History Main / MonumentalBattle

A consequence of the EiffelTowerEffect, see also MonumentalDamage. Compare TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon - when the monuments are fictional, and the architects aren't limited by common sense. Or, often, the laws of physics. See also LandmarkingTheHiddenBase and WeaponizedLandmark, which go a little way explaining why some of the battles take place where they do. This can become HarsherInHindsight if some disaster ends up later destroying the monument you so gleefully smash in your work.

A consequence of TheEiffelTowerEffect, see also MonumentalDamage. Compare TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon - when the monuments are fictional, and the architects aren't limited by common sense. Or, often, the laws of physics. See also LandmarkingTheHiddenBase and WeaponizedLandmark, which go a little way explaining why some of the battles take place where they do. This can become HarsherInHindsight if some disaster ends up later destroying the monument you so gleefully smash in your work.

* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeTheMovie'' opens with a big, flashy battle between the Joes and Cobra over the Statue of Liberty. Even after being demoted from the final battle to an opening action scene, it's still often considered the highlight of the movie. (Hell, can you blame anyone? The one-minute sequence managed to include ''every little detail'' of the Statue at least once, and fighting from nearly every possible angle imaginable. And the music accompanying it was rather well-done compared to other cartoons like this. Most would have considered it a milestone of animation at the time.) It's so awesome that it's our page image, currently.

** The Statue Of Liberty has become a popular site for final one-on-one duels. (What it symbolizes is often a factor.)

** The Clock Tower containing Big Ben (it's official name is "Elizabeth Tower", named after the current UK monarch).

* ''Series/{{Highlander}}: The Series'' had [=MacLeod=] use the Eiffel Tower to kill two birds with one stone: By killing his opponent, who had hidden a computer counting down to initiate his master plan somewhere in central Paris, Mac caused the tower to act as an antenna for his quickening, shorting out every computer for miles.

* During the ''Captain Britain and MI13'' portion of the ComicBook/SecretInvasion event, the Skrull invasion of Britain and the remnants of the human military have their climactic battle on Westminster Bridge. It's invoked to a degree, since a good portion of the battle is fought with magic and the location has a great deal of symbolic value for the British people linked to this.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'': The final boss fight is a swordfight on top of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Hall Federal Hall]] in New York.

* The climax of ''VideoGame/GhostRecon: Advanced Warfighter'' takes place at the Presidential Palace in downtown UsefulNotes/MexicoCity, as well as the adjoining plaza [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zócalo El Zócalo]], the second most iconic location in the city. Several missions earlier, the hardest scene (as well as the final showdown) occurs at the ''first'' most iconic location, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ángel Plaza del Ángel]], where the US Embassy is blown up by insurgents.

This can be justified several ways: the landmark, or something buried underneath it, is said to posess occult powers; there is something of importance about the landmark itself, like a clue left by an AncientConspiracy; or there is a major delegation of world leaders being held very close by. As often as not, however, it's a simple case of SmallReferencePools.

** He also kills the Minotaur on [[TakeItToTheBridge Williamsburg Bridge]] (in fact, all the bridges in Manhatten are the site of battles) in ''The Last Olympian'', and fights Telekhines on Mt St. Helens [[spoiler:which is also where [[EldritchAbomination Typhon]] is [[SealedEvilInACan trapped]], until the battle accidently frees him]] in ''Battle of the Labyrinth''. The sequel series ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' seems to be following the tradition, with the first time Jason, Piper and Leo face monsters is the Grand Canyon [[spoiler:well, the first time we ''see'' Jason fight a monster, that is]].

*** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]] hundreds of aliens races gather at Stonehedge to battle it out for the Pandorica, with the Doctor standing between all of them and it. [[spoiler:Except they're all working together against the Doctor to trap him in it]].

* Taken UpToEleven by ''VideoGame/LegoMarvelSuperheroes'', where you don't just fight ''at'' the Statue of Liberty, you fight ''against'' her; in a level [[PunnyName appropriately called]] "Taking Liberties", Magneto uses his magnetic powers to control her into fighting the good guys (including Captain America, who has to become an ApologeticAttacker against her.)

* In ''Manga/X1999'', every battle between the Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth takes place in several important locations in Tokyo such as the Rainbow Bridge, the Sunshine 60 building, the National Diet Building, and Tokyo Tower. With the exception of Kamui, every Dragon of Heaven is capable of summoning a "kekkai" or a Spirit Shield that keeps civilians out of the battlefield.

* In a climactic battle in the ''ComicBook/PsiForce'' comic, the good guy--a [[AllYourPowersCombined gestalt entity with the magnified powers of the titular team]]--hit the bad guy with ''the Washington Monument''. He still lost, though. The bad guy then walked into the National Archives and [[MonumentalDamage set fire to the Constitution]].

* In a climactic battle in the ''[[ComicBook/TheNewUniverse Psi-Force]]'' comic, the good guy--a [[AllYourPowersCombined gestalt entity with the magnified powers of the titular team]]--hit the bad guy with ''the Washington Monument''. He still lost, though. The bad guy then walked into the National Archives and [[MonumentalDamage set fire to the Constitution]].

A consequence of TheEiffelTowerEffect, see also MonumentalDamage. Compare TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon - when the monuments are fictional, and the architects aren't limited by common sense. Or, often, the laws of physics. See also LandmarkingTheHiddenBase and WeaponizedLandmark, which go a little way explaining why some of the battles take place where they do. This can lead to a FunnyAneurysmMoment if some disaster ends up later destroying the monument you so gleefully smash in your work.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': The fight against [=DeathMeramon=] took place on top of Tokyo Tower, physically warping it from sheer heat. [[FunnyAneurysmMoment Twelve years later]]...

** There was a bit of a FunnyAneurysmMoment when you got to fight in New York, optionally destroying the World Trade Center... they had to rename it in a patch.

* As Mount Rushmore in WesternAnimation/Ben10 is the base of a secret alien fighting society, it also ended up being the site of the climactic battle of a season.