History Main / FantasticNuke

* ''Literature/TheLostMetal'' has the harmonium-trellium bombs, which are almost an exact parallel to RealLife nuclear weapons. The device works by using a needle of trellium to split superheated harmonium into its two component godmetals. As with nuclear fission, this division causes a mass-energy conversion, releasing a blast far more powerful than any conventional bomb. It also requires a large amount of energy and precise timing to initiate the reaction, and the device can be effectively disarmed by detonating the harmonium with water (which still causes an explosion, but a much smaller one).

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has a literal example of this in [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4400 SCP-4400]], a stockpile of four nuclear weapons created by the real-life Maya city-state of Palenque and covered in primitive warnings and bas-reliefs. Notably, the Foundation considers them to be a relatively little problem, as they're actually just... well, nukes, and relatively small ones at that (the strongest hits only 30 kilotons, on par with World War II-era bombs, and far behind nearly any modern nuke). The only thing anomalous about them is that they work on the principles of alchemy and magic rather than science, hence why they were constructed by a civilization that was barely out of the Stone Age, and that going inside their containment zone (aside from the area being somewhat irradiated) can result in encounters with a demon who offers to share the secret of their creation. As the site director puts it:

* ''Anime/KonoSuba''. The Explosion spell, which, in the right hands, is capable of destroying castles. Megumin is very proud of being able to cast it, and several times Kazuma directs her to use it to destroy armies or enemies thought literally invincible. Unfortunately, she [[WillfullyWeak absolutely refuses to learn any other spells]], and because she's put all her points into [[MasterOfOneMagic Explosion damage and casting speed]] (instead of, say, magic capacity or efficiency), she collapses every time she uses it, and because of her Explosion fetish, [[PowerfulButIncompetent she tends to pop it off at the first opportunity]]. [[CripplingOverspecialization Meaning she is completely useless unless Kazuma directs her very carefully]].

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' had the Enemy Skill BETA, which did massive fire damage to all enemies (4000+, and possible to obtain about a quarter of the way through the first disc). The animation was a mushroom cloud.

* ''Literature/SpaceAcademyDropouts'': [=SKAMMs=] (“Sun Killers”) serve as this both in-universe and as a DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything? example. Notably, they’ve actually been used once already in-setting and left much of the galaxy traumatized.

* In ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', [[TheDitz Utsuho Reiuji]] throws mini-suns at you and has [[ILoveNuclearPower Nuclear Power]], fitting this trope.

** In "Twilight's Kingdom Part 2", Twilight creates another such cloud during her one-on-one fight with Tirek. As she is [[spoiler:holding the power of four Alicorn Princesses at the time, two of whom are {{Physical God}}desses, it's pretty {{Justified}}]].

* The Ray Sphere from ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}''. It's a spherical, bomb-like device created by the [[AncientConspiracy First Sons secret society]]. When the Ray Sphere is triggered by a [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals Conduit]], it generates a massive explosion of energy which [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent activates or enhances the latent superhuman abilities of all nearby Conduits]], while killing any [[{{Muggles}} normal people]] who get caught in the blast radius. An oblivious bike courier named [[PlayerCharacter Cole [=MacGrath=]]] is tricked into activating the Ray Sphere ([[YouGotMurder which was hidden as a mail bomb in the package he was carrying]]), causing a deadly explosion that leveled several blocks of Empire City's Historic District. In addition to all the people who were killed in the Blast itself, it also resulted in a strange new disease called the Plague, which causes people to slowly die from symptoms resembling radiation poisoning.

* ''Anime/KonoSuba''. The Explosion spell, which, in the right hands, is capable of destroying castles. Megumin is very proud of being able to cast it, and several times Kazuma directs her to use it to destroy armies or enemies thought literally invincible. Unfortunately, she absolutely refuses to learn any other spells, and because she's put all her points into Explosion damage and casting speed (instead of, say, magic capacity or efficiency), she collapses every time she uses it, and because of her Explosion fetish, she tends to pop it off at the first opportunity. [[CripplingOverspecialization Meaning she is completely useless unless Kazuma directs her very carefully]].

** In Chapter 572, [[spoiler:a Tailed Beast Bomb clash between Kurama and 5 other tailed beasts]] creates a fireball that is about 50 times the diameter of a normal Bijuu-Dama explosion. Suddenly that "wiping out an entire country" idea sounds plausible. Kurama [[UpToEleven one-ups]] it by having Hachibi join in and creating a Combined Tailed Beast Bomb many times their size [[spoiler:in a vain attempt to stop the Juubi's revival in 609]]. The resulting explosion could be seen from all the battlefields in the war.

* ''Fanfic/BlessedWithAHerosHeart'': Megumin has her canon Explosion spell. After Izuku teaches her nuclear physics, she develops Big Bang, which is an UpToEleven version of Explosion (the first time she uses it, she vaporizes Beldia's fortress ''and the cliff it stood on'') at a third of the mana cost.

* The Website/SCPFoundation has a literal example of this in [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4400 SCP-4400]], a stockpile of four nuclear weapons created by the real-life Maya city-state of Palenque and covered in primitive warnings and bas-reliefs. Notably, the Foundation considers them to be relatively little problem, as they're actually just... well, nukes, and relatively small ones at that (the strongest hits only 30 kilotons, on par with World War II-era bombs, and far behind nearly any modern nuke). The only thing anomalous about them is that they work on the principles of alchemy and magic rather than science, hence why they were constructed by a civilization that was barely out of the Stone Age, and that going inside their containment zone (aside from the area being somewhat irradiated) can result in encounters with a demon who offers to share the secret of their creation. As the site director puts it:

* ''Literature/SpaceAcademyDropouts'': SKAMMs (“Sun Killers”) serve as this both in-universe and as a DoesThisRemind YouOfAnything? example. Notably, they’ve actually been used once already in-setting and left much of the galaxy traumatized.

** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmashirsha_astra Brahmashirsha astra]] is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmastra Brahmastra]] but 4 times as strong. When it strikes it regerns the entire blast zone into a barren desert and forces everything within the zone to become poisoned, even metal. The drawback of both weapons isn't just their destructive power but the fact that, when summoned, they '''must''' be thrown. There is no other way to get rid of them but throwing them.
** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmanda_astra Brahmanda astra]] is the strongest of these weapons because it has the power to destroy all 14 levels of Brahmand or Universe. When thrown, the oceans will boil away, the mountains will float, and all will be burned without leaving a single ash. The Brahmanda astra can be used to destroy the weapons above by eating them (the weapon's tip has the five heads of Brahma).

** Some of the Malfeas Charms for the Infernals approach this. The "Green Sun Nimbus Flare" charm tree allows you to turn opponents into mushroom clouds and inflict magical radiation sickness. There's even a Malfeas shintai charm that basically turns a significant area around you into Ground Zero except to allies and people who grovel at your feet.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonic-rainbomb_3222.PNG]]]]

* The web novel [[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36644/unfamiliar UnFamiliar]] features this as a part of the story. In the distant past, a pair of immensely powerful, near god-like wizards fought each other and reduced their world, previously a high magic utopia whose merest trinkets are considered national treasure-level artifacts in the current era, to a world of bronze age barbarism that took centuries to come out of.
** Unnervingly, this has repeated numerous times on this world, and it is confirmed in-universe that this is the (so-far) inevitable result of a world producing ever more powerful wizards: Eventually, the strongest wizards develop a god complex... and decide that the world only needs one god.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' Has several mass removal cards, with the ones capable of hitting every card on the field being commonly referred to as "field nukes" by the playerbase. The oldest (and unfortunately also the least useful) of them, Final Destiny, even has the artwork of a mushroom cloud, and its Japanese name is "Last War."

** Pretty much every spell Hayate is able of throwing out (at least at first) has this same kind of impact. Every time she gets ready to cast them, MissionControl at TSAB needs to authorize it, provide targeting data support, and sounds off alarm messages to order bystanders to evacuate the blast radius ASAP.

Compare ClimateChangeAllegory, for a metaphor of [[GlobalWarming another existential threat to humanity]].

** ''FireEmblemOnForumsDeathToTraitors'': The Nullifcation Tomes, capable of mass destruction [[spoiler: by transferring matter from the world into AnotherDimension that destroys matter from other worlds.]] Recovering them and the scientist that created them is the main plot of the story.