Weapon Specialization

Weapons, like clothing and other appearance traits, are often used to make characters stand out as well as convey information about them. You can glean a lot from a character's choice of weapon, possibly including their personality.

If a character's weapon choice is exclusive to them, it often makes them stand out even more from other characters. The weapon may look unique enough to set it apart from those used by other characters, and its mere presence may serve as a way to identify the character.

Subtropes:

• The Gunslinger
• Magic Staff
• Martial Arts Staff
• Master Archer
• Master Swordsman

Related to Iconic Item, for character-defining items or props well recognized outside of a work. Signature Instrument is the musical instrument version of this trope, and the two can overlap into Instrument of Murder or Instrumental Weapon. Compare also Signature Device and Signature Headgear for other possessions a character can be strongly associated with, Distinctive Appearances for distinctive appearances and physical traits in general, Superhero Speciation for when no two characters have the same power, and Weapon-Based Characterization for when a character's choice of weapon provides insight into their personality.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Berserk: Even when offered a magical axe to carry, Guts sticks with the more or less non-magical heap of raw iron that is the Dragonslayer, since it's "what his hand knows best". Schierke quickly realizes it's the best weapon for him anyway.
• In Black Butler, the shinigami have a fondness for peculiar weapons that would fit in better in a garden instead of on the battlefield. There are 5 named shinigami whose weapons have been shown; there's William T. Spears who wields Pruning Shears, Grell Sutcliff wields a chainsaw, Ronald Knox has a lawnmower, Eric Slingby has a normal saw, and Alan Humphries who has a Japanese Style Garden Slasher.
• Blood+: Each of the Schiff uses a different kind of weapon, many of them fairly oversized. Saya wields a specially designed katana later reforged with a crystal from George, David uses a revolver, Kai wields his father's handgun with explosive ammo, Solomon chooses to transform his hand into a simple and functional blade..... the list goes on. The weapons represent either their personalities or their history and emotions. Or both.
• Dr. STONE: Hyoga's weapon of choice is a pipe-spear, or Kuda Yari, which he wields in the Owari Kan Ryu style (yes, both the weapon and style are real). His custom spear is considered the entire reason why Hyoga is a threat; while a terrifying fighter in his own right for what he can do with the spear, sabotaging it is what keeps him from killing Kohaku, and characters talk about how separating him from the weapon is probably the only way they can plausibly beat him. Senku and Tsukasa beat him by baiting him into a killing blow on Tsukasa, who holds it tightly enough while Hyoga would refuse to let go of his weapon as Senku sets up the knock out.
• Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA: Angelica Ainsworth adamantly refuses to use any Class Card other than Gilgamesh. To her credit, Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon and her Displacement Magecraft are a busted combination... but this also means she fully intended to go to Illya's world without a Class Card. Unfortunately she was lucky enough to reclaim it right after crossing over.
• Yui Lan of Full Metal Panic! is nearly always seen dual-wielding what look like mecha-sized carbines with bayonets. And her little sister was introduced in a scene where she used two kukris and excessive amount of gorn.
• Golgo 13 generally uses an M16. They're easy to find (so he can acquire one on site), easy to have modified, and cheap enough to dispose of if necessary (whereas specialized sniper rifles tend to be expensive and hard to get on short notice). In addition, this gives him a close-combat weapon if circumstances go sour. He has, however, used other guns as needed. Notably, Golgo tends to upgrade to the latest model of M16 five to ten years after their release. Fans speculate he waits for their reliability to be proven before switching preferences.
• Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! has make-believe "weapons" to be replaced with classification-defying supernatural tools of destruction when things go delusion-mode.
  • Touka and her soup ladle of doom.
  • Rikka herself prefers Parasol of Pain.
  • Sanae ties little bags at the ends of her long twin-tails to make improvised bolas. It sees some use–with impressive technique–versus Shinka (and, effectively, Sanae herself) outside delusion battles.
• Roronoa Zoro from One Piece always uses 3 katanas; Usopp has his slingshot and Nami her Clima Tact.
• Reborn! (2004): Many of the groups of seven consists of characters who each use a weapon of choice. For example:
  • Tsuna's sole weapon is his X-Gloves.
  • Gokudera generally uses dynamite. And, briefly, a bow.
  • Yamamoto believes that Katanas Are Just Better.
  • Ryohei and, well, his fists.
  • Hibari and his tonfas.
  • Mukuro and Chrome and their trident.
• In Reborn to Master the Blade, Rune-holders are the only ones who can fight the monstrous Prisma Beasts, using powerful Artifact weapons only they can wield. Because of the rarity of being born a Rune-holder (especially one with a higher grade, more powerful Rune) and how Highland strictly controls the flow of Artifacts down into Midland, Rune-holders are oftentimes only able to acquire the one Artifact for their entire lives and don't use any other weapon type as it will never be as effective as their Artifact. For specific examples:
  • Inglis, the protagonist, was a Warrior King in her previous life, famed for her skill with the sword. In her second life, she continues using longswords exclusively, foregoing shields and smaller secondary swords for magical defenses.
  • Rafinha, Inglis's first cousin and the Knight she serves as her Squire, uses an Energy Bow that resonates with her Light Rune, allowing her to summon and use arrows of light even though her Artifact is just two limbs, a grip, and has no bowstring.
  • Leone, a fellow Knight cadet and Inglis and Rafinha's mutual friend, uses large, two-handed swords. The first Artifact she uses is capable of changing shape and size to extend her reach, act as a shield, or be used for things other than striking, such as a lever to move heavy objects.
• In Record of Ragnarok, when a Valkyrie becomes a human's Volund, they take the form of whatever said human's preferred weapon is.
  • Randgriz, Lü Bu's Volund, takes the form of a polearm, allowing Lü Bu to use his most powerful attack, Sky Eater, without fear of breaking his weapon.
  • Reginleif, Adam's Volund, takes the form of a knuckle duster.
  • Hrist, Sasaki Kojiro's Volund, takes the form of a katana, which, thanks to Hrist's own special ability, can be split into two katanas if broken.
  • Hlökk, Jack the Ripper's Volund, takes the form of a giant pair of scissors. Except that's actually a lie, and Jack's Volund is actually a pouch on his hip that can produce any weapon. Except that's a lie too, and Jack's real Volund is actually his gloves, which, thanks to Hlökk's own special ability, allows Jack to turn anything he touches into a divine weapon.
  • Þrúðr, Raiden Tameemon's Volund, takes the form of some body tattoos, allowing Raiden to regulate his immense strength and muscle mass and not have to worry about being crushed by his own muscles.
  • Alvitr, Qin Shi Huang's Volund, takes the form of a pair of shoulder plates known as the Almighty Spaulders, allowing Qin to go all out with his martial arts skills while also maximizing his defense. Also, near the end of the fight, Alvitr grants Qin all of her power, causing the right arm of Almighty Spaulders to transform into a sword known as the Shi Huang Goujian Sword.
  • Gondul, Nikola Tesla's Volund, takes the form of a mechanical armor known as the Super Automaton β.
• The characters in Soul Eater fight in partners, one as a weapon and one as a wielder. Maka uses a scythe, Kid uses two pistols, and Black* Star usually uses either a katana or a kusarigama.
• Urusei Yatsura: Shinobu the super-strong lesser yandere is known for her use of heavy school desks as bludgeons and projectile weapons. Even in environments where there are no school desks such as Mendou's yard.
• Zatch Bell!: If a demon/mamodo's power doesn't focus on an element, it's likely to focus on a specific weapon type instead.
  • Buzarai's spells all focus on axes.
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: Danny's only spell is self-recovery, leaving him to rely on his natural demonic brawn in battle. Wonrei's spells awakened through training in kung fu with his partner, and the two meld perfectly. Ted is tough to start with, but his spells focus on amplifying his speed, strength, and stamina, each one more than the last.
  • Demolt's spells focus on metal armor, mainly focusing on Blade Below the Shoulder.
  • Rops, as his name implies, uses ropes. His strongest spell adds anchors.
  • Arth's Cool Sword is the focus of his spells, but even without them, it saps the enemy's stamina with every strike.
  • Tia's spells focus on endurance, so she has several variations of shielding spells.
  • Kolulu's alter-ego's spells focus around claws and fists.

Comic Books

• Blade: Two teakwood daggers were Blade's preferred vampire-killing weapons in the beginning, as he was impressed by Orji Jones, who used them as his weapon of choice before him. Blade didn't limit himself to them though, also carrying things like crossbows. While working with the Nightstalkers, Frank Drake gets him some more dangerous weaponry and his arsenal continued to expand with S.H.I.E.L.D. and when he met the twins Mikado and Mosha.
• Bullseye from Daredevil can use almost anything as a weapon, but his weapon of choice is usually an Ace of Spades playing card.
• The Saint Of Killers, in Preacher, dual-wields a pair of Walker Colt revolvers. Never mind the fact that he's an unkillable One-Man Army in a duster coat, these things were forged by Satan himself from the sword of the world-weary Angel Of Death; their hammers will never fall on empty chambers, they never miss, and no wound they give will ever be less than fatal. Oh, and he's a supernatural quick-draw artist, too; "I saw a blur, and then shooting. I didn't see no draw." After surviving a nuke - in the midst of the inferno, he calmly spits and growls "Not enough Gun", he wraps up the series by killing God. I will call your badass and raise you to infinity.
• In The Rocketeer, the Rocketeer's Weapon of Choice is a Mauser C96 Broomhandle pistol. It's normally seen as a "bad" gun, being used by the Nazis and all, but it got a new status as a "good gun" thanks to the Rocketeer.
• Although Agent Venom is good with a variety of guns, semi-automatic pistols are his favorite.

Fan Works

• Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron: The forms the Bayards take in this story are:
  • Heroes Prefer Swords/Katanas Are Just Better: A katana with a European hilt for Suzaku
  • Wolverine Claws: a clawed gauntlet for Kallen
  • The Straight and Arrow Path: A bow for Shirley
  • Sinister Scythe/Epic Flail: A kusarigama for Milly
  • A rifle for Rivalz
  • A Katar-like blade for Rai
  • Lelouch, being the Black Paladin, doesn't have one since the Black Bayard is currently in Zarkon's possession. He instead relies upon his Geass, which has gained a new trick. He later gains a Morph Weapon in the form of a Blade of Marmora Knife inherited from his grandmother.
• A Darker Path: After making a public ultimatum for the gang leaders of Brockton Bay to leave or die, Taylor/Atropos steals a pair of bodice shears from Kaiser's house. She didn't even know it was him, she was just following her Path to Ending power, but he's well read enough to make the connection from the burglary to the Fate who cuts the threads of people's lives, and is appropriately spooked. The shears become her standard weapon for cases that don't need special treatment.
• In the virtual series spin-off to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Slayer Academy, several of the Slayer Characters have signature weapons
  • Sophia: The Scythe from season 7 of Buffy and Fray
  • Skye: Sharpened Sai Daggers
  • Alita: Nunchucks
  • Erika: Staff
  • Reiko: Bladed Fans
• The New Adventures of Invader Zim:
  • Dib's new friends Steve and Viera eventually settle on blasters and a fire-spewing amulet as their go-to weapons, respectfully. A Running Gag through much of Season 1 is Dib complaining that he lacks his own unique weapon; by the seasonal climax he's solved this problem, having constructed a pair of plasma-channeling gauntlets for himself.
  • Nyx, Zim's new minion introduced in Season 2, has a plasma minigun that she refers to as "My Little Friend". Though she's also fond of explosives as well.
• The Night Unfurls: Compared to the other combatants, who tend to use regular, mass-produced weapons, what makes the Hunters stand out is their exclusive trick weaponry, weapons running on Rule of Cool with the ability to switch into two modes.
• Seventh Endmost Vision: Tifa is the only character to maintain her canon weapon choice, being gloves (unusually, we also learn the name of her first equipment, the Scrap Knuckles, made out of junk she found before the story.) Cloud now uses the Masamune, which was broken at some point prior to him getting it. He got it from Kisaragi Godo after saving his life. Rufus still uses his shotgun, but here, it's also his left arm; he lost his arm during his coup attempt against his father, and replaced it with his shotgun. Barret explicitly has both hands, meaning whatever his weapon is, it can't be his canon one. Lucrecia appears to favor dual katanas, fitting since she's also filling the role of Weiss the Immaculate.
• In To Hell and Back (Arrowverse), the three main leads are familiar with using several different weapons, though they still have their preferences.
  • Oliver's is, of course, a bow and arrows.
  • Barry prefers knives, thanks to their versatility and how easy they are to draw on quick notice. He's particularly fond of throwing them, with contributed to his alias of 'the Lightning' even before he gained his powers.
  • Kara is a swordswoman, and Barry handcrafted a straight sword with a Kryptonite blade for her to use after they learned there might be other Kryptonians on-planet.
• Vow of Nudity: Haara has a self-crafted wooden spear at the beginning of every story. When it inevitably breaks, she ends up resorting to martial arts without missing a beat.
• Your Prince Is in Another Castle: Each girl employs one suited to their class. Cerea and Miia are the only two who overlap with swords, but even then it's a bastard sword for the lamia and a mighty two-handed great sword for the centaur.

Films — Live-Action

• Death Sentence: Nick's preferred weapon seems to be a double-barreled shotgun even though the people he's going up against have SMGs and other weapons with higher capacity. Somewhat justified in that Nick is not very familiar with firearms and the double-barrel has a very simple manual of arms with few ways it can go wrong.
• End of Days: Jericho loves his 9mm Glock handguns, possibly due to a bit of Product Placement with Glock. He heavily shills them, and two of his sidearms (The Glock 34 and the Generation 3 Glock 17) were released around the time of the film's production. If that wasn't enough, he also carried a pair of Glock 26 subcompact handguns in his sleeves.
  Jericho: Between your faith and my Glock 9mm, I'll take my Glock every time.
• The Immortals from Highlander have swords, given the only way they can be killed is through decapitation. Connor McLeod in particular wields a dragonhead katana given to him by his mentor Ramírez.
• Indiana Jones: If there's anything more iconic than Indiana's fedora, it's his whip. Not only is it useful for creating distance between him and a bunch of goons, but he also uses it to swing across chasms. He's also known to pull a gun during a sword fight.
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre lets you know right there in the name what Leatherface's favorite weapon is. He does use other weapons throughout the series, most notably a sledgehammer (with which he actually kills more people than with the chainsaw in the first film!), but the chainsaw is so iconic that it inspired one half of the Hockey Mask and Chainsaw trope.

Literature

• Battle Circle:
  • The main culture is based on Proud Warrior Race Guys; and the society is based around ritual combat in the titular Circle, with warriors typically specializing in one of seven common weapons (although a few less common ones show up occasionally). All men are known by their signature weapons, which they use as a title, eg. Var the Sword, Kal the Club. A few rare individuals are proficient with more than one, which they add to their title.
  • The main characters the trilogy are Sol of All Weapons, who is unique in his mastery of combat, and Sos the Rope (actually a long steel cable), who choses an unusual signature weapon after being forbidden to use the common ones.
• The Chronicles of Narnia:
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
    • Lucy Pevensie is given a small dagger by Father Christmas, along with her magic healing cordial. Doesn’t see any use, though, as she was never meant to fight in the upcoming battle.
    • The White Witch uses a strangely-shaped stone knife to ritually sacrifice Aslan at the Stone Table, and as her main weapon in the Battle of Beruna until the resurrected Aslan defeats her.
  • The Silver Chair: Jill Pole carries a knife with her throughout her travels. At the very end of the book she is given a riding crop (something no other character in the series wields) to enact a playful revenge on a gang of bullies.
  • The Last Battle: For their undercover mission infiltrating the Calormene army, King Tirian gives Jill a long hunting knife, as no sword light enough for her was available.
• Death to the French: The Baker Rifle. The Rifle along with the green uniform is a highly visible weapon and symbol that separates a Rifleman from the common soldier armed with muskets.
• Don Quixote: The legendary knight errant wannabe/Misadventurer/Badass uses his lance the most out of his three weapons. He also carries a sword and a shield, of course, but his lance features the most in his most famous adventures, especially the legendary battle with the windmills.
• The Dresden Files:
  • Thomas the White Court vampire regularly uses both a saber and a Sawed-Off Shotgun (though not at the same time), and has begun to use kukris (curved knives used by gurkhas) alongside his saber.
  • The three (two, currently) Knights of the Cross also have their own signature weapons, each carrying one of the nails from the Crucifixion: Amoracchius, a broadsword that is Excalibur; Fidelacchius (Kusanagi),, a katana (possibly a shirasaya, as it's been described as having a cane-like sheath) and now has the form of a lightsaber based on the new Knight's faith in the ideals of Star Wars; and Esperacchius Durendal, a saber. Throughout the years, the latter two have been periodically reforged as different types of swords to better suit their wielders.
• The Hunger Games: Having a preferred weapon — and even moreso proving yourself competent with it — can make or break Tributes during the Games themselves, since the Gamemakers will make sure such weapons are available in the arena. These weapons are usually — but not always — related to a character's story:
  • Katniss Everdeen is an accomplished huntress, and thus prefers the bow and arrow.
  • Johanna Mason, hailing from the logging District, wielded axes.
  • Finnick Odair, an accomplished swimmer/fisherman, was highly skilled with a trident and net combination.
  • Other Tributes with preferred and/or signature weapons include Beetee (wire and electrical current, hails from the electronics-producing District), Cato (sword), Clove (throwing knives), and Rue (slingshot).
• Kane Series: In ancient times, Kane favoured using a crossbow of his own design and a sword that was made from melting down the hulls of alien ships eons ago. In modern times, he favours a fusion-powered Ray Gun of his own make.
• The Reynard Cycle:
  • Reynard favors a rapier called Cut-Throat as his primary (right-handed) weapon, and wields a parrying dagger with his left. After he loses his left hand, he fights with a Blade Below the Shoulder called Left-Hand.
  • Isengrim wields his Absurdly Sharp Blade, Right-Hand.
  • Hirsent wields a sword called Harrower. She thinks it's ridiculous that the weapon has a name.
  • Tiecelin, being an archer, uses a bow, one of the only unnamed weapons of the protagonists in the series.
  • Tybalt strongly favors throwing daggers, but he also wields a sword named Catspaw.
  • Bruin, the team's Big Guy, wields an axe named Mauler.
  • Grymbart is one of the few characters that fights with a sword and shield.
  • Ghul, a Glyconese, is deadly with his pair of short swords. The Myrmidons of Glycon favor the same weapon pairing, implying that Ghul might have been a Myrmidon in training at some point.
  • Rukenaw fights with a morning star called The Fairlimb, a nickname she shares with her weapon because of her shapely legs.
  • Celia Corvino, and her henchman, the Baron Dendra, both favor poison.
  • Stormbringer, the Demon King, wielded a "soul-crushing" blade called Thunderclap, which went on to become a part of the royal regalia of the kingdom of Aquilia.
  • The Arcasians and Luxians seem to favor pikes, crossbows, and cavalry armed with lances when going to war, while their Calvarian adversaries wield javelins, sword and shield, and field superior archers as well as artillery.
• Time Scout: Most characters tend to have one or more preferred weapons.
  • Aversion: Sven loves all weapons.
  • Anne has a pair of delightful little Royal Irish Constabulary Webleys.
  • Skeeter pines for the recurve bows of his youth, but he'll use a gun. In the Arena, he tricks them into giving him a lariat and a trident, those being what he was trained with and what was closest to the spears of his youth respectively.
  • Jack the Ripper prefers an Arabian jambiya for the ceremonial taking of heads.
  • Kynan Rhys Gower prefers his longbow or a war maul. But when their superiority is demonstrated in the face of an angry Cape buffalo, he asks, "You show gun?"
• Tolkien's Legendarium: Broadly speaking, Men (and hobbits) are most famously associated with swords, Elves with bows, and Dwarves with axes. Maces and clubs seem to be the province of evil characters, as well as the curved swords wielded by orcs. None of these are ironclad rules, however, and multiple exceptions can be found throughout Tolkien’s many works. Even within sufficiently large gatherings of the same race, there can be striking variation in weaponry from group to group.
  • The Silmarillion:
    • The three original clans of Elves each had associated/preferred weapons: The Vanyar favored spears; the Noldor swords; and the Teleri bows and arrows.
    • The ancient Elven city of Gondolin was protected by a series of seven gates, and the soldiers guarding each gate sometimes had specified weaponry: The Gate of Bronze (the third gate) was guarded by soldiers who carried red-bladed axes; The Gate of Silver (the fifth gate) was guarded by 200 archers; The Gate of Gold (the sixth gate) was guarded by 300 archers.
  • The History of Middle-earth:
    • The population of Gondolin consisted of 12 different noble houses of Elves, and several houses are mentioned as having signature weaponry: Swords were favored by the House of the Fountain; bows were used by the Houses of the Swallow and the Heavenly Arch; two-handed axes, similar to mattocks, were preferred by the House of the Mole; clubs and slings were a specialty of the House of the Tree; and great hammer-like maces were wielded by the House of the Hammer of Wrath.
• Wagons West: Michael "Whip" Holt got his nickname from his expert use of his whip, to the point where only his wife calls him Michael.

Live-Action TV

• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: After talking about it for a while, Mack constructs a shotgun with an axe built into the barrel — allowing him to do severe damage from a distance and then get in close to deliver a finishing blow — in the Season 3 finale. From that point forward, it becomes his default weapon in most situations.
• Doctor Who: In 20th-century, the Master's signature weapon was their Tissue Compression Eliminator (TCE), a Shrink Ray that almost always killed its victims (according to one novelisation, due to naturalistic square-cube law effects). This showed off the Master's flashiness and sadism, since it was reputedly very painful, but also their streak of practicality, since it made the victim's body concealable. In the 21st-century version of the show, the John Simm Master used a "laser screwdriver" instead as a cruel parody of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, and the Michelle Gomez version preferred a hand-held PDA with a generic Death Ray built in, but the Sacha Dhawan version returned to the TCE.
• Highlander: Duncan has a dragonhead katana similar to Connor's in the movie (but not the same one). On rare occasions, he had a broadsword instead, though (and in one specific episode, he used his father's claymore). Methos had a medieval Ivanhoe broadsword and Richie a rapier until just before his death. Each immortal basically had a signature weapon. In many cases, the chosen weapon was a bit of insight to the period the character grew up in or an important event in their past.
• Joan of Arc: Bertrand is seen using a crossbow multiple times, seemingly preferring it to a sword.
• Sharpe: Richard Sharpe uses his Baker rifle to devastating effects. He also carries a 1798 pattern cavalry sword, which is essentially a sharpened club with a knuckleduster attached.
• Stargate Atlantis: The P90 personal defense weapon is basically the signature weapon of this series and Stargate SG-1, carried by most tau'ri from the SGC.
  • In the early seasons of SG-1, Teal'c usually used the Goa'uld staff weapon, as did Bra'tac who's absolutely badass with it. After many seasons of Character Development, Teal'c finally switched over to Dual Wielding P90s.
  • Ronon Dex instead carries a Traveler energy pistol (plus gunplay), a Satedan ceremonial sword and a shitload of knives.
• Super Sentai/Power Rangers: You can expect almost every team to have character-specific weapons in addition to smaller guns / swords (or guns that turn into swords), and in most cases the personal weapons will combine to form a blaster for the Finishing Move. Listing every example could be a page in itself.
  • Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: In the original lineup, Jason the Red Ranger (The Hero) used a sword, Zack the Black Ranger (The Lancer) used an axe, Trini the Yellow Ranger (Action Girl) used twin daggers, Billy the Blue Ranger (The Smart Guy) used a lance that could split in two, and Kimberly the Pink Ranger (The Heart) used a bow. When Tommy the Green Ranger first appeared, he also used a sword, but he changed to a dagger that could summon his Dragonzord after his Heel–Face Turn. All of them except Tommy had blasters as backup... because Tommy's dagger could fire energy blasts and lightning.
  • Kyūkyū Sentai GoGoV/Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Mirai Sentai Timeranger/Power Rangers Time Force are notable exceptions. While the Sixth Rangers of these series have their own personal weapons, the core five Rangers have uniform weapons.
• Thierry la Fronde is proficient with all types of 14th century weapons, but particularly with his sling ("fronde" in French, hence his nickname).

Music

• Eminem's Slim Shady character will kill you with anything, but since The Marshall Mathers LP he's most associated with a Husqvana chainsaw. Chainsaw sound effects are used to introduce him in songs, he's performed with a Hockey Mask and Chainsaw on stage, and chainsaws grace many of his album covers.

Pro Wrestling

• John Cena, the Junkyard Dog, Hercules, Ivan & Nikita Koloff and other wrestlers used to use chains.
• Stan Hansen and other cowboy wrestlers used to bring a bullrope to the ring, often with a cowbell attached to it.
• Larry Zbyszko had a set of nunchucks during his martial arts phase in the 1980's. During a feud with Zbyszko, Nick Bockwinkel began bringing a whip to the ring to combat his nunchucks.
• The "Singapore Cane" was the preferred weapon of many ECW wrestlers, most notably The Sandman.
• Jim Cornette was famous for his loaded tennis racket.
• Jimmy Hart would clobber opponents from behind with his bullhorn - when he wasn't verbally taunting them through it.
• The Moondogs used to bring large bones to the ring to use on opponents.
• The Big Bossman regularly used a night stick, including at least once having a "Night Stick On A Pole Match".
• For a while, The Beautiful People used to have a pink night stick they called "The Ugly Stick".
• After adopting his Crow persona, Sting regularly used a black baseball bat, sometimes using more than one.

Roleplays

• Ruby Quest; One of the fanarts featured Ace with some sort of MacGyver'd cane/hook/spear thing, which actually made it into the game. The main characters have weapons of choice themselves: Ruby has a mean left hook, while Tom prefers a crowbar, which was later swapped for a BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL.

Tabletop Games

• Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition's feats allow players to specialize in particular weapons to a greater or lesser degree. This is usually done by Fighters, since their bonus feats are more or less designed for it.
  • There is also the Weapon Master Prestige Class, which requires the character to choose one type of weapon to focus on before they can take the class.
  • And 4th Edition's Fighters has a different spin, first one chooses feats that work for a specific weapon, then powers that lend themselves to different weapons.
• The Weapon Master advantage in GURPS lets the character use a particular weapon or class of weapons well beyond what a normal human can even attempt.
• Hunter: The Vigil actually uses this as a game mechanic. Hunters can become attached a particular weapon, giving themselves a firm grasp on their mental state and let's them focus on the task at hand.
• Mazes and Minotaurs: Warriors and Specialists have Weapon of Choice feature, a type of weapon which the character is really good at. When the character attacks with their Weapon of Choice, the player rolls two D20s and uses the better result.

Video Games

• Ace Combat:
  • Mobius One is identified mainly with the F-22A Raptor, which is odd as said plane only is available in the penultimate mission of Shattered Skies, not enough time to establish it as his signature plane (though the arcade mode of the fifth game makes up for it - initially the F-22A is its only available plane). There are other pilots who use exclusively one plane type, like Pixy's F-15C or PJ's F-16C.
  • Many of the player characters and their allies are identified with the plane shown on the box-art of their respective game — Su-35 for Scarface One (Ace Combat 2), F-14 for Blaze and his team (Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War), F-15C for Cipher and Pixy (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War), and so on.
• Friday the 13th: The Game has multiple versions of Jason Voorhees, each of which use a different weapon that is inspired by the movie they hail from:
  • Part 2 Jason uses a pickax.
  • Part 3 Jason uses an axe.
  • Part 4 Jason uses a pig splitter.
  • Part 5 Jason uses gardening shears.
  • Part 6 Jason uses a spear fashioned from a fence post that Tommy Jarvis used to pin him to the ground (and which subsequently conducted the lightning that revived him).
  • Part 7 Jason uses his iconic machete.
  • Part 8 Jason uses a fire axe.
  • Part 9 Jason uses a double-headed axe.
  • Savini Jason uses the Devil's pitchfork.
• In Assassin's Creed, most of the focus is on Altaïr's swords, as they are continually upgraded throughout the plot; the second game and the two that come after it focus on Ezio's hidden blades, as he receives multiple upgrades that turn it into a Swiss-Army Weapon (Hidden Gun, Poison Darts, Hookblade, etc.); and Connor from the third has a lot of focus on the Tomahawk, though dual wielding in general is his thing. Desmond himself prefers two small knives in combat, using Connor's fighting style. Edward Kenway from the fourth is shown with a lot of guns in his promotional shots, along with two large cutlasses.
• Booker Dewitt in BioShock Infinite uses a variety of weapons, but he's most often seen with the China Broom and the Broadsider.
• The playable characters of Bullet Girls Phantasia all have a specific weapon type they favour, which they must use in their first of three weapon slots, and have unique, powerful versions of that double as Named Weapons.
• Castlevania:
  • All members of the Belmont family use the Vampire Killer whip.
  • Alucard uses his namesake sword.
  • Recurring Boss Death has a Sinister Scythe.
• In No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Travis now has four types of Beam Katana to choose from: his basic weapon, a lighter but faster one, a longer but slower one, and Dual Wielding. His enemies, meanwhile...
  • Skelter Helter uses a revolver with multiple cylinders put together.
  • Nathan Copeland uses a boombox that turns into Power Armor. His arena is also covered in machine guns.
  • Charlie MacDonald and his cheerleaders form into a giant robot.
  • Matt Helms, who died in a fire set by his parents, uses a flamethrower/axe and Molotov Cocktails.
  • Cloe Walsh spits acid, breathes poison and has a sonic scream.
  • Kimmy Howell uses Darth Maul's double lightsaber, and blows explosive bubbles from a recorder.
  • Dr. Letz Shake uses Letz Shake's earthquake machine to much better effect than previous.
  • Million Gunman shoots money from a gold pistol.
  • New Destroyman uses lasers and electric blasts as previously.
  • Ryuji uses a katana and a dragon summon.
  • Mimmy is effectively a miniature Gundam and fights appropriately.
  • Margaret uses twin anti-material rifles.
  • Captain Vladimir fires Frickin' Laser Beams from his spacesuit and calls on a Kill Sat.
  • Alice Twilight/Moonlight has eight Beam Katanas attached to a set of waldoes.
  • Jasper Batt, Jr. fights with a rocket car, and when it's destroyed, doses himself with Psycho Serum and fights with his bare hands. He then overdoses and becomes a giant, shooting energy blasts from his mouth.
• In Dawn of War II, you technically can train up and equip most of your squad mates either in melee or ranged combat, or to focus on heavy weapons or lighter and more mobile ones. Most of the time, however, their more effective traits and skills lend themselves to a certain weapon class or even a certain individual weapon, usually an incredibly powerful, named one you get as a mission reward, and then never ever ever swap out of, "special needs of the mission" be damned.
• Dragon Quest characters typically have different usable weapons that depend on their fighting style (staves are pretty much universal among magic-using characters and swords among knights and typically the protagonist as well). An unusual example from the fourth game is Torneko Taloon's use of abacuses (though he can use other weapons, such as swords).
• In Granblue Fantasy but with few exceptions, each class has two types of weapons they can equip as their main weapon. The primary exception is the Grappler line, who can only equip melee weapons. The Harpist line also greatly favors Harps over their secondary Daggers, because Harps are able to boost their abilities.
• Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals gives each character a specific weapon. Maxim uses swords, Tia uses gloves, Guy uses hammers/axes, Selan uses disc blades, and Artea uses wave energy guns. Dekar, being the world's strongest warrior, can use any type of weapon.
• World of Warcraft:
  • Druids, due to their shapeshifting, usually fight with fists (paws) regardless of what weapon they have equipped. It's usually a two-handed weapon, however.
  • Rogues tend to prefer (poisoned) daggers, depending on their chosen combat style.
  • Hunters are the only class that focuses on ranged weapons, but the exact type is largely irrelevant.
  • On a more defensive aspect, both Shamans and Paladins almost always use shields outside of their melee specialisation.
  • Death Knights are explicitly called out as two-handed melee fighters, with the exception being Frost Dual-Wield builds. In both cases, the use of either one huge blade or frenzied dual-wielding suits their characterization as implacable death dealers.
  • Many characters are well-known for the weapons they wield. Thrall has his Doomhammer and Arthas has Frostmourne.
• In Yakuza: Dead Souls, each playable character has a weapon unique to them for taking on the Zombie Apocalypse.
  • Shun Akiyama uses a pair of pistols.
  • Goro Majima uses an automatic shotgun.
  • Ryuji Goda uses a machine gun concealed in his prosthetic left arm.
  • Kazuma Kiryu uses an anti-material sniper rifle.

Visual Novels

• The Confines of the Crown: Madeleine favors twin daggers while her charge, Prince Oscar of Ocendawr, is decent with a sword.
• The Servants of Fate/stay night generally use the weapons according to their Class (Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker) but there are occasional exceptions; Rider generally fights without her mount, only revealing it as an 11th-Hour Superpower. Archer uses twin dao (Chinese falchions) despite having a literal endless Field of Blades at his disposal.
• When push comes to shove, the Higurashi: When They Cry gang almost always uses their iconic weapons:
  • Keiichi has his metal bat. It's actually Satoshi's leftover bat from when he used to play baseball. Keiichi uses the bat whenever he kills someone or whenever he just needs a weapon. Satoshi also used it to kill his abusive aunt.
  • Shion has a taser that she carries around. She uses it to stun her enemies.
  • Rika uses a broom in one arc to fight off Rena. Otherwise, she has no weapons.
  • Satoko is a prankster who figured out to use her traps for when she's in trouble.
  • Rena has her cleaver/hatchet/axe. She found it in a junkyard and kept it for non-violent reasons, however, she does use it as a weapon. When she uses it non-lethally, she hits with the dull side.
  • Despite carrying an airsoft gun, Mion doesn't have to use a weapon. She generally uses hand-to-hand combat instead.
• Sin With Me: Each member of the Night of Sin troupe has a distinct weapon, as do some of the antagonists:
  • Wrath has a pair of crystal brass knuckles.
  • Darius uses a chain flail with blades on the ends.
  • Onyx wields a double-bladed staff.
  • Malakai dual-wields flaming swords.
  • Cal has a pistol and a rifle.
  • Yvette uses a sword cane.
  • Vinca uses knives and daggers.
  • The heroine eventually starts using chakrams.

Webcomics

• The titular Axe Cop prefers to use a heavyset blade mounted on a polished wooden club. Pretty much everyone with the name "_______ Cop" has the blank filled in with the weapon - Flute Cop, Book Cop, Telescope Gun Cop...
• Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire. As can be guessed, the title character's weapon of choice is a zap gun — nicknamed "Junior".
• In The Green-Eyed Sniper, both main characters have a weapon of choice. Shanti shoots a highly-precise sniper rifle, whereas Sekhmet prefers a powerful shotgun.
• Exterminatus Now has each characters' Weapon Of Choice on the surprisingly-still-relevant cast page.
  • Eastwood: "A Vladston & Norvstock .44 Magnum revolver, with cylinder customised to feature seven chambers rather than the standard six." Yeah, he thinks he's Dirty Harry.
  • Virus: "Bouchard Industries 9mm semiautomatic pistol, hollow point rounds filled with silver nitrate solution." He's the least trigger-happy with it.
  • Lothar: "80mm plasma blaster, 3000 RPM circular saw, both incorporated into the bionic arm." Both used with enthusiasm.
  • Rogue: "A beam sword with blue colouration." What, no fancy description? "Ancient Tachyglossian Technology Void-Core Beam Weapon; Type-K Sword Model, Blue."
• RPG World has the main party's preferences
  • The Hero uses swords. (Duh)
  • Cherry uses knives, and later upgrades to a crossbow.
  • Diane uses magic staves.
  • Eikre uses daggers (and now uses two at the same time).
  • Reka uses a wrench.
  • The Dragobo uses his fists.
• Sweet Home (2017):
  • Hyun has the electrified spear Dusik Hahn gave him.
  • Wook has his own fists and, should the situation be truly dire, a standard pistol.
  • Jayhun has a katana. Wook starts using it after his death.
  • Jisu uses a metal bat that is later enhanced by Dusik to have spikes.
  • Dusik has some sort of firearm he designed himself which he says fires nails.
  • Hyuk uses a fire extinguisher both as a melee weapon and to annoy the monsters.
  • Eun uses a makeshift flamethrower from a lighter and a can of aerosol.

Western Animation

• Code Lyoko: Among the Lyoko fighters with weapons, each has a different one.
  • Ulrich has a katana. In the last season, it's two katanas.
  • Odd shoots darts from his forearms.
  • Yumi has a hand fan — two fans, later on — that she uses as a throwing weapon like a Battle Boomerang.
  • William has a BFS.
• Codename: Kids Next Door: In Operation: S.P.A.N.K.E.N.S.T.I.E.N., Mushi Sanban is shown to be highly proficient at using crayons in a similar way to darts or knives (even spinning her entire body and throwing hundreds in a manner of seconds).
• Storm Hawks: Each combatant in the main cast has a different weapon. Other major recurring characters also tend to have distinct weapons.
  • Among the Storm Hawks:
    • Aerrow wields dual energy blades.
    • Finn uses a crossbow.
    • Piper uses a staff to which she can attach crystals for different effects.
    • Junko uses a pair of Knuckle Busters, enhancing his strength and the force of his punches.
    • Radarr tends to play a supporting role in combat as Aerrow's co-pilot, but when he does fight, it's with random junk at hand.
  • Among the main antagonists:
    • Master Cyclonis uses a Magic Staff with a unique claw-like design.
    • The Dark Ace uses a large energy sword that uniquely has two blades in parallel.
    • Snipe uses a mace with a head that can detach to become a flail.
    • Ravess uses a bow and arrows.
    • Repton uses a curved sword that doubles as a Battle Boomerang.
  • Starling is the only character who uses nunchucks.
• ThunderCats:
  • Lion-O, The Hero, wields the Sword of Omens, with the Eye of Thundera in its hilt.
  • Tygra, The Lancer of the crew, wields a mean bola whip.
  • Panthro, The Big Guy and The Smart Guy, uses a pair of nunchaku with claws on the ends.
  • Cheetara, uses a staff that can extend according to her needs, much like Goku's staff from Dragon Ball.
  • And Wilykit and Wilykat use pellet-like bombs that can do all kinds of crazy stuff.
• Trulli Tales: Ring has a fork, Zip has a whisk, Sun has a spoon and Stella has a spatula.

Real Life

• Gurkhas are famed Nepalese soldiers whose signature weapon is the iconic kukri curved knife.

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