History Main / ImpossiblyCoolWeapon

** It was powered by sheer madness.

* {{Halo}} 'Nuff Said.

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** And then there's the rest. What happens when you combine a [[{{Warhammer40000}} chainsword]] with a {{PowerFist}}? [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} Awesome happens]].
** Let's face it, most Warhammer40K weapons fit this trope. The weakest weapon in the setting is a laser gun which can blow the arm clean off an unarmoured normal, and they just get bigger, more impossible and more awesome from there. For instance, the Ork gun which fires Snotlings THROUGH HELL into the target's brain. Demon-powered swords. RazorFloss cannons. Weaponised cutting torches which can shoot through tank armour. Molecule-thick shuriken shooters. Guns which fire needles of frozen poison. And so forth. And let's not forget that virtually all of the setting's weapons have versions which can be mounted to HumongousMecha. And then, there's the Tyranids...

[[caption-width-right:300:The Glaive: Made of awesome.]]

* [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0803/sergey25/Artwork2/ImageD.jpg This]]

[[AC:{{Art}}]

*** And in one of the last episodes of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Strikers'', Fate Testarossa's weapon Bardiche transforms into what ''looks'' like twin lightsabers connected by a cable of energy.

* Gunblades in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' are a cross between {{BFG}} and {{BFS}}.

** Warcraft III has the same weapon (with the same name) but increased to the size of a human torso. Throwing it (or launching it out of a massive slingshot) is apparently not a problem.
*** Even more confusingly, Illidan's WeaponOfChoice, [[http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Illidan_and_Arthas_Redux.jpg the Twin Blades of Azzinoth]] are also called glaives, even though they're more like two curved swords attached to the opposite sides of the same hilt. They're classified as swords in game, so this is a case of DidNotDoTheResearch.
*** His [[BuffySpeak two-blade one hilt, duel wielded sword thingies]] are "glaives" because they are originally supposed to be normal (or ridiculously huge, but the right size compared to others in the series) glaives Illidan took from a demon he killed. The glaives in question had the option of detaching into the two thingies, but Illidan just prefers to use them like that all the time.
*** Plus, in French, "glaive" is the word used for the Roman gladius, and in English the word "glaive" refers to a type of [[BladeOnAStick polearm]] that is basically a single edged dagger on the end of a roughly six foot long pole.
* [[EightBitTheater Sword-chucks, yo!]]
** I'll take your Sword-chucks, and raise you [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/5p37 chainsaw-nunchucks]]
* Any variation of a shuriken that is larger than the user's own body, especially the "pinwheel" types with a cross-grip in the middle. I don't know how that can be practical since shuriken are traditionally single-use weapons unless you bother to go and retrieve them.
** This kind of shuriken tends to [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang come back to the user]], often striking several foes at once.
* The [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=38&issue=5 chainsaw nunchucks]] of TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja.
* Detritus's "Piecemaker" crossbow in {{Discworld}}. The Piecemaker is more or less a ballista held by a troll, which when it fired its regular bolts ''incinerated them due to friction with the air from the speed,'' creating a giant fireball of shrapnel that decimated ''buildings.'' Later, Detritus adopted tying a crap-ton of normal crossbow bolts tied together with some string, which snapped a few feet off the crossbow, blotting out the sun (The smaller bolts still caught fire.)

* [[GearsOfWar The Lancer, a Chainsaw - Machine Gun hybrid]]. For buyers of the Limited Edition of Gears Of War 2, it comes in a ''[[RuleOfCool solid gold]]'' variety.
* How about D'argo's Qualita Blade? A sword that works as a pulse rifle!
* The [[{{Warhammer40000}} chainsword]]. Oh ''lord'', the chainsword. It has problems, but ''damn'' if it isn't cool.
** And then there's the rest. What happens when you combine a [[{{Warhammer40000}} chainsword]] with a {{PowerFist}}? [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} Awesome happens]].
** Let's face it, most Warhammer40K weapons fit this trope. The weakest weapon in the setting is a laser gun which can blow the arm clean off an unarmoured normal, and they just get bigger, more impossible and more awesome from there. For instance, the Ork gun which fires Snotlings THROUGH HELL into the target's brain. Demon-powered swords. RazorFloss cannons. Weaponised cutting torches which can shoot through tank armour. Molecule-thick shuriken shooters. Guns which fire needles of frozen poison. And so forth. And let's not forget that virtually all of the setting's weapons have versions which can be mounted to HumongousMecha. And then, there's the Tyranids...

* In the PS3 game ''HeavenlySword'', one of the playable characters, [[{{Yandere}} Kai]], had a HUGE crossbow that fired like a Gatling gun. It also had unlimited ammo.
** The fact that the arrows can actually be guided directly into an enemies skull from a kilometer away doesn't make the list?
** The titular Heavenly Sword was also fairly cool, a pair of curvy ornate swords that could also be attached together into one big powerful two handed sword or strung out on chains and whipped around for ''GodOfWar'' style long range attacks.
* ''MonsterHunter'' is all about this trope. Serrated {{BFS}}s with teeth that fold into the blade when not being wielded, giant telescoping [[BladeOnAStick lances]], and giant collapsible crossbows that worked more like {{BFG}}s were par for the course.
** The most impossibly cool weapons by far, though, were the gunhammer and gunlance. They were similar to the Gunblades of FinalFantasyVIII, but [[TheSameButMore even more]] impossible. The gunlance was essentially an eight foot long lance with a revolver cylinder built into the handguard and a barrel running alongside the underside of the blade. It shot whatever you stabbed. The gunhammer got rid of the blade altogether - it was nothing but a giant cylinder and hammer assembly on a stick. You hit things with it and they got shot (after being crushed of course). Both were [[RuleOfCool awesome]].
*** Not to mention [[KamehameHadoken wyvern's fire]]. The explosion that can break shields, flinch gargantuan beasts, and just about break the weapon itself all in one nice little flash.
*** So cool that the gunlance actually became a main weapon type in the sequel. The gunhammer never panned out, however, and instead we got the hunting horn.
* It's a gun, [[ThePunisher Frank]]. A gun that shoots swords.
* The DevilMayCry 'verse has many:
** In ''Devil May Cry 3'' you get Nevan, a frickin' electric guitar '''scythe''' that shoots out purple lightning and bats. And which used to be a massively hot [[HornyDevils succubus]]. And before that, Cerberus, a three-sectioned nunchaku made of ice.
** In ''Devil May Cry 4'' Pandora's Box from Devil May Cry 4, a demonic firearm manifesting as a briefcase capable of morphing into a variety of heavy weapons. A crapload of forms and they're all awesome. Lucifer. Bright pink exploding energy spears, anyone?
*** On the slightly more mundane (but still strange) front, we have the weapons of the Order: a sort of revved-up flame/vibro-sword, and the equally insane ''rocket-powered lance'' wielded by the Bianco Angelo armor suits for jet-propelled lunges.
* RaveMaster's Ten Commandments - a shape-shifing {{BFS}} with elemental powers.
* In addition to chainswords, [[DotHack .hack//G.U.]] has Azure Kite's weird triple-bladed swords. They look like they'd be heard to handle with just two arms, but hey.
* The [[EmpathicWeapon Devices]] of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. Some of them speak in GratuitousEnglish. Some of them speak in GratuitousGerman. Most of them can [[SwissArmyWeapon switch from one kickass form to another]]. Most of them are {{Determinator}}s in their own right, demanding {{Deadly Upgrade}}s if they lose and even continuing to fight ''even after their owner loses consciousness''. All of them are human-sized versions of HumongousMecha weaponry that can, and do, take out HumongousMecha.
* An episode of SDGundamForce features the Zakos showing off an "ultra space universe bazooka cannon gatling triple double wonderful drill super missile rocket machine gun gun gun". It ended up ''actually'' impossibly cool, because it completely fell apart upon trying to use it.

* Literally almost every weapon in ''{{Painkiller}}'' is based around this trope. To wit:
** Your main [[strike:melee]] melee/ranged weapon, the eponymous Painkiller, is essentially a horizontally held weed whacker that can be sent flying through enemy ranks, blades spinning.
** Your standard garden-variety shotgun, which can not only freeze your enemies, but packs enough of a punch to [[RagdollPhysics send them flying into the air]].
** A gun that shoots foot-long wooden stakes through the air at high speeds, pinning enemies to walls by their limbs.
** A rocket launcher and minigun ''combined into the same weapon''.
** And lastly, a gun that shoots [[ZeroPunctuation shurikens and lightning]]. And shurikens which shoot lightning.
* In the ''KamenRider Spirits'' manga, Skull Rider uses a bizarre weapon that's a combination of brass knuckles & a shotgun. It has shells in it that go off when you punch something. No explanation is given for how he manages to keep them from blowing his own hands off.
* Fire Emblem 7 has what can probably be described as a "slingshot-spear".
** You mean the ballistae? Those existed in real life too, and I don't know if they would qualify here...
*** But there are weapons called Armands, Durandal, and Sol Katti (Armads being a gigantic thunder axe, Durandal a gigantic sword of "sacred fire", and Sol Katti just an overly large sword)
* {{Fallout}} Tactics: [[http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fantasy_Ball Fantasy Ball]]. Sole possible explanation for its existence: designed to weird the hell out of anyone in sight, thus compelling target to waive Agility bonus.
** The same game has a weapon called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin punch gun]]
** Some craftable weapons from ''Fallout 3''; namely, the Railway Rifle. It's a steam-powered cannon that launches railway spikes with such force that a kill instantly dismembers and pins the affected limb to the nearest hard surface behind the target. And as an extra, firing the weapon produces a train whistle.
*** And the Rock-It Launcher. Anything that can turn stuffed animals into insta-gibbing projectiles is automatically awesome.
* Check out [[http://www.cracked.com/article_16983_11-most-retarded-fictional-weapons.html this Cracked.com article]] for their picks of the most impossibly cool fictional weapons that would be retarded in real life.
* In ''DeadmanWonderland'', Genkaku's double gatling-gun electric guitar. One of the creators even said in his blog that he isn't sure if it would even be possible in real life.
* Just about ''every'' weapon in the ''RatchetAndClank'' universe is impossibly cool. The first ads for the games even showed how they just wouldn't work in real life.
** The upgraded forms of the [[{{BFG}} RY3NO]] in the third game. These upgraded forms fire ''laser missiles'' that spiral around and disintegrate anything they pass through, before exploding in an unbelievably huge flash of light. So it's a combination of MacrossMissileMassacre, BeamSpam, MoreDakka, {{BFG}}, and StuffBlowingUp. This is like every gun trope welded together and given a trigger.
** The Rift Inducer from the third game. The gun creates temporary black holes, and when upgraded to the Rift Ripper, it shoots lightning streams.
** Also from the third game, the Quack-O-Ray, which turns enemies into little ducks. Sounds boring? Did I mention that the ducks lay [[BeyondTheImpossible self-propelled, target-homing, exploding eggs]] at a frequency of one every few seconds?

* And let's not forget the infamous [[MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine Flying Guillotine]]. Drop the basket on someone's head, pull the chain, and it's OffWithHisHead!
* The Evoker from ''Persona3''. It's basically a pistol. Except instead of using it to shoot people, you point it at your head and use it to summon the physical manifestation of your psyche. Which is a lot more impressive than an ordinary bullet. (Though, since some party members use normal guns, you have to wonder what would happen if they accidentally drew the wrong one... On second thought no you don't.)

* ''So'' many of the swords in WorldOfWarcraft. Either they're [[{{BFS}} ridiculously huge]], they look like they were designed by [[http://www.kitrae.net/fantasy/ Kit Rae]] in collaboration with Fred Flintstone and a Taos jeweler, or both. The same goes for ''ThePiratesOfDarkWater'', although those mostly ''just'' look like they were designed by Kit Rae.
** TruthInTelevision: It should be noted that Kit Rae's fantasy weapons are for display purposes only.

* The film ''SororityRow'' has the villain using a lug wrench with innumerable blades jutting out of it.
* TruthInTelevision: [[http://www.pse-archery.com/prod.php?k=55444&u=01135 AR-15-mounted crossbows]], which are probably best used for stealthy sentry kills. The fact that there's still space for an underslung grenade launcher makes it even cooler.
* Most energy weapons in ''VirtualOn''. Homing beams, beam swords, homing beam swords, anti-ship cannons, heart shaped beams, circle beams, scythes, anything is possible.
* [[TwoWordsObviousTrope Three words]]: Triple. Barreled. Shotgun. Thank you, ''{{Resident Evil}} 5.''
** Actually Alone In the Dark: The New Nightmare had a triple-barreled shotgun 7 years before RE5. And a double-barreled revolver.
** The Mercenaries minigame in ResidentEvil4 featured enemies that wielded ''[[ChainsawGood double-bladed chainsaws.]]'' That were '''[[IncendiaryExponent ON FIRE.]]'''
* Many weapons in ''TeamFortressTwo''. The Soldier has a semiauto rocket launcher, the Heavy has a [[GatlingGood 200-pound]] [[MoreDakka minigun]] that can kill in a second, the Medic has a chaingun that shoots blood-sapping syringes and a bizarre mix of a saw, a short sword, and a hypodermic needle, the Spy has a HandCannon with the Scout's mom on it, the Scout has a shotgun with enough kick to send his target and him flying ten feet, the Engineer has his turrets, the Pyro has an axe covered in barbed wire that instakills people on fire and a flamethrower shaped like a dragon, the Demoman has a sticky bomb launcher with [[GameBreaker so much firepower, the programmers referred to them as "winbombs"]], and the Sniper has a [[RefugeInAudacity jar of piss that causes people to lose the will to live.]]
* ''{{Xena Warrior Princess}}'' has the chakram, a [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang precision guided frisbee of death]] that can defeat freaking armies.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram That actually existed.]] But yeah, still pretty cool.
* [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0803/sergey25/Artwork2/ImageD.jpg This]]
* [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann GIGA!!!! DRILL!!!! BREAKER!!!!]] - a [[ThisIsADrill drill]] at least 3 metres across that causes giant fucking mecha to [[StuffBlowingUp blow up]]. Activated by [[CallingYourAttacks screaming the name of the attack]] [[NoIndoorVoice extremely loudly]] while in a mecha, and [[HotBlooded being awesome]].
* The goddamn rocket powered sledgehammer from ''{{Gunnm}}''.
* The ZF-1 from ''TheFifthElement'' definitely qualifies, and doubles as a SwissArmyGun.
* In "Tokyo Delta Jetlag D," the in-universe anime/manga series from ''[=~Unwinder's Tall Comics~=]'', main character Jaded Lament uses the Katagun, a katana that shoots bullets in the shape of the blade. Check it out (and some entertaining LampShading of anime/manga tropes) [[http://www.tallcomics.com/index.php?strip_id=40 here]].
* The villain of ''{{Phantasm}}'', the Tall Man, uses flying killer spheres to take out his enemies. They fly at you, stick into your head with twin blades that pop out, then they kill you by [[ThisIsADrill drilling into your brain]], with the blood exiting through a hole in the back.
** On that note, the [[HighPressureBlood Cerebral Bore]], plus nearly half of the Turok series' other weapons. Remember the ''minimum'' of three barrels per rocket launcher? The landmines specifically designed to amputate at the shin? The electrified shotgun that can put the same bullets through a single target six times over? The rocket-propelled sledgehammer? The precision-guided boomerang ''chainsaw''? That gun that dessicates enemies and leaves behind jerky? The sticky, radioactive flares that slowly microwave people?
* Whatever the hell [[SamuelLJackson The Octopus]] was using at the end of [[FrankMiller Frank goddamn Miller's]] film version of TheSpirit.

* Anything from James Bond, from his wristwatch/high-powered laser, to one of the villains' sharpened bowler hat which can be thrown like a disc and cut of heads.
* The Master's laser screwdriver from {{Doctor Who}}. The laser screwdriver is a deadlier form of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and a weapon that shoots out a laser beam that kills instantly and can rapidly age victims whose DNA it possesses.
** Prior to this, he always used a [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrink ray]] called a Tissue Compression Eliminator. It didn't shrink you neatly, it ''compressed'' (that is, ''crushed)'' your tissues down to the size of a doll, so it was quite lethal, and left a teeny tiny corpse. Regrettably, the show never addressed the fact that the doll-corpses should have been very ''heavy...'' But, eh, so what? RuleOfCool.
* A villain from Samurai Champloo had a delightful kusarigama variant that seemed to violate several laws of physics. The scythe head shot off of the haft, propelled by springs, gunpowder or black magic and then retracted so quickly that the scythe somehow beheaded or bisected anyone in between it and the haft.
** It was powered by sheer madness.
* Most of the built-in weapons used during the Casa Cristo Classic in the film version of ''SpeedRacer''.
* The artifact sword named Demonhealer from ''{{GURPS}}: Dungeon Fantasy'' doesn't have a blade so much as it has a hole in reality that happens to be in the shape of a blade.
* Parodied in NoMoreHeroes. Rank 1, Dark Star, wields a LIGHTSABER DRAGON. [[spoiler: He does not get a chance to use it before he gets punched through the chest shortly after revealing it]].

* ''{{Voltron}}'s'' Blazing Sword, an indestructible blade the size of a good-size ''building,'' wielded by a giant tobot for hacking apart other giant robots. A solid object, but re-created out of PureEnergy every time it's needed. Despite the name, it is ''not'' a FlamingSword.
* The Arborians' [[FreezeRay ice arrows]] in {{Filmation}}'s ''FlashGordon'' (which turned out to be very handy for putting out a forest fire in one episode). Meanwhile, [[EvilOverlord Ming]] himself was fond of using a FlamingSword in combat.
* The title weapon from ''GaltarAndTheGoldenLance,'' an enchanted weapon of prophecy that can only be wielded by a ChosenOne, it can split into two smaller blades and shoots powerful energy zaps.
* The Star Sword and the Power Sword from ''{{Blackstar}},'' which ''would'' join to form the even more awesome Power Star if they weren't weilded by the hero and the villain respectively. Used for shooting energy beams more often than as actual swords.
* The alien weaponry in ''{{District 9}}''. One of the less impressive ones is a cannon that fires a burst of compressed air. Which can knock a guy through a wall. [[BloodyHilarious It]] [[{{Gorn}} gets]] [[LudicrousGibs better]].
** Also, [[AbnormalAmmo pig gun]]. There aren't enough weapons that kill your opponent with a '''''goddamn pig'''''.

* Fans of TheProtomen wield the most intimidating weapon of all time: The chamethrawer, a chainsaw with a flamethrower attached to it.

* [[YuYuHakusho Bui]]'s [[http://www.onemanga.com/Yu_Yu_Hakusho/88/10/ weapon]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill of]] [[http://www.onemanga.com/Yu_Yu_Hakusho/88/12/ choice]]
* Hayden's Glaive From DarkSector, you can even use the PS3 motion control to use it sometimes. (Though it's damn hard.)
* ''{{Exalted}}'' has a fascinating variety of impossible yet awesome weapons. These range from the comparatively mundane (daiklaves, which are {{BFS}}'s that would make Sephiroth jealous), to the slightly less plausible (the infinite jade chakram, which produces duplicates so you never have to actually throw it), to the straight-out absurd ([[ChainsawGood gyroscopic chakrams]], which are CaptainAmerica's shield as designed by [[EvilDead Ash Williams]]). Any and all of this can be justified with magic.
* Kaptain K Rool's blunderbuss in DonkeyKongCountry 2. It can fire cannonballs, sure, but it can also... suck in objects, fire spiky mines, fire mines that bounce across the screen, fire mines that rotate and fly around, sometimes in pairs, fire barrels that rotate and fly around, be used as a sort of engine, fire gases that freeze Kongs in place, reverse the controls and slow them down, and it even manages to turn K Rool invisible.
* [[GaoGaiGar CRUSHER... CONNECTO! GOLDION... CRUSHER!]]

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** Not to mention [[gattlinggood Cordak blasters]] from the Marhi nui arc.

*** The ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episode "The Mandalore Plot" featured a villain with a lightsaber. Not just any lightsaber, one with a ''[[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon black blade]]'' and shaped like a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]].

Hayden's Glaive From DarkSector, you can even use the PS3 motion control to use it sometimes. (Though it's damn hard.)

* RayGun

** "Note to self: Lightsaberchucks: BAD IDEA."
*** [[TooDumbToLive Says you!]]

* Ray guns, especially [[LifeImitatesArt before the invention of the laser]].
** Gunblades in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' are a cross between {{BFG}} and {{BFS}}.

*** IIRC, His [[BuffySpeak two-blade one hilt, duel wielded sword thingies]] are "glaives" because they are originally supposed to be normal (or ridiculously huge, but the right size compared to others in the series) glaives Illidan took from a demon he killed. The glaives in question had the option of detaching into the two thingies, but Illidan just prefers to use them like that all the time.
*** Plus, in French, "glaive" is the word used for the Roman gladius.
*** '''Plus''' in English the word "glaive" refers to a type of [[BladeOnAStick polearm]] that is basically a single edged dagger on the end of a roughly six foot long pole. Can I get a DidNotDoTheResearch?

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<<|RuleOfCool|>>
<<|WeaponsAndWieldingTropes|>>

** The Rift Inducer from the third game. The gun creates temporary black holes, and when upgraded to the Rift Ripper, it shoots lightning streams

* [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Giga-Drill-Breaker!!!!]] A drill at least 3 metres across that causes giant fucking mecha to blow up. Activated by screaming the name of the attack extremely loudly while in a mecha, and being awesome.

** And then in the sequel, one character uses a revolver that ''revolves revolver chambers.''

* [[StarWars Chewbacca's]] "bowcaster," a cross between a laser gun and a ''crossbow.'' Or something like that. Looks really cool, and requires a bandoleer for some reason.
** It uses electromagnetism to sling the bolt at super fast speeds... And it covers it in energy.. or something...
--> Okay, basically it uses a magnetic field instead of a string to fire a metal slug at hypersonic speed like a Gauss Rifle. But to add Armor-Penetration or something, it adds ionized plasma gas. Since the projectile was recently and very strongly magnetized, the plasma just sort of... sticks to it. It IS a projectile, but a projectile wrapped in white-hot semi-energy.

** Mind you, most frequent users, such as the Jedi and Sith orders, are basically [[AGodAmI gods]]. The fact that they're telepathic, telekinetic, precognitive and generally enhanced is meant to justify their usage of a weapon that'll kill you if you bump into someone.

** Mind you, most frequent users, such as the Jedi and Sith orders, are, in fact, superhuman. The fact that they're telepathic, telekinetic, precognitive and generally enhanced is meant to justify their usage of a weapon that'll kill you if you bump into someone.