneider is actually an energy arrow. After it absorbs the energy it cuts away from enemies, it can be fired as a projectile. Chainsaw Katana Launcher, indeed.
Video Games
- All of Zero's weapons in the Mega Man Zero series are energy melee weapons, with the Z-Buster being the exception. The Rod series of weapons were the most bizarre, as they started off with an energy spear, then an energy whip (which also doubled as a grappling device), then an energy tonfa, finally ending up with an energy fist.
- Super Smash Brothers Brawl has Zero Suit Samus's energy whip, because the Paralyzer from Metroid: Zero Mission wasn't cool enough before. Unlike most of the whip examples on this page, this one's actually made of energy, not just coated in it.
- Phantasy Star Online used what was known as Photon weapons. What this meant is that every weapon in the game had a glowing Lightsaber-like part on it. Even the guns.
- Of course, the Phantasy Star series as a whole, with its sci-fi setting, had several breeds of "laser" weapons, notably swords, knives, slicers, claws, and axes. Though stuff made out of laconia managed to be superior.
- City Of Heroes has unlockable skins for most of the weapon powersets based on this trope. The Talsorian blades, available from Vanguard, are tintable blades of energy available for Broad Sword, Katana, Battle Axe, Dual Blades and Archery (and Trick Arrow) powersets. Yes, there's a Talsorian bow. But not a mace or hammer, for stylistic reasons (which the developers have justified with self-aware Technobabble).
- In Castlevania is often lampooned by cynics for its ability to destroy vampires (among other evil creatures), in spite of the fact that it is only a whip/long morningstar (depending on game and power level). However, The Vampire Killer's true form is shown in Castlevania: Bloodlines, where, when powered up to full, it manifests as a light whip.
Western Animation
- In the original Transformers series, the second episode featured Optimus Prime using his laser axe against Megatron's... laser flail.
- The tradition continues in Transformers Animated with Prime's energon axe (but rocket-powered this time!), Sentinel Prime's energon lance and shield and Jazz's energon Nunchuks.
- Interestingly, the 2007 movie Prime was supposed to have an energy axe, but the CGI model looked for all intense and purposes like a superheated/molten metal blade.
Tabletop Games
- In Warhammer 40000, there are "power weapons", which are a variant on this. The common models are not pure energy, but have a physical sword or gauntlet or set of claws and a surrounding field of energy. There are actually pure-energy models, but those are very rare. Nevertheless, like most expressions of this trope, they cut through other materials with ease. In the tabletop game's rules, no armour saves are permitted against an attack from one.
- Eisenhorn had a power sword that was all hilt, and when activated had a long energy blade. He also had magic powers and was worried about falling to the dark side. He didn't use it to fight his cybernetic psychic dark lord adversary, he used a physical power sword for that.
- Dungeons And Dragons has Brilliant Energy weapons that ignore armor bonuses to AC because they pass through armor, but they cannot hurt undead, constructs or objects.
- The Ur-example of an energy weapon in D&D would be Hank's bow from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.
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