I'm assuming it was the CP-08 Pile Bunker weapon from Zoids, down in the examples. But, yeah, this trope needs a better name.
I dunno how it gets a better name, considering the weapon name is pretty well established in the mecha community. In truth - I thought it came from Lost Planet (2006). But from what I can find, the CP-08 Pile Bunker sprue from Zoids was released by TOMY in 2005. The concept in mecha predates both of the former, but that's what people call it. Even Armored Core Fires of Rubicon lead dev is using the term. I'm fine with a different name, as long as the article mentions Pile Bunker as a common term and people can actually find the trope when looking for it. Other games and media definitely use it. Even Ragnarok Online (of all things) has it as a skill useable by the Mechanic class in powered armor.
"The VS Pile Bunker is a melee weapon that drives forward a large metal spike designed to pierce heavy armor." -from Lost Planet (2006). It was able to 1 shot many enemies. Albeit, I first heard of this weapon from Armored Core fandom, where it takes the same form albeit by a different name. But it was called such, "Pile Bunker" by the lead dev of Armored Core: Fires of Rubicon recently in interview. The word Pile comes from Middle English pyle, from Old French pile, from Latin pīla (“pillar, pier”). Like Pile Driver this makes sense. BUT...what does the Bunker mean?
The best guess I can make is akin to Bunker Buster weapons, usually missiles in real life. The Pile Bunker is always intended , in fiction to breach heavy armor. So...you're driving a "Pile" into a metaphorical Bunker.
Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Ambiguous Name
, started by Aubri on Sep 12th 2016 at 6:41:49 PM
Hey, anyone here play Steamworld Heist? There's a rare sidearm, known as the Country Sidearm, which is apparently a less-technologically-advanced version of a captive-bolt pistol, specifically the blunt, nonpenetrating kind, in a pistol shape,
◊ powered by an air pump that screws into the back, probably once used to put down steam-cows. If you look while using it, it fires a fixed spike out into another robot, and it has a very short range because of it, making it more of an extended reach for melee as opposed to a true gun. As the captive-bolt pistol from No Country for Old Men was counted, should this one be?
Would Zeus from Real Steel count? His Pile Bunkers have fists attached, but otherwise they seem to fit.
Smiter of Typeaux
This is at least partially, if not mostly, like a captive bolt pistol as used to humanely dispatch large animals (cows, pigs, etc). Just very large.
The Big O is not exactly the same as this; the pistons seem to power extremely powerful compressed air, rather than a physical bolt. He once beat up The Goldfish Poop Gang by picking up their van in one hand and firing the piston several times quickly. Rather than utterly destroying the van as it would have a robot, it just rattled them badly.
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Maybe switch the picture to Douglas from Anarchy Reigns. The current picture has a lot of weaponry and the pliebunker on that mech is fairly small. Douglas has two large ones as his only weapons, so a picture of him would make it a lot clearer what a pliebunker is.
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Make an Image Pickin thread about it. I don't know Anarchy Reigns at all but your reasoning is sound.
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Master of Tediousness
I think actual jackhammers should go to Improvised Weapon, but if it is used specialy... Anyway, this trope redirect is Weaponized Jackhammer.
Edited by Smeagol17
Anyone know what the original source of the term "Pile Bunker" was?
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