History Main / LegendaryWeapon

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': The Monado, the legendary Blade that can defeat the otherwise invincible Mechons. [[spoiler: There are two (Zanza's Monado and Meyneth's Monado), containing the spirits and power of the Bionis and Mechonis, respectively. During the FinalBoss fight, this is joined by Shulk's own Monado--and by Alvis, who claims to ''be'' Monado.]]

** On a similar note are the Artifices, which fall more along the lines of legendary {{Superweapon}}s [[spoiler: that the Aegises can control, originally designed by them to defend the Conduit. Activating Aion, the ultimate Artifice, is Malos's ultimate goal--doing so will allow him to destroy the world.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': The Monado, the legendary Blade that can defeat the otherwise invincible Mechons.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': Several of the Blades count, but no more than the Aegis, the Blade that destroyed three entire continents in a war centuries ago. Of course, Blades are also people, making this something of a strange example. The Aegis is a girl named Pyra [[PlayingWithFire with fire powers]], who demonstrates far more power than anyone else. Then it turns out she's technically not the Aegis; the real Aegis is Mythra, who was so horrified at what she did during the Aegis War that she sealed away most of her powers and personality, creating the gentler Pyra. Eventually it is revealed that [[spoiler:Malos is another Aegis, obsessed with destroying the world due to the initial desires of the man who awakened him; Mythra was awakened to fight him]]. At the very end of the game, [[spoiler:the Architect explains that there were actually three Aegises--Logos (Malos), Ontos, and Pneuma (Mythra). They were originally the [=AIs=] overseeing the space elevator, but the Architect repurposed them to manage the Blades and heal the world. Ontos was lost in a dimensional rift long ago, and given multiple clues (the most blatant being Malos outright using his own version of the Monado, complete with its Arts) is all-but-stated to be the Monado from the first ''Xenoblade'']].

* The MacGuffin of ''Film/GentlemanExplorers'' is the Infinity Pistol: a magical gun that never runs out of bullets. Most people only know of it from the story recorded by Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, and regard it as nothing more than a legend.

* The Sword of the Kings of Ankh in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. According to the ''Discworld Companion'', in the later years of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy, many fake swords started popping up in the hands of various claimants, to the point that King Blad claimed the throne on the basis of two bits of wood nailed together. It is generally agreed that the ''true'' sword must have been shiny, probably magical and always catch the light, and therefore can't ''possibly'' be Captain Carrot's, which is none of these things but just really good at being a sword.
** How good? It's an AbsurdlySharpBlade that routinely cuts straight through other swords and at one point, was driven straight through a man and ''the stone pillar behind him'' without much fanfare. The implied reason for its sharpness is that the sword is ''so'' boringly nonmagical that it ends up working as low-grade AntiMagic against anything that has more magic in it, which is just about ''everything else in existence.'' Needless to say, it's the real thing, despite looking like an ordinary, slightly rusted sword.

* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' in the final confrontation Rick sees a mural depicting the golden scepter his brother-in-law has been hauling the entire film, showing it to be in fact a RetractableWeapon -- the Spear of Osiris. Which is the only thing that can kill the Scorpion King. He promptly takes it and uses it to defeat the Scorpion King.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': Several of the Blades count, but no more than the Aegis, the Blade that destroyed three entire continents in a war centuries ago. Of course, Blades are also people, making this something of a strange example. The Aegis is a girl named Pyra [[PlayingWithFire with fire powers]], who demonstrates far more power than anyone else. Then it turns out she's technically not the Aegis; the real Aegis is Mythra, who was so horrified at what she did during the Aegis War that she sealed away most of her powers and personality, creating the gentler Pyra. Eventually it is revealed that [[spoiler:Malos is another Aegis, obsessed with destroying the world due to the initial desires of the man who awakened him; Mythra was awakened to fight him]]. At the very end of the game, [[spoiler:the Architect explains that there were actually three Aegises--Logos (Malos), Ontos, and Pneuma (Mythra). They were originally the [=AIs=] overseeing the space elevator, but the Architect repurposed them to manage the Blades and heal the world. Ontos was lost in a dimensional rift long ago, and may very well be the Monado from the first ''Xenoblade'']].

** The Aedra, deities who [[CreationMyth aided in the creation]] of Mundus (the mortal plane) primarily worshiped in the [[SaintlyChurch Nine Divines]] religion, have provided some legendary weapons as well. Some of the most famous are Auri-El's Bow and Shield, Auri-El being the [[OurElvesAreBetter Aldmeri]] [[NobleBirdOfPrey eagle]] version of Akatosh, the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] God of Time. (The Bow is said to be the weapon that launched [[TheMaker Lorkhan]]'s [[CosmicKeystone Heart]] down into the world after he was [[GodIsDead "killed"]] for his perceived treachery during creation.) Similarly, the Divines each contributed to the Crusader's Relics. Originally worn by [[GodInHumanForm Pelinal]] [[EternalHero Whitestrake]] during the Alessian Revolt when he defeated Umaril the Unfeathered, they would have to be collected and sanctified by "[[PlayerCharacter Pelinal Reborn]]" in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'''s ''Knights of the Nine'' expansion.

* Early in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', the party recovers a small treasure hoard from some trolls. Among the hoard are a pair of legendary elvish blades, Orcrist the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring the Foe-Hammer, two legendary swords forged millennia earlier by the elves of Gondolin. Thorin Oakenshield takes Orcrist, while Gandalf takes Glamdring. Notably, these blades are also legendary among the ''goblins'', who call them Beater and Biter and recognize them on sight; pretty impressive considering they haven't been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years.

* Early in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', the party recovers a small treasure hoard from some trolls. Among the hoard are a pair of legendary elvish blades, Orcrist the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring the Foe-Hammer, two legendary swords forged millennia earlier by the elves of Gondolin. Thorin Oakenshield takes Orcrist [[spoiler:and it's eventually buried with him]], while Gandalf takes Glamdring. Notably, these blades are also legendary among the ''goblins'', who call them Beater and Biter and recognize them on sight; pretty impressive considering they haven't been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years.

* Early in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', the party recovers a small treasure hoard from some trolls. Among the hoard are a pair of legendary elvish blades, Orcrist the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring the Foe-Hammer, two legendary swords forged millennia earlier by the elves of Gondolin. Thorin Oakenshield takes Orcrist [[spoiler:and it's eventually buried with him]], while Gandalf takes Glamdring and uses it several decades later to kill the balrog in ''The Fellowship of the Ring''. Notably, these blades are also legendary among the ''goblins'', who call them Beater and Biter and recognize them on sight; pretty impressive considering they haven't been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Narsil is the legendary sword that was forged in the First Age by a famous dwarven smith, wielded and broken by Elendil and then used by Isildur to cut the ring out of Sauron's hand at the end of the Second Age, and then reforged under the name Andúril at the end of the Third Age to fulfill one of the ancient prophecies.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' series: Referenced with the Orange ColorCodedItemTiers, a.k.a "Legendary".

* Early in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', the party recovers a small treasure hoard from some trolls. Among the hoard are a pair of legendary elvish blades, Orcrist the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring the Foe-Hammer, two legendary swords forged millennia earlier by the elves of Gondolin. Thorin Oakenshield takes Orcrist [[spoiler:and it's eventually buried with him]], while Gandalf takes Glamdring and uses it several decades later to kill the balrog in ''The Fellowship of the Ring''. Notably, these blades are also legendary among the ''goblins'', who call them Beater and Biter and recognize them on sight; pretty impressive considering they haven't been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years.

* The Sword of Godric Gryffindor and the Elder Wand in ''Literature/HarryPotter''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has the eponymous Warhammer itself, Ghal Maraz.

Since having the protagonist find a legendary weapon at their local store is a bit silly (unless it's [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday an unusual kind of local store]]), the weapon tends to be a SwordOfPlotAdvancement that is rather hard to acquire.

A character in a work finds a weapon, and discovers that it is the same weapon from one of the [[OralTradition legends]] of their world. Most of the time, legendary weapons are a pretty big deal -- they don't call them "legendary" for nothing, after all -- and instead of being a ''very'' [[ExcaliburInTheRust old, rusty piece of scrap]] that's been in a display case for the last millennium, are actually extremely powerful and useful. They might even have the spirit of an ancient hero trapped in them, have immense magical properties, or be made with [[LostTechnology a technique that has been lost to the ages]]. Occasionally, when the protagonist is TheChosenOne of a {{Fantasy}} setting, they'll just happen to be a descendant of the last great hero to use that weapon, and the weapon [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield will unlock its true power only in their hands]].

Usually a {{Named Weapon|s}}. Since having the protagonist [[GrailInTheGarbage find a legendary weapon at their local store]] is a bit silly (unless it's [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday an unusual kind of local store]]), the weapon tends to be a SwordOfPlotAdvancement that is rather hard to acquire.

SuperTrope to AncestralWeapon. Contrast PenultimateWeapon and DayOldLegend. See also InfinityPlusOneSword, InfinityMinusOneSword, ExcaliburInTheRust, CoolSword, and SwordOfPlotAdvancement. If the work's setting is based on the real world, it may overlap with PublicDomainArtifact.

Usually a {{Named Weapon|s}}. Since having the protagonist find a legendary weapon at their local store is a bit silly (unless it's [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday an unusual kind of local store]]), the weapon tends to be a SwordOfPlotAdvancement that is rather hard to acquire.

* The [[CoolKey Key]][[CoolSword blade]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts''.

Usually a {{Named Weapon|s}}. Since having the protagonist find a legendary weapon at their local store is a bit silly (unless it's [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday an unusual kind of local store]], the weapon tends to be a SwordOfPlotAdvancement that is rather hard to acquire.

Usually a {{Named Weapon|s}}. Since having the protagonist find a legendary weapon at their local store is a bit silly, the weapon tends to be a SwordOfPlotAdvancement that is rather hard to acquire.

* Excalibur in ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' which Arthur [[ForegoneConclusion is going to]] [[ExcaliburInTheStone rip out of that stone]] as revealed by the series trailer, as well as Lancelot's Arondight.