History Main / RevolversAreJustBetter

* Played with in ''VideoGame/LandOfTheDeadRoadToFiddlersGreen'': Only the revolver is able to dismember limbs and score outright instant kills with headshots, but the hit detection is a bit janky. The competing Glock pistol can't blow off arms or heads, but it does fire much faster and, thanks to the rather simple gameplay mechanics, three shots anywhere on an ordinary zombie's body is guaranteed kill.

* Played with in ''VideoGame/LandOfTheDeadRoadToFiddlersGreen'', where there are no pistols, and so a revolver can only be compared with a hunting rifle. Said rifle deals more raw damage...but only the revolver is able to dismember limbs and score outright instant kills with headshots, so if you trust your aim, it is a better option against everything but the EliteZombie type that's immune to dismemberment.

While the revolver is the Hand Cannon to a regular semi-auto pistol in most media productions, one shouldn't expect to see a semi-auto pistol as the Hand Cannon to a regular revolver. This is particularly evident in videogames, where the revolver will ''always'' outclass a semi-auto shot-for-shot: after all, if the revolver didn't have that advantage, then it would be totally useless.

** In one ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex Stand Alone Complex]]'' episode, Togusa testifies in court that he prefers a revolver to an automatic because revolvers don't jam. It's implied that this is just him rationalizing and that he really prefers them because he thinks they're cooler. He probably wouldn't have been so defensive if the guy asking wasn't acting as if this was case-turning material. In a different episode, Togusa is able to quickly load a bullet containing an electronic tracer into his revolver and fire it into the bumper of a fleeing vehicle. He uses a similar trick in [[Anime/GhostInTheShell1995 the first movie]], with another character pointing out that, had he been using the standard issue semi, he could have planted ''two'' trackers on the car at the same time. Ultimately, in ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety Solid State Society]]'', Togusa [[spoiler:has succeeded Kusanagi as the commander of Section 9, and has received cybernetic implants and, at the same time, replaced his revolver with a semi-automatic.]] He himself {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the symbolism behind this.

* In ''Film/GunsGirlsAndGambling'', The Cowboy uses a pair of Colt Single Action Army revolvers and is at least as good as the film's other [[TheGunslinger gunslinger]] The Blonde, who wields twin Glock 17s. The Blonde's only advantage is the Glocks' higher ammo capacity, but as The Cowboy specialises in the InstantDeathBullet, this isn't really an advantage at all.

* Although Franchise/{{Hellboy}} been seen to use a wide variety of firearms in [[ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} the comics]], in ''Film/Hellboy2004'', he carries the Samaritan, a huge and massively holy four-round revolver that fires equally huge and holy bullets. When that's not enough, ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' introduces the Big Baby, a grenade-launching revolver that can ''kill tree elementals''. Ironically, it's mentioned that Hellboy can't aim worth crap though usually his targets are really big and at really close range.

* Played with in the ''Film/LethalWeapon'' series: Riggs, the hotshot badass, packs a slick automatic while Murtaugh, the aging family man, packs an old-fashioned revolver. Riggs notes that "Lotta old-timers carry those". However, a running gag in the series has Murtaugh display [[ImprobableAimingSkills sniper-like accuracy]] with a single aimed shot -- a bit of TruthInTelevision since Murtaugh is carrying an adjustable sight Smith & Wesson revolver which is much better suited to carefully aimed shots than Riggs' fixed sight Beretta.. Murtagh does start carrying a semi-automatic in the later films, most notably using it in the third film in conjunction with his signature revolver.
* ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'': Rick O'Connell, as well as the Americans, loves to use revolvers. O'Connell is shown to be an aficionado of many types of firearms, however. Early in ''Film/TheMummy1999'', O'Connell uses semi-automatic pistols vs. the horsemen, in the desert -- inappropriate weapons for the conditions, being prone to jamming from dust and dirt. In the commentary on the DVD, Creator/BrendanFraser, who played O'Connell, confirmed that the weapons kept jamming due to the dusty conditions. In ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'', there's one scene where Rick and his son, Alex, are comparing their handguns (a Colt Peacemaker revolver and a Walther P38 pistol respectively). Rick boasts of the superior reliability and bigger size of the revolver, but Alex claims that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything size doesn't matter]].

* Subverted in ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'', in which Owen Wilson's gunslinger character grabs the villain's cool top-breaking revolvers, but can't seem to figure them out. When Jackie Chan's character asks what's wrong, Wilson protests, "These guns are really weird!"

* Any British action-adventure children's book from the 1930s or '40s can be relied upon to use the word "revolvers", almost invariably carried by the villains (whereas if the good guys use guns, they're typically rifles or shotguns) -- for example, several books by Creator/EnidBlyton and Arthur Ransome.
** The logic behind this probably runs that if someone has a revolver, with its easy concealability and inadequacy for gamekeeping, hunting, or any other non-criminal/law-enforcement use, then they're probably up to no good. In contrast, rifles and shotguns are common things for any farmer[=/=]landed gentry (heroes in classic British adventure fiction tending to fit into the latter category) to have lying around as a matter of course.
* In the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series, Stephen Maturin has one of the earliest "revolving pistols", in around 1812. Note that these were flintlock rather than percussion cap, required you to spin the drum by hand, and had a tendency to jam.
** Matthew Hervey also gets one a few years later in Alan Mallinson's books.
* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Cell}}'', the revolver is this by default, as it ends up as the only gun to [[spoiler:ever actually kill anything]].
* In ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', Roland's revolvers are significantly more badass than the automatic handgun Jake brings from Earth. They're also cooler than the blunderbusses and semiautos that show up on occasion. Given that the metal of the revolvers was obtained from [[spoiler:a melted-down Excalibur]], one can hardly expect them to be otherwise. After using an automatic, Roland describes it as little more than a toy, and making him feel "dirty".
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', wizards aren't allowed to kill with magic on pain of beheading, so Harry sometimes carries a gun -- and because he's a WalkingTechbane (against anything with a tech higher than the 1950s, mechanical[[note]]Mechanical does have a better chance of working if its more advanced, just it isn't perfect.[[/note]] or electronic), he uses a revolver in preference to a semi-automatic specifically because it's less likely to jam or misfire. He also mentions on occasion that he specifically picked the "Dirty Harry" type. He originally carried a Colt Detective Special, ie that snub-nosed pocket pistol that plainclothes cops are invariably seen with in Hollywood movies made before about 1995, but upgraded to an unidentified "medium-barrelled .357" after a run-in with a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent loup-garou]]. After running with the .357 for a while, Harry loses it during a fairy battle (seeing a pattern?) and upgrades again to a .44 magnum. He sticks with this one until after the 12th book, when, still later, he borrows a Smith & Wesson Model 500 from Karrin Murphy.

** Every other character in the books subverts this, as Harry is the only person with a revolver. Marcone uses an Assault Rifle and a Shotgun, Hendrix uses an assault rifle [[{{BFG}} the size of a motorcycle]], Murphy has her semi-autos and a P90, Sanya has his Kalashnikov, Thomas uses shotguns and a Desert Eagle, Ramirez also uses a Desert Eagle as his side-arm of choice (Dresden having apparently sparked a trend for using side-arms in combination with magic swords and sorcery among the younger White Council members -- especially Wardens) and Kincaid uses whatever he feels is the best gun for the job. [[note]]Although he notably packs one set of "big-ass revolvers" to go up against Mavra in "Blood Rites"[[/note]] Of course, Harry only carries a firearm as a backup and does most of his combat with magic.

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', Bones carries a [[HandCannon S&W Model 500]], having gone with the "bigger is better" idea after being attacked in a previous episode. Unfortunately, she can barely ''lift'' the gun, let alone fire it, so Booth has to take the piece. Subverted when during a shootout between Booth and the episode's MonsterClown (ho's wielding a SawedOffShotgun), the clown criticizes Booth's 5-shot capacity and taunts him by pointing out he only has OneBulletLeft. {{Double Subver|sion}}ted when the clown takes cover behind a steel door and Booth merely blasts right through it.

** In ''VideoGame/Battlefield2142'' the strongest handgun is the revolver, balanced out by the fact it has less ammunition and truly awesome muzzle climb.
*** Not to mention it had easily the best reload animation in the game, along with a loud boom that was just as terrifying to hear if you were on the PAC as hearing the Shuko Light Machinegun was to an EU player.
*** The EU revolver also looks to have ammo of a pretty impressive calibre when compared to the PAC pistol. And this revolver has eight shots compared to the typical six.
** ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Bad Company 2]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'', and ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' have the MP-412 revolver that kills in 3 bullets, 4 at maximum range, compared to the other pistols that kill in 4 at the closest range at best. It has quite the kick and a small magazine of 6, however. ''[=BF3=]'' and ''4'' add several more with similarly high power, ''3'' including a Taurus Model 44 and ''4'', with all DLC, also adding the Mateba Model 6 and Chiappa Rhino 40DS.

** Toned down in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' though. Revolver shotguns have been replaced with break action, drum magazine, and box magazine-fed shotguns, revolver rocket launchers are gone, but Torgue, Maliwan, and Jakobs continue the trend. Torgue's line of explosives-only weaponry extends to revolvers, and it is even possible to get a 14-round explosive Torgue revolver that shoots two bullets at once; all of Maliwan's pistols, which are elemental, are also revolver-like, and Jakobs still continues their Western line of revolving rifles and heavy revolvers, as their weapons retain their reliability and high damage from the first game with the new attribute of [[MoreDakka firing as fast as you can click]].

* Nero from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' uses a revolver for his gunslinging, as opposed to Dante's GunsAkimbo style. Said weapon, Blue Rose, features a truly insane two-barrel over/under configuration, the logistics of which are best ignored. It's the same kind of revolver as the HandCannon from ''Resident Evil 4'' with a second barrel. Howwver, said revolver is not implied to be any better than Dante's guns. The only real application of this trope is that Nero's [[ChargedAttack fully charged]] bullet is ''extremely'' powerful, although it takes ''[[AwesomeButImpractical forever]]'' to charge. Compare to Dante's guns, which are faster, and (uncharged) deal roughly the same damage during combat. However, [[CutscenePowerToTheMax during cutscenes]], Dante's guns have enough power to take out {{Physical God}}s. Plus, the over/under configuration of Nero's gun, [[AwesomeButImpractical while awesome]], would mean the shooter would only be able to get three blasts off before needing to reload ([[BottomlessMagazines which Nero is of course shown doing only once in the entire game]]).

** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' goes to town with this trope. In the stock game, the only semiauto pistols are the completely useless Chinese pistol and the 10mm automatic, which is useful early on but soon discarded for something -- almost anything -- else. The .32 revolver is so weak it's not even worth talking about, but the [[SniperPistol scoped .44 Magnum]] is a far more powerful weapon, and the Blackhawk (special scoped magnum) is one of the most powerful small guns you can use and the best handgun in the entire game. It also makes a [[BangBangBANG very cool noise]]. It's incredibly visceral getting headshots on Enclave soldiers in power armor. Then there's the official expansion, which adds a revolver that's even better than the Blackhawk, and another that somehow uses .44 ammo but fires pellets like a shotgun. Then there are countless weapon mods, which add [[Manga/{{Trigun}} Vash the Stampede's]] gun, the original .223 pistol from Fallout 2, many real-world revolvers, and even rarities like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateba_Autorevolver Mateba Model 6]]. Plus, there's the Mysterious Stranger's .44 Magnum, capable of one-shotting any (killable) character in the game. The only way you can get it yourself is by console commands.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has a few nice (and not-so-nice) revolvers. The .44 Magnum hits like a truck, and legendary effects can make it [[HandCannon absurdly powerful]]. Conrad Kellog, the [[DiscOneFinalBoss Disc-One Final Boss]], even uses one of these to kill your spouse in the prologue, and to fight you. The Western Revolver from Nuka-World is a fancier-looking (and even more powerful) .44 magnum, and [[SniperPistol can even have a scope attached for long-range shots, as the Western Revolver shoots with almost no projectile deviation.]] For more mundane weaponry, the Pipe Revolver Gun uses .45 rounds, and can be modded into either a pistol or rifle and acts as a powerful early-game weapon, before .45 rounds become widely available.

** Gordon Freeman gets two handguns in both ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. His starter gun is a 9mm handgun (respectively a Glock 17 or an H&K USP Match), and later he will find a [[HandCannon .357 Colt Python]]. On a whole, it's downplayed for balance purposes. The revolver is incredibly powerful and accurate, essentially a SniperPistol; humanoid enemies will always go down in one shot until very late in the game. On the downside, it has ridiculously low ammo (36 and 24 bullets total in the first and second games, compared to 168 for the 9mm guns), very scarce supplies of ammo for it, and a very low fire rate thanks to high recoil. Finally, the reload speed is sluggish. Thus, the revolver excels at picking off targets at medium range, but in close quarters with multiple foes, it's a better idea to use the lighter handgun to snap off several quick headshots. The fact that ammo is so restricted that you'll have an overbearing urge to save it for emergencies make this gun TooAwesomeToUse. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC5AGKMdLok&feature=related And it can make Breen do a backflip (at about 1:30)]].
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce'', which replaces the Magnum revolver from the original game with a semiautomatic Desert Eagle for the expansion pack, which holds more ammo per magazine, reloads faster, and can fire faster too if you [[SecondaryFire turn off]] the LaserSight (though in return it's less accurate than the original's revolver until you turn the laser back on).

* ''Videogame/Metro2033'':
** The only sidearm available to Artyom is, curiously enough, a revolver chambered in .44 Magnum (rather out of place in Moscow, as the .44 Magnum cartridge is only really popular in America). Next to the Bastard SMG, it's one of the most ubiquitous guns around. It is more accurate and does more damage per shot than most weapons firing the 5.45 round--justified since those cartridges are survivor-made 'dirty' rounds and are inferior to proper 5.45 rounds. In the first game, it can be upgraded to a ridiculous degree, with accessories including an extended barrel or silencer, a scope, and a freaking stock, turning it from a handgun to a downsized revolver hunting rifle. It loses some of this versatility in the sequel, but a silenced version is the first weapon you're given once the game starts in earnest and can carry you through most of the game due to the ammo availability and the fact that [[PunchPackingPistol it hits like a brick]].
** The semi-automatic shotgun is also a ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI50Ekjbpmc revolver]]''. The DLC for ''Videogame/MetroLastLight'' adds a revolving shotgun [[ImprovisedWeapon made from bicycle parts]], and it even retains its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar3tBpVAMMo&t=2m23s bicycle bell]].

* In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars OriginalGeneration'', The Giant Revolver does more damage than the M95 Machine Gun for the same amount of upgrades. This is balanced by the fact that it only has 6 ammo, nearly half that of the machine gun. There is also the Revolver Stake weapon on the Alt Eisen. While not a typical revolver by a [[{{Pun}} long shot]], it definitely uses the imagery of one for [[RuleOfCool coolness value]]
** Also, in the GaidenGame OG Saga, one of Haken's weapons is the Longtomb Special, a revolver with an incredibly long barrel, [[WaveMotionGun with one extra feature.]]

** Averted with the [=OT-38=] revolver, which is usually considered the second-worst pistol-type weapon in the game, and one of the worst weapons in the entire game. While it is very accurate and deals pretty good damage per shot, its fire rate is so low that actually killing anyone not already grievously wounded will take far too long next to anything else -- unarmed players straight-up punching [=OT-38=] wielders to death indoors is the rule, rather than the exception. You can dual-wield it to fire a bit faster and get double the ammo, but then you lose its accuracy advantage and get double the reload time.
** However, the trope is played straight with the Peacemaker revolver, which has one of the highest [=DPS=] in the game. However, it is only available in the Desert mode/Potato mode and is restricted to the rare .45 ammunition, which it burns through all too quickly. Thus, a Model 84 rifle can often be a safer bet as far as .45 weapons go, simply because of its range and more consistent damage.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series, [[InstantDeathBullet one shot from the revolver kills]], no matter if you [[BoomHeadshot hit a head]] or [[OnlyAFleshWound an ankle.]] Crushing difficulty does downgrade the revolver: one shot to the chest or head still kills, but any other body part will require two shots. The [[HandCannon Desert-5]], however, remains the most powerful gun. In all difficulties, the revolver also has highly limited ammo compared to other handguns.

* In ''Film/Halloween1978'', Dr. Sam Loomis packs a Smith & Wesson while hunting for Michael Myers, and empties it into him at the climax. Although he survives all six shots, Michael does flee for the first time in the movie.

* ''Webcomic/CodeNameHunter'' has revolvers as common sidearms for agents who prefer guns such as Ruby. Probably because magic wreaks havoc with technology.
** Though in an early comic magic managed to make a revolver jam, despite its owner's insistence that they never do.

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the aberration, Scarf, uses [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2018-01-05 an oversized revolver that uses .50 caliber bullets]] to try and take down Raven.

* Vigilante in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' dual-wields revolvers. The one time we see him reload, the chambers are filled with ''red'', and he ''doesn't put anything in them'', suggesting he has '''''[[FamilyFriendlyFirearms Laser Revolvers]]'''''

** In one ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex SAC]]'' episode, Togusa testifies in court that he prefers a revolver to an automatic because revolvers don't jam. It's implied that this is just him rationalizing and that he really prefers them because he thinks they're cooler. He probably wouldn't have been so defensive if the guy asking wasn't acting as if this was case-turning material.
*** In a different episode, Togusa is able to quickly load a bullet containing an electronic tracer into his revolver and fire it into the bumper of a fleeing vehicle. He uses a similar trick in [[Anime/GhostInTheShell1995 the first movie]], with another character pointing out that, had he been using the standard issue semi, he could have planted ''two'' trackers on the car at the same time.
*** Ultimately, in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety'', Togusa [[spoiler:has succeeded Kusanagi as the commander of Section 9, and has received cybernetic implants and, at the same time, replaced his revolver with a semi-automatic.]] He himself {{lampshades}} the symbolism behind this.

* In ''Anime/{{Grenadier}}'', Rushuna defeats hundreds of people that are armed with various automatic weapons and exotic weaponry with just a six-shooter. Her schtick involves [[spoiler: popping bullets out of her boobs and into her gun in a single motion]].

-->'''Thug Boy:''' What kind of idiot would make his energy weapons single action? Having to manually cock hammers started going out of fashion in 1892, asshole - not that hammers are relevant to the operation of plasma guns, of course-\\

* Creator/JackKirby creation Serifan, a young member of the ''Forever People'', has a pair of six-shooters with self-styled "[[DepletedPhlebotinumShells Cosmic Cartridges]]" with the most unusual and unexpected functions.

* ComicBook/TheJoker uses a revolver (drawn in loving detail by the great Brian Bolland) to cripple Barbara Gordon in ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''.

* The Saint of Killers from ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' is appointed as the replacement for the Angel of Death, who melts his sword down into ''two'' revolvers for the Saint to use. Said revolvers can kill absolutely ''anything'', are enchanted such that they never miss, never need reloading and each shot will never be less than fatal. In fact, the first person he kills after getting the job was [[spoiler:the Devil himself]]. The last is [[spoiler:God]].
** Preacher also features a subversion with [[BigBad Herr Starr]], who near the end of the series, starts carrying a huge revolver around to substitute for his [[spoiler:missing genitals]]. In the next to last issue, during his final duel with Tulip, [[spoiler:he manages to nail her in the shoulder, get her against the wall with his revolver to her head and...click. If he'd stuck to an automatic, he would have won.]]
* Sam, of ''ComicBook/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'', uses a gigantic revolver. His partner Max favors a Luger.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Etta Candy's father Hard (their whole family has Punny Names) is a Texan rancher who always carries an etched revolver and he's not afraid to use it.

* Subverted in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII''. Marty is given a Colt Peacemaker for his shoot-out with Mad Dog Tannen and is thrilled about having a real revolver, which he is shown to be incredibly accurate with (thanks to hours of practice on arcade games). Along the way he [[spoiler: gets a reality check, doesn't use it in the duel, and gives it away completely unused.]]
* In Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/Batman1989'', Joker brings down the Batwing using a revolver with a ''really'' Freudian barrel.

* ''Film/BoyzNTheHood'': Tre's father, Furious Styles, uses a .357 when trying to kill an intruder in his house. Later in the movie, Tre uses his father's revolver to engage in a revenge plan with Doughboy after his friend Ricky was murdered, but was stopped by his father before doing so.
* ''Film/CrankHighVoltage'' subverts this at the start of the film. A mook fires on Chelios with his revolver, as Chelios takes cover. As the revolver runs dry, the mook starts cursing, clumsily trying to eject the spent cartridges and load in new ones. As the mook is fumbling with his revolver, Chelios casually walks up to him and beats him down.

* ''Film/DisturbingThePeace'': When Dillon decides to to strap on a gun again and confront Diablo and the gang, the gun he retrieves from his house is a Colt Single Army (a.k.a. 'the Peacemaker'). Using this, he takes on a gang armed with fully automatic weapons.
* The film ''Film/{{Faster}}'' seems to be all about Dwayne Johnson, a Revolver, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Revenge!]]
* ''Film/GhostInTheShell2017''. When it's time to take on the BigBad, Chief Aramaki wordlessly places on the table a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum encased in a leather holster, a [[GoodOldWays noticeable contrast to the high-tech autos wielded by his subordinates]]. And he can use it too, as he subsequently demonstrates against a hit team. When fighting a similar hit team Togusa uses a Chiappa Rhino 60DS, the updated equivalent of the Mateba autorevolver he carries in the anime.

* In ''Film/GunsGirlsAndGambling'', The Cowboy uses a pair of Colt Single Action Army revolvers and is at least as good as the film's other [[TheGunslinger gunslinger]] The Blonde who wields twin Glock 17s. The Blonde's only advantage is the Glocks' higher ammo capacity, but as The Cowboy specialises in the InstantDeathBullet, this isn't really an advantage at all.

* Although he's been seen to use a wide variety of firearms in the comics, the movie incarnation of ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'' carries the Samaritan, a huge and massively holy four-round revolver that fires equally huge and holy bullets. When that's not enough, ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' introduces the Big Baby, a grenade-launching revolver that can ''kill tree elementals.'' Ironically it's mentioned Hellboy can't aim worth crap though usually his targets are really big and at really close range.

* In ''Film/InBruges'', Creator/ColinFarrell's Ray blinds a man with a blank-loaded revolver then loads it with live rounds nearly 3 minutes later. Yeah, versatility! Revolvers don't need any modifications to fire blanks. However, he does lament carrying it, referring to it as "a bloody girl's gun" when compared with the silenced automatic of Creator/BrendanGleeson's Ken.
* For Franchise/IndianaJones, the revolver was as much a part of Indy's image as the whip or the bag, but not the hat. [[IndyHatRoll Nothing beats the hat]]. He mostly uses a double-action .455 Webley (logical since his adventures mostly take place in/around what was then the British Empire), but also used a .38 Special in the opening of ''Temple of Doom'' and .45 ACP at the beginning of ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.
* In ''Film/JohnnyDangerously'', the villain packs an enormous revolver, proclaiming, "It shoots through schools!"

* Played with in the ''Film/LethalWeapon'' series: Riggs, the hotshot badass, packs a slick automatic while Murtaugh, the aging family man, packs an old-fashioned revolver. Riggs notes that "Lotta old-timers carry those". However, a running gag in the series has Murtaugh display [[ImprobableAimingSkills sniper-like accuracy]] with a single aimed shot. Murtagh does start carrying a semi-automatic in the later films, most notably using it in the third film in conjunction with his signature revolver.
** A bit of TruthInTelevision since Murtaugh is carrying an adjustable sight Smith & Wesson revolver which is much better suited to carefully aimed shots than Riggs' fixed sight Beretta.
* Rick O'Connell, as well as the Americans from ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'' loved to use revolvers. O'Connell was shown to be an aficionado of many types of firearms, however. Early in the movie, O'Connell is using semi-automatic pistols vs the horsemen, in the desert. Inappropriate weapons for the conditions, being prone to jamming from dust and dirt. In the commentary on the DVD Brendan Fraser, who played O'Connell, confirmed that the weapons kept jamming due to the dusty conditions. In the third movie, there's one scene where Rick and his son, Alex, are comparing their handguns (a Colt Peacemaker revolver and a Walther P38 pistol respectively). Rick boasts of the superior reliability and bigger size of the revolver, but Alex claims that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything size doesn't matter]].
* In ''Film/PlanetTerror'', when Wray and Abby take out the grotesquely mutated Lt. Muldoon, Wray, the American/Mexican(kind of hard to be positive which, although the actor is Puerto Rican) fires a revolver, while Abby, the Brit, fires an automatic. Both of them actually seem to be equally effective.

* In ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'', Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's character runs a gun shop and shows off a series of increasingly cool revolvers to Creator/RussellCrowe, who must ultimately take the cheapest and ugliest gun in the store.

* In ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'', the Sky Captain keeps a revolver tucked into his boot, where he can easily grab it if seated in a cockpit or hoisted into the air by a KillerRobot. For some reason though in the uranium mine scene, he's changed to a Colt .45 automatic.

* ''Film/VForVendetta''. Mr. Creedy uses a revolver in his final confrontation with V himself. [[spoiler: However, it is ineffective, because V is wearing a breastplate. He does die from his wounds afterwards.]] Also, [[spoiler: ideas are bullet-proof]]

* Any British action-adventure children's book from the 1930s or 40s can be relied upon to use the word "revolvers", almost invariably carried by the villains (whereas if the good guys use guns, they're typically rifles or shotguns) - for example, several books by Creator/EnidBlyton and Arthur Ransome.

** Every other character in the books subverts this, as Harry is the only person with a revolver. Marcone uses an Assault Rifle and a Shotgun, Hendrix uses an assault rifle [[{{BFG}} the size of a motorcycle]], Murphy has her semi-autos and a P90, Sanya has his Kalashnikov, Thomas uses shotguns and a Desert Eagle, Ramirez also uses a Desert Eagle as his side-arm of choice (Dresden having apparently sparked a trend for using side-arms in combination with magic swords and sorcery among the younger White Council members - especially Wardens) and Kincaid uses whatever he feels is the best gun for the job. [[note]]Although he notably packs one set of "big-ass revolvers" to go up against Mavra in "Blood Rites"[[/note]] Of course, Harry only carries a firearm as a backup and does most of his combat with magic.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Played with on ''Series/BlueBloods''. Frank Reagan still uses a .38 Special revolver despite [[SubvertedTrope his father Henry telling him he'd have more firepower with a department-issue Glock semiautomatic]]. Frank's reasoning is simple:
--> '''Frank:''' I like carrying your gun, Pop.
** Which gets even more heartwarming when we learn that said .38 belonged to Henry's father as well. Notably, [[DoubleSubverted Henry is once seen not to follow his own advice]]; he carries a .357 Magnum.
** In "Re-Do" Frank proves pretty conclusively that he doesn't need a Glock. [[BoomHeadshot That ancient .38 Special has all the firepower he needs.]]
* Subverted in an episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' when during a shootout between Booth (wielding Bones' [[HandCannon S&W Model 500]]) and the episode's MonsterClown (wielding a SawedOffShotgun), the clown criticizes Booth's 5-shot capacity and taunts him by pointing out he only has OneBulletLeft. DoubleSubverted when the clown takes cover behind a steel door and Booth merely blasts right through it.
** There's also Bones herself, who at one point carried said very very large revolver, and actually used it at the climax of the above episode.
*** That's the same episode, Bones had gone with the "bigger is better" idea after being attacked in a previous episode. Unfortunately, she can barely ''lift'' the gun, let alone fire it, so Booth has to take the piece.
* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Revelations", the [=UnSub=] plays Russian Roulette with a kidnapped and tortured Reid using a revolver. SA Reid later gets the revolver away from him and shoots him with it. Sometime later, it becomes apparent that Reid has started using a revolver as his service weapon.
** Several of the [=UnSubs=] use revolvers, The Reaper being one of the more notable ones. The BAU believes the [=UnSubs=] favor them because it ensures they won't leave bullet casings behind.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In the third episode, John Healy pulls a gun on a man that Wilson Fisk has hired him to kill. As he's about to pull the trigger, the show suddenly cuts back in time 36 hours earlier, when Healy is buying the gun from Turk Barrett:
-->'''Turk Barrett:''' ''[smells the pistol]'' Mmmm. Love that smell. Metal and oil. Fresh, never been fired. Take a whiff. ''[Healy picks up the gun and holds it in a firing stance]''
-->'''John Healy:''' I'd like a good revolver better. No chance of jamming up.
-->'''Turk Barrett:''' Man, look at this! ''[racks the slide]'' [[BlatantLies This is top of the line. I guarantee, this baby will not jam, or my name ain't]] [[HonestJohnsDealership Turk Barrett]].
-->''[[[GilliganCut Cuts to Healy pulling the trigger in the bowling alley, and it jams on him]]]''
* A couple times in ''Series/DeadliestWarrior''. In the Jesse James Vs. Al Capone episode, [[spoiler:the Colt Revolver is tested against the [[MoreDakka Tommy Gun]], and the Colt gets the edge for better accuracy and the QuickDraw.]] In the Back For Blood special, [[spoiler:the IRA's Webley revolver is matched up against the Spetsnaz' Makarov pistol and the Makarov gets the edge due to its higher rate of fire and faster reload.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E1Battlefield Battlefield]]": Even though he carried a Browning Hi-Power as his sidearm for most of his time as commander of UNIT, when the Brig comes out of retirement to go to the Doctor's aid, he takes a Webly MK IV out of its case and employs it to great effect against Morgaine's forces: finally shooting the EldritchAbonination while proclaiming "Get off my world!", causing it to explode.
** In "The Impossible Astronaut," River Song uses a six-shooter to shoot the Stetson off The Eleventh Doctor's head, blowing off the barrel as she re-holsters it. "Hello sweetie!"
* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Jayne Cobb's sidearm of choice (though not his [[ICallItVera very favorite gun]]) is a revolver, and Wash uses a few of them over the course of the series. On the other hand, Mal's pistol is a semi-automatic and sees a lot more use.
** It's worth noting however that the real-world prop for Mal's pistol is based on the five-shot Taurus 38 revolver.

* Lennie Briscoe ''Series/LawAndOrder'' used a snub-nosed .38 Special until the day he retired, while Mike Logan used one until he transferred to the [[Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent Major Case Squad]]. [[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Captain Cragen]] kept a spare one in his desk, and gave it to ADA Cabot when she was threatened (along with a permit in her name to carry it).
** In a subtle ShownTheirWork touch, the older detectives tend to use snub-nosed .38 revolvers, and the younger ones use 9mm semi-automatic because the [=NYPD=] allowed any officer who purchased a revolver prior to 1994 to keep it rather than upgrade to a [=SIG=]-Sauer P226 or Glock 19.
* Gene Hunt of ''Series/{{Life on Mars|2006}}'' and ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' prefers a [[HandCannon revolver]] to the standard police-issue semi-automatic handguns. Then again, he is a CowboyCop...
** Jokes aside, Gene's character is shown to be a huge fan of TheWestern, and thinks of himself as TheSheriff, so his preference for a revolver is understandable.
* In the ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode "MIA," when Sam leaps in, he cowers in the middle of the gunfight he's caught up in. When it's revealed that he's a male cop in drag and not a woman, his partner asks him if his pistol jammed again. One of the other cops tells him "Get a revolver, Jake. You'll live longer."

* In the mini-series ''Series/TinMan'', Cain uses a completely normal-looking old-fashioned revolver. How he can fire off much more than ten rounds in one fight scene without ever having to reload at any moment in the show is truly amazing.
* Jack Harkness of ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' prefers an antique Webley revolver, despite everyone else's penchant for modern handguns. Somewhat justified in that he probably got it when they were the best personal guns around, although that doesn't explain why he hasn't updated since. Though being immortal, the usual hazard of possibly dying if you run out of bullets isn't much of an impediment, and this ''is'' the man who's spent the best part of two millennia running around in a Group Captain's RAF greatcoat and uniform. Like each regeneration of the Doctor, he found an aesthetic he liked and he's stuck with it.

* "Music/HoldingOutForAHero" by Bonnie Tyler: In the music video, the [[KnightInShiningArmor hero cowboy's]] revolver is definitely better than the {{outlaw}}s' neon whips, and it is enough to shoot these riders off their {{hellish horse}}s one by one.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuHe9lm5vUE Magnum Bullets]] by Night Runner (feat. [[Music/NinjaSexParty Dan]] [[Music/StarBomb Avidan]]) features, appropriately enough, a revolver as the primary protagonist's weapon. It [[spoiler: blasts straight through the antagonist's otherwise perfect defenses]].

* ''TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'''s rules for advanced guns make the revolver a nasty weapon indeed - sure, it only does 1d8 damage, but it chews through armor of all kinds when fired within 100 feet, and can be fired six times before it needs reloading, leaving the wielder's other hand free - a hand which will probably be holding [[GunsAkimbo another revolver]].
* Of the conventional handguns available in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' the hand cannons are the most powerful and always described as large revolvers. They still pale in comparison to even the smallest Ray weapons, however.

* A matter of taste in ''VideoGame/SevenSixtyTwoHighCalibre'': there are a few revolvers in the game. They are always more powerful than comparable handguns (one of the most powerful revolvers is the Garza, which fires ''12.7mm'' rounds, making it almost an order of magnitude more powerful than most handguns), and due to somewhat high manufacturing standards, they tend to be more accurate. However, they suffer from poor balance, low magazine size, lengthy reloading times (no speedloaders) and, most importantly, they shoot ''very'' slowly compared to handguns. You can fire three 9mm bullets for every .357 shot from the Colt Python.
** The Blue Sun mod (which is so popular that it's practically mandatory for players) adds a large number of revolvers, including .38s and even single-action revolvers. Both calibers are fairly common early-game pistols (especially cheap .38 Special revolvers like the Ruger Security Six), but their only advantage in many cases over semi-autos is that they don't require the player to buy magazines. They still shoot slower and have a lower capacity than any semi-automatic, and decent automatics are available for ''free'' early on. Taking one is really just a matter of style.
* Revolvers are the ''only'' handguns in ''VideoGame/AlanWake''. Considering there isn't a gunsmith in Bright Falls, however, it makes sense to own a gun that's relatively easy to maintain.
** Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/AlanWakesAmericanNightmare''. The base revolver is one of the less powerful weapons available. The Magnum, on the other hand, is a revolver more powerful than a good portion of the two-handed weapons available, can shoot through enemies, and even has a larger magazine than the standard revolver. However, its spare ammo pool is quite small.

* In the original ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'', the revolver can be found inside a shoe box that was buried under a pile of coal. Some players prefer this revolver over the rifle, since it has less of a recoil, and its cartridges are waterproof.
** Averted in the fourth game, ''The New Nightmare'', the revolver is the starting weapon of both Edward Carnby and Aline Cedrac and it's barely adequate for the zombies and monster dog starting enemies. Aline's revolver is pretty due to its silver finish but is otherwise fairly weak. Carnby's custom revolver has ''two barrels'' and '''two cylinders''', and thus has a total of 12 bullets as it fires two of them at once - he'll be killing enemies faster than Aline until they both get their hands on the shotgun.

* Inverted in the CYOA-style ''A Road Less Traveled'' from Jeffrey Dean and ''Greek Winter Media'', in the first game ''Westward Dystopia'' - your character uses his revolvers as his weapon of choice and he can upgrade them with a laser sight and hollow point ammo. He likes them so much that he doesn't even pick up the superior assault rifles he finds. However in the prequel ''Spire Ablaze'', the hero gets a choice of starting weapon - a shotgun, an Uzi, or a Colt Single-Action Army revolver. Of these, the weakest weapon is the revolver (to make up for this, the Technocrat Guild gives you some extra medkits). The hero only gets his favourite set of revolvers (they were part of his graduation test to successfully refurbish them) when his instructor gave them to him.
* In ''VideoGame/Ashes2063''[[note]]a [[GameMod total conversion]] for ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''[[/note]], one of [[PlayerCharacter Scavenger]]'s most reliable weapons is an S&W 625, referred to in-game as [[AKA47 the .45 Revolver]]. It is always pinpoint accurate, deals considerable damage – on the Survival modes where all attacks are more powerful, it can sometimes kill bandits or even a Pit Fiend in one single shot – and can be fired relatively fast if needed. Heavy bullets for it are not quite as plentiful as light bullets for the 9mm Autoloader and Machine Pistol outside of bandit drops, but the Revolver offsets this with its ammo efficiency. It is often featured as Scav's weapon of choice, as it's the gun he starts with in 2063 and he's holding one in almost all in-game art, whether on foot or on his [[CoolBike motorcycle]].
* In spite of their name, The Dueling Pistols in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' are very clearly a pair of revolvers, as evidenced by both their design, and the fact their ammo capacity upgrades explicitly refer to cylinders. They fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, and can be upgraded to either cause knockback or entirely ignore armor. Their active skill is either a rain of lead titled Slinger Storm, or an aptly titled Duel Decider (a devastating CriticalHit).
* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}''

** ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Bad Company 2]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 4}}'' have the MP-412 revolver that kills in 3 bullets, 4 at maximum range, compared to the other pistols that kill in 4 at the closest range at best. It has quite the kick and a small magazine of 6, however. ''[=BF3=]'' and ''4'' add several more with similarly high power, ''3'' including a Taurus Model 44 and ''4'', with all DLC, also adding the Mateba Model 6 and Chiappa Rhino 40DS.
* From ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta 2}}'' there's SecretCharacter [[spoiler:[[MamaBear Rosa]], Bayonetta's mother]], and her revolvers called Unforgiven, which she wields on both her hands [[ArmedLegs and feet]]. They are basically a [[HandCannon quartet of hand cannons]] and do three times as much damage as any other weapon in the game, balanced out by the fact their wielder has very low defense and is a GlassCannon.
* ''VideoGame/BioShock''

* Gearbox, the people who made ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' certainly seem to think so, which is very true to its SpaceWestern roots. When on your first playthrough as Mordecai, the guy who uses lots of [[{{Handguns}} pistols]], the first guns you get are low-powered automatics. Later, you will find that the revolvers in this game are like combinations of pistols and sniper rifles. On top of that, every revolver pistol, especially Mashers, is a HandCannon. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, with revolver shotguns, revolver sniper rifles, revolver rocket launchers, which are all in seven-shot, six-shot, three-shot, two-shot, side-gate, cylinder swapping, break-open with speed loaders... almost every gun with under 8 rounds per reload uses revolver technology. Revolvers are also more prone to come equipped with a blade for melee attacks than any other gun.

** Toned down in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' though. Revolver shotguns have been replaced with break action, drum magazine, and box magazine-fed shotguns, revolver rocket launchers are gone, but Torgue, Maliwan, and Jakobs continue the trend. Torgue's line of explosives-only weaponry extends to revolvers, and it is even possible to get a 14-round explosive Torgue revolver that shoots two bullets at once; all of Maliwan's pistols, which are elemental, are also revolver-like, and Jakobs still continues their Western line of revolving rifles and heavy revolvers, as their weapons retain their reliability and high damage from the first game with the new attribute of [[MoreDakka firing as fast as you can click]].
** Funny enough, subverted in one of Gearbox's early releases. ''VideoGame/{{Half Life Opposing Force}}'' replaces the Magnum revolver from the original game with a semiautomatic Desert Eagle for the expansion pack, which holds more ammo per magazine, reloads faster, and can fire faster too if you [[SecondaryFire turn off]] the LaserSight (though in return it's less accurate than the original's revolver until you turn the laser back on).

** In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'', General Shepherd's weapon of choice is a .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda revolver. [[spoiler:He uses it to kill Roach & Ghost, and nearly kills Soap with it before Price tackles Shepherd at the last split-second before/as he fires]].

* ''VideoGame/DayZ''

* Nero from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' uses a revolver for his gunslinging, as opposed to Dante's GunsAkimbo style. Said weapon, Blue Rose, features a truly insane two-barrel over/under configuration, the logistics of which are best ignored. It's the same kind of revolver as the HandCannon from ''Resident Evil 4'' with a second barrel.
** Although said revolver is not implied to be any better than Dante's guns. The only real application of this trope is that Nero's [[ChargedAttack fully charged]] bullet is ''extremely'' powerful, although it takes ''[[AwesomeButImpractical forever]]'' to charge. Compare to Dante's guns, which are faster, and (uncharged) deal roughly the same damage during combat. However, [[CutscenePowerToTheMax during cutscenes]], Dante's guns have enough power to take out {{Physical God}}s. Plus, the over/under configuration of Nero's gun, [[AwesomeButImpractical while awesome]], would mean the shooter would only be able to get three blasts off before needing to reload ([[BottomlessMagazines which Nero is of course shown doing only once in the entire game]]).
* The ''VideoGame/ProjectBrutality'' GameMod for ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' has the Revolver. It's a powerful HandCannon that can shred weaker enemies and deliver a nasty punch to stronger ones but it has only six shots, meaning you have to reload it more often than the normal pistol, can't be silenced unlike the .45 pistol, and it only starts showing up at later levels. Due to how the gameplay works, it's easier to use the rifle and pistol to kill weaker foes with headshots and use rapid-fire weapons for stronger ones to force them to flinch and prevent them from attacking. The weapon upgrade replaces it with a Desert Eagle, which has the same damage output with the advantage of a larger magazine and faster firing rate.
** Another Doom mod, ''VideoGame/RussianOverkill'', has revolvers as the starting weapon for all three player classes.
*** Alosha's revolver, the Screamin' Bernie, fires reasonably powerful bullets. Alt-fire consists of throwing the gun, which then explodes while a new gun materializes in your hand.
*** Yuri's revolver, the Matchstick, fires flares. Alt-fire launches a sticky flare that continuously damages an enemy until they die.
*** Marty's revolver, the Silver Hornet, fires explosive bullets. Alt-fire has you swinging out the cylinder and launching six shots at once.
** ''VideoGame/{{Guncaster}}'' has the Longhorn, a revolver that fires massive bullets and can be zoomed in to snipe enemies at long range. Upgrading it allows you to fire electric bullets that can spread lightning to multiple enemies.
** ''VideoGame/{{Trailblazer}}'', created by the same author as ''Russian Overkill'' and ''Guncaster'', has three revolvers as part of the player's arsenal.
*** Cradle & Grave, a pair of GunsAkimbo revolvers. They have [[BottomlessMagazines infinite ammo]], but still have to reload unless you upgrade them, in which case they never have to be reloaded.
*** The Bitchmaker, a revolver that shoots explosive bullets. When upgraded, you can fire an extremely powerful Magnum Ball shot by holding down the reload button.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' has a .44 Magnum Revolver that is available at The Den. This revolver can fire faster than the pistols you can find at the beginning of the game, and has more damage than the Desert Eagle as well. You can use it until up to New Reno, where there's the .233 Pistol, which has more damage. However, with the Fast Shot trait, you can shoot faster for one AP less. This means that you can fire the revolver three times with 9 AP. You can also upgrade the revolver to use a Speed Loader, which makes it reload for 1 AP. Cue The Chosen One shooting a revolver three times, then reloading it. All in one turn, if you maxed Agility to gain 10 AP. Now, if you get the perk Bonus Rate of Fire, you can fire it for 2 AP, which means that you can UNLOAD your chamber into an enemy (if you maxed Agility and took two levels of Action Boy/Girl to get 12 AP), then reload it and shoot it five times in the next turn. This makes the gun so powerful you can use it until you find a Gauss Pistol near the end of the game, which has the same rate of fire as the Magnum while doing massive damage and carrying twelve rounds for two turns of uninterrupted death. Revolvers really are Just Better.
** It should be noted that the ".223 Pistol" is based on [[Film/BladeRunner Deckard's gun]]. Confusingly, its look and design come from a .223 Steyr-Mannlicher's exposed bolt action, but the real-world prop was a revolver. Hence why the video game refers to [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas That Gun]] as a rifle round-firing HandCannon.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' goes to town with this trope. In the stock game, the only semiauto pistols are the completely useless Chinese pistol and the 10mm automatic, which is useful early on but soon discarded for something - almost anything - else. The .32 revolver is so weak it's not even worth talking about, but the [[SniperPistol scoped .44 Magnum]] is a far more powerful weapon, and the Blackhawk (special scoped magnum) is one of the most powerful small guns you can use and the best handgun in the entire game. It also makes a [[BangBangBANG very cool noise]]. It's incredibly visceral getting headshots on Enclave soldiers in power armor. Then there's the official expansion, which adds a revolver that's even better than the Blackhawk, and another that somehow uses .44 ammo but fires pellets like a shotgun.
** And then there are countless weapon mods, which add [[Manga/{{Trigun}} Vash the Stampede's]] gun, the original .223 pistol from Fallout 2, many real-world revolvers, and even rarities like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateba_Autorevolver Mateba Model 6]].
*** Plus, there's the Mysterious Stranger's .44 Magnum, capable of one-shotting any (killable) character in the game. The only way you can get it yourself is by console commands.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' plays with this trope. Of the starter pistols, the .357 Magnum has better damage and accuracy than the 9mm and 10mm automatics but fires slower, while the .45 Auto outperforms it but requires completion of the ''Honest Hearts'' DLC to obtain. Endgame pistols generally come in two categories: First, the smaller, quicker gun that relies on critical hits, of which there are two revolvers (That Gun, Lucky) and two automatics (A Light Shining in Darkness, Li'l Devil). The automatics fire faster with higher base damage, while the revolvers are more accurate (especially with Hand Loader ammo) with a higher critical hit rate. The second category is the larger, slower HandCannon--all of these (the .44 Magnum and Mysterious Magnum, the [[SniperPistol Hunting Revolver]] and Ranger Sequoia) are revolvers.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' has a few nice (and not-so-nice) revolvers. The .44 Magnum hits like a truck, and legendary effects can make it [[HandCannon absurdly powerful]]. Conrad Kellog, the [[DiscOneFinalBoss Disc-One Final Boss]], even uses one of these to kill your spouse in the prologue, and to fight you. The Western Revolver from Nuka-World is a fancier-looking (and even more powerful) .44 magnum, and [[SniperPistol can even have a scope attached for long-range shots, as the Western Revolver shoots with almost no projectile deviation.]] For more mundane weaponry, the Pipe Revolver Gun uses .45 rounds, and can be modded into either a pistol or rifle and acts as a powerful early-game weapon, before .45 rounds become widely available.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TheGodfather: The Game''. Aldo's first gun is a .38 snubnose that is appropriately weak; even after getting the level 3 upgrade with its [[BlingBlingBang gold plating and ivory grips]], though it still has enough accuracy to make headshots a breeze. The pistol is stronger than the .38 and faster-firing than the Magnum. Meanwhile, the Magnum series may be the strongest handgun, able to match the shotgun for power and initially have better cylinder capacity, but once you get the level 3 upgrades for both you find that the level 3 shotgun, with its 10 rounds per "clip" and 100 round total capacity compared to the 8-80 of the level 3 Magnum, is preferable in a sustained engagement.
** In the sequel, the .38 is no longer present. The pistol is faster-firing and has a bigger magazine than the Magnum, but the Magnum deals more raw damage. Furthermore, the shotgun has been greatly nerfed from the first game, with both smaller clip (yes) and total ammo capacity, meaning the Magnum is now the best.

* In several of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games - ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]]'', the ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories Stories]]'' [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories duology]], and ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars Chinatown Wars]]'' - a .357 Colt Python is the most powerful handgun, though it also comes with a slower rate of fire and reload.
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive'' brings us Happy Chaos, the [[RedBaron "Gunslinging Broken Messiah"]]. He totes a borderline-legendary revolver that only appears five times across the entire {{Multiverse}}, but is sometimes seen DualWielding on account of also possessing a replica. Gameplay-wise, his revolvers and unique StanceSystem mean he can pressure you from anywhere on stage. He does have two gimmick bars, however (one for ammo, and one for focus), and if either one is empty, he can't use his stances, forcing him into DifficultButAwesome.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': Gordon Freeman gets two handguns in each game. His starter gun is a 9mm handgun (respectively a Glock 17 or an H&K USP Match), and later he will find a [[HandCannon .357 Colt Python]]. On a whole, it's downplayed for balance purposes. The revolver is incredibly powerful and accurate, essentially a SniperPistol; humanoid enemies will always go down in one shot until very late in the game. On the downside, it has ridiculously low ammo (36 and 24 bullets total in the first and second games, compared to 168 for the 9mm guns), very scarce supplies of ammo for it, and a very low fire rate thanks to high recoil. Finally, the reload speed is sluggish. Thus the revolver excels at picking off targets at medium range, but in close quarters with multiple foes, it's a better idea to use the lighter handgun to snap off several quick headshots. The fact that ammo is so restricted that you'll have an overbearing urge to save it for emergencies make this gun TooAwesomeToUse.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC5AGKMdLok&feature=related And it can make Breen do a backflip (at about 1:30)]].

* In ''VideoGame/JupiterHell'', .44 revolver deals the same damage as a .44 hunter rifle, which is 1.5 times the damage of a 9mm pistol, even doing slightly more raw damage per shot than a CRI plasma pistol. Unlike the two of them, it has a 20% critical bonus that stacks with all your other critical modifiers. However, its chambers fit 6 bullets instead of 8, its range is inferior to a plasma pistol, and it is reloaded bullet-by-bullet.
** There is also a rare JS .44 revolver, which is slightly more damaging than the normal version and also has a better accuracy and a 30% critical chance. However, its chamber is limited to three bullets.
** Guard-type enemies will always carry a .44 revolver in addition to either a basic 9mm pistol or a plasma pistol if they used to be CRI. [[spoiler:Weirdly, the normal, unpossessed, yet still-hostile CRI Guards that are encountered on Io only carry a plasma pistol, which makes one wonder how their possessed versions found theirs]].
* In ''VideoGame/JustCause 2'', the revolver is one of the various one-handed guns available in the game and is all-round the most powerful (the SawnOffShotgun can deliver a bigger punch, but this requires that all its pellets hit the target, only achievable at point-blank range). It's capable of one-shotting just about any non-EliteMook and can be upgraded to pack 12 rounds in its six-shot cylinder somehow. A fully upgraded revolver allows Rico to casually wipe out entire Panauan military patrols with one magazine. Its biggest limitations are a low fire rate and a relatively small ammo pool, but seeing as how enemies regularly carry and therefore drop their own revolvers for ammo this is hardly as pressing an issue as, say, a shortage of SniperRifle ammunition.
* Dan Smith in ''VideoGame/{{killer7}}'' has a revolver as a weapon, and it's the best in the game even before he replaces it with the even awesomer demon gun (which is also a revolver, natch). Coyote also uses a revolver.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Killzone 2}}'', the Helghast are given the semi-automatic [=StA=]18 pistol, a fairly powerful gun with a magazine that [[UnorthodoxReload slots in under the barrel forward of the trigger assembly]]. What do the ISA give the good guys as their sidearm in response? The M4 Revolver. A good solid magnum revolver based on the Mateba, with excellent accuracy (to the point that you get a [=PS3=] trophy for scoring three headshots in a row with it) and stopping power.
** However, the best handgun is a triple-shot ''shotgun pistol'' that looks like a handheld grenade launcher.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect''

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{MDK 2}}''. Max the Dog can have a Magnum, an Uzi, a Shotgun, a Gatling Gun, and a Ray Gun in his arsenal. Of these weapons, the Magnum has the worst power and rate of fire for Max.

** Revolver Ocelot. It's right there in his CodeName. In the prequel ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', he starts off with a semiautomatic and is pretty good with it, killing one man with a ricochet shot. However, Snake notes his technique is more suited to using a revolver, and he soon switches to the Single Action Army. Interestingly, when he first switches to the revolver, it's shown he has to do some adjusting; for example, he doesn't realize the gun's only got six shots the first time he takes on Snake with it[[note]]Compare the quote on top of this page, showing off his growth over the years[[/note]]. In any case, he [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything rather enjoys]] reloading.
--->This way of reloading is a [[{{Pun}} revolution]]!\\
There's nothing like the feeling of slamming a long silver bullet into a well-greased chamber.\\
I've never felt a tension like this before!
** To go with the katana thing, when Ocelot blasts the Russian mook in the Tanker chapter of 2, the camera angles and Ocelot's pose as he holsters his revolver are ''extremely'' similar to the 'sheathe your katana after a CleanCut' shots used after a SingleStrokeBattle. Right down to holstering it across-hip instead of same-hip.

* ''Videogame/{{Metro 2033}}'':

* ''Noblemen: 1896'' by Foursaken Media is an aversion. You'd think a Steampunk game set in a post-Civil War America would have amazing revolvers, but it avoids that with the Colt and its successor, the Lemat. Instead rifles are king (the only advantage for handgun users is being quicker in readying for melee). Revolvers only hit harder than the Milita's smoothbore musket, but after that, any two-handed firearm outclasses the revolvers. Additionally, revolvers are actually the weakest of the handguns - some Officers have an automatic pistol that looks like a Mauser and others carry a sawed-off shotgun. Both these guns are superior to the revolver in damage output and other stats.

** In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', Naoto Shirogane and Tohru Adachi use revolvers as their weapon of choice. In both this game and ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', Naoto can get a freaking [[HandCannon .44 Colt Anaconda]]. And that's only a mid-game weapon - the late-game revolvers are truly terrifying.
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' has Makoto Nijima, a straight-laced honor student who shoots her revolver from the hip like she's in a Western. She's also the daughter of a cop and loves Yakuza movies, so this probably influences her choice of gun.

* Several ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games, mostly by virtue of the fact that they are nearly always the coveted Magnum, shooting a much more powerful caliber than the default pistol (it varies from game to game, but the default pistol is often a 9mm Beretta). The Colt Python magnum is more or less [[EnsembleDarkhorse Barry Burton's]] [[SignatureMove signature weapon.]]

*** The game gives you a choice of a few Magnums, but the potentially most powerful one you can get during the game is, of course, the revolver. Coolness is balanced out by the shortage of ammo for it, however; when you get the first one - either by buying it or [[GuideDangIt getting it for free at a certain point of the game]] - the ammo is amazingly hard to come by, making it not very usable.

* In ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max]]'', Sam's weapon of choice is a very large revolver, while Max prefers a Luger.
* In ''[[VideoGame/SASZombieAssault SAS3]]'', with a high enough rank your soldier can earn as a sidearm, the Nitro Express .600 - a revolver based on the Pfeifer Zeliska .600. With this in hand, even the toughest zombies can't withstand more than a few shots and it penetrates multiple targets, finally it has a RangedEmergencyWeapon's default BottomlessMagazines benefit. It's only drawback of poor rate of fire can be improved with upgrading, until it gets a moderately decent speed.

* ''VideoGame/SCPSecretLaboratory'' has the .44 Revolver, a pinpoint-accurate HandCannon exclusively found in the hands of Chaos Insurgency Marauders. Against human players, what armour they have doesn't matter - a single headshot will kill them on the spot unless they're under the effects of Adrenaline. It leaves a lot to be desired against [=SCPs=], however, owing to its slow rate of fire and low mag capacity.

* Averted with the [=OT-38=] revolver in ''VideoGame/{{Survivio}}'', which is usually considered the second-worst pistol-type weapon in the game, and one of the worst weapons in the entire game. While it is very accurate and deals pretty good damage per shot, its fire rate is so low that actually killing anyone not already grievously wounded will take far too long next to anything else - unarmed players straight-up punching [=OT-38=] wielders to death indoors is the rule, rather than the exception. You can dual-wield it to fire a bit faster and get double the ammo, but then you lose its accuracy advantage and get double the reload time.
** However, the trope is played straight with the Peacemaker revolver, which has one of the highest [=DPS=] in the game. However, it is only available in the Desert mode[=/=]Potato mode and is restricted to the rare .45 ammunition, which it burns through all too quickly. Thus, a Model 84 rifle can often be a safer bet as far as .45 weapons go, simply because of its range and more consistent damage.

* In 10tons's ''Tesla vs. Lovecraft'', the revolver is a huge improvement over Tesla's starting semi-automatic and it's better than the rather lacklustre Tommy Gun. The revolver has a pretty good rate of fire and high damage, but its greatest advantage is that it will penetrate enemies - a trait only the [[MagneticWeapons gauss weapons]] have. With at least one "Extra Barrel" perk, the Revolver can start rivalling the WeirdScience weapons that appear later.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series, [[InstantDeathBullet one shot from the revolver kills]], no matter if you [[BoomHeadshot hit a head]] or [[OnlyAFleshWound an ankle.]]
** Crushing difficulty does downgrade the revolver: one shot to the chest or head still kills, but any other body part will require two shots. The [[HandCannon Desert-5]], however, remains the most powerful gun. In all difficulties, the revolver also has highly limited ammo compared to other handguns.
* A steampunk mod for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' featured a revolver with a cylinder consisting of ''four ordinary revolver cylinders''.
** The base game's Rocket Launcher also works along these lines: the front of the weapon is a giant, open-sided, rotating cylinder with six chambers for rockets to be slotted into before firing. It has a tertiary fire mode that abuses this: [[ChargedAttack hold down the fire key]] to slot in more rockets and fire off up to six of them all at once.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 5}}''. Boy howdy. Not only does Rebecca use a fairly normal revolver ARM based on a cap-and-ball Colt, but...Dean's [=ARMs=], despite shooting like a semi-auto complete with flying brass, are shaped so as to overlap this trope with GatlingGood, and Avril's ''sword'' ARM has a revolveresque wheel of power cartridges.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/WildArms3'', where Virginia's revolvers are...quite weak in comparison. To mock gunplay tropes further, try guessing what's weaker than Virginia's revolvers? Why, it's Gallows' SawedOffShotgun of course! To be fair, Virginia is an item-oriented fighter with speed as her forte, and Gallows is a full-on nuking black mage.
** ''VideoGame/WildArms4'', one boss wields a pair of revolvers that may as well be rocket launchers for the amount of damage they can do, as well as the stunts the character wielding them pulls off in [[DyingMomentOfAwesome his final cutscene.]]
* Russian anime-inspired game ''VideoGame/XBlades'' has protagonist Ayumi using a pair of...things. Each one is a double-barrelled, double-drummed revolver with each emerging on the side of a long blade. Essentially, a pistol grip with a sword in the middle and two guns melded on the side. And she has two of them, one for each hand. And just for extra cool factor, her "gun-blades" can be imbued with fire, lightning, or even LIGHT, casing them to both hit and shoot significantly harder. Skills are available to make her shoot significantly faster or cause her bullets to ricochet off enemies, and her light and dark modes can further double her rate of fire AND her speed of melee attacks. The English variant X-Blades also adds gun-blade upgrades into wider blades and bigger guns. [[RuleOfCool Who cares about realism or practicality?]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{XIII}}'' it was possible to fan the revolver for rapid fire. However, this was rarely used due to the rarity of its ammo, and because the player wasn't lacking for rapid-fire options anyway, while revolver's main use was to score headshots from a long ways off.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]

* ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'': The ''Danganronpa'' franchise utilizes (Truth) Bullets during Class Trials which are loaded into a metaphorical revolver. Certain trial minigames require the protagonist to fire bullets to shoot down contradicting arguments. Truth Bullets usually contain facts and evidence you have gathered during the Investigation Phase, but during trials, you can also absorb yellow arguments into your Truth Bullets to temporarily replace the original content.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

* General Ironwood from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' uses two revolvers, one being named Due Process, both are gigantic and they shoot [[GreenRocks Dust]] as well as real bullets. He faces off against Watts who also wields a twelve-shot, ultra-fancy revolver himself.

* Jonathan infuses a revolver with the Ripple to kill zombies and vampires more effectively in ''WebVideo/VaguelyRecallingJoJo''

*** Unless you load it with more than one brand of ammunition, kill someone then toss it in a river with the empties still in the cylinder. A murder where a person was shot with different brands of .22 bullets was solved years later when a person wading stepped on a revolver. When the gun was examined by police it was found to be loaded with several brands of .22 rimfire, with fired shells matching the bullets removed from the victim. The gun was traced back to its owner - and a report of it being stolen. The thief had been caught with other stolen items, but not the pistol. Had he the presence of mind to empty the cylinder and toss the rounds elsewhere, he'd have gotten away with murder.

* From Mother Russia comes the [=MTs=]-255 - a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTs-255 revolver shotgun.]]

* In 10tons's ''Tesla vs. Lovecraft'', the revolver is a huge improvement over Tesla's starting semi-automatic and it's better than the rather lacklustre Tommy Gun. The revolver has a pretty good rate of fire and high damage, but its greatest advantage is that it will penetrate enemies - a trait only the [[MagneticWeapon gauss weapons]] have. With at least one "Extra Barrel" perk, the Revolver can start rivalling the WeirdScience weapons that appear later.

* General Ironwood from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' uses two revolvers, one being named Due Process, both are gigantic and they shoot Dust as well as real bullets. He faces off against Watts who also wields a twelve-shot, ultra-fancy revolver himself.

[[quoteright:349:[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bugs_vs_yosemite_shooter_duel.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Pinball/EightBall https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/revolvers-shooting-pool-balls_809.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Isn't this what you meant by "shooting" pool?]]

** Hong Kong and Japan are some of the few places remaining where uniformed officers still use .38 Special revolvers as their main sidearms, Hong Kong still soldiering on with the S&W Model 10, and Japan with the [[http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/08/ttag-contributor/gun-review-smith-wesson-360j-japanese-service-revolver/ S&W Model 360J.]] Officers who operate in other divisions (such as surveillance or in special response units) use semi-automatics. In Hong Kong & Japanese TV shows/movies that involve the police, revolvers are the most likely gun to be used by officers. Although if the protagonists are inspectors in Hong Kong media, they'll be using Glocks instead, and if they're Japanese detectives, they'll have the Minebea P9 (a licensed copy of the 9mm SIG Sauer P220).

** China is a major exception: ever since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, beat cops have not carried firearms with only very few exceptions. That all came to a shocking end in March 2014 when a group of 8 Islamic terrorists armed with knives and hatchets slaughtered 29 civilians at a train station. Except for a few train station guards who futilely used tear gas launchers to slow them down, the terrorists ran rampant for ten minutes completely unopposed until a SWAT Team arrived on scene and gunned down half the group while arresting the other half. Following this incident, the Chinese government moved to begin [[https://www.economist.com/china/2014/10/18/weaponised arming police officers with revolvers]]. But in a subversion of this trope, the police issue revolvers are [[https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/07/22/the-case-of-the-chinese-9mm/ woefully underpowered]] and ballistics are more similar to a .38 S&W cartridge, which is inferior to the .38 Special.