History Main / ImprovisedLightningRod

* In ''ChronoTrigger'', Crono and Frog have a combination attack called Spire, in which Frog leaps at the enemy and impales them with his broadsword, then Crono hits the sword with a lightning spell.

In other situations, a great surge of electricity is needed, so that's where the improvised lightning rod comes in to hopefully charge whatever device or being needs a jolt. This is often done in time periods prior to the widespread availability of modern electricity, especially involving time-traveling.

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* In Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', Pteppicymon the Twenty-Third, last Pharaoh of Djelibeybi, climbs the malfunctioning Great Pyramid whose power has awoken several thousand deceased monarchs and allowed the gods to walk the earth. Using an Assassin throwing knife as a desperate lightning conductor, he earths the cosmic forces that have run rampant and allowed all this chaos to happen. He inhumes the full Set, as it were.

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* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', {{Film/Thor}} uses [[WeaponizedLandmark the Chrysler building]] as a makeshift lightning rod to attack the Chitauri aliens and Leviathians.

* In ''VideoGame/ChaosOnDeponia'', Rufus uses Goal as one so that lightning will strike her instead of him as he climbs a tower. Lightning does strike her, but she escapes unharmed.

* Russian [[BioluminescenceIsCool Glowcap]] mushrooms can be used to draw Volgin's lightning bolts if you throw them into the battlefield during his boss fight. They can only take one hit before being destroyed, though.

* Used in the TearJerker ending of Movement 1 in the [[AuthorExistenceFailure unfinished]] ''Legend of the Forest'' by OsamuTezuka.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor uses ''himself'' as an improvised lightning rod for a lightning and cosmic ray strike in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks Evolution Of The Daleks]]".

* In IDW's ''Infestation series'', a group of Autobots and humans, including NikolaTesla, attempt to revive Optimus Prime using a kite and a lightning storm.

* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode [[Recap/{{StargateSG-1S1E10TheTormentOfTantalus}} "The Torment of Tantalus"]], SG-1 ends up trapped in an alien castle with a broken dialing device, rendering them unable to get home. [[spoiler:They end up sticking a metal frogman's helmet on the roof and wiring it to the gate, drawing lightning into the gate and allowing them to dial out by rotating the ring manually.]]

* In Terry Pratchett's ''{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', Pteppicymon the Twenty-Third, last Pharaoh of Djelibeybi, climbs the malfunctioning Great Pyramid whose power has awoken several thousand deceased monarchs and allowed the gods to walk the earth. Using an Assassin throwing knife as a desperate lightning conductor, he earths the cosmic forces that have run rampant and allowed all this chaos to happen. He inhumes the full Set, as it were.

* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', {{Film/Thor}} uses a building as a makeshift lightning rod to attack the Chitauri aliens and Leviathians.

* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode [[Recap/StargateSG-1S1E10TheTormentOfTantalus "The Torment of Tantalus"]], SG-1 ends up trapped in an alien castle with a broken dialing device, rendering them unable to get home. [[spoiler:They end up sticking a metal frogman's helmet on the roof and wiring it to the gate, drawing lightning into the gate and allowing them to dial out by rotating the ring manually.]]

* In Terry Pratchett's ''{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Pyramids'', Pteppicymon the Twenty-Third, last Pharaoh of Djelibeybi, climbs the malfunctioning Great Pyramid whose power has awoken several thousand deceased monarchs and allowed the gods to walk the earth. Using an Assassin throwing knife as a desperate lightning conductor, he earths the cosmic forces that have run rampant and allowed all this chaos to happen. He inhumes the full Set, as it were.

* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "The Torment of Tantalus", SG-1 ends up trapped in an alien castle with a broken dialing device, rendering them unable to get home. [[spoiler:They end up sticking a metal frogman's helmet on the roof and wiring it to the gate, drawing lightning into the gate and allowing them to dial out by rotating the ring manually.]]
* ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' uses the Eiffel Tower as one,with Duncan figuring out that he can kill his opponent and the Quickening will travel through the tower to fry the villain's computer before it releases the info on the immortals the villain was using to try to force Duncan to surrender.

** Grass types such as Bellsprout and Serperior, which are only resistant to electricity in the games, sometimes use a strategy of digging roots or vines into the ground to disperse electric attacks.

** In the episode "Riddle Me This", Ash instructs his Pikachu to "[[MemeticMutation Aim for the horn]]" on Blaine's Rhydon as it would otherwise NoSell Pikachu's electric attacks, thus allowing Pikachu to defeat Rhydon.
** In the Indigo League episode "The Fourth Round Rumble", Pikachu's electric attacks have no effect on Bellsprout, which simply digs its root-like feet into the ground to disperse the electricity. This is an exaggeration of the game's mechanics where [[ElementalRockPaperScissors grass-types are resistant but not immune to electric attacks]]; also, this episode came well before the games introduced the "Lightningrod" ability, and even then Bellsprout's evolutionary line doesn't have it.

* Inversion: In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', the Autobots have to stop a plot by Decepticons but there's a lightning storm going on, and if a bolt hits a Transformer, something very bad happens. So the Transformers go into battle riding on ''other'' Transformers who are in their Vehicle modes; the rubber of their tires on the road grounds the Transformers riding on top so they're safe.

* In IDW's ''Infestation series'', a group of Autobots and humans, including NikolaiTesla, attempt to revive Optimus Prime using a kite and a lightning storm.

* In IDW's ''Infestation series'', a group of Autobots and humans, including Nikolai Tesla, attempt to revive Optimus Prime using a kite and a lightning storm.

Usually involving situations with ShockAndAwe, an improvised lightning rod is a useful tool in amplifying or drawing in electricity. Maybe an enemy is too fast or too tough to hit with electricity, so a lightning rod, whether jammed into or an actual feature of the target, can be aimed for more accurate attacks. In other situations, placing such a rod can protect one from electric attacks as they are drawn into the rod.

My first entry was simply lightning rod, but I believe that was too general, I hope I can get what I was getting at before.