History Main / SignatureMove

** Krillin's is the Kienzan ("Destructo Disk"), an absurdly sharp energy disc that he can throw and, later, control in flight. It never fails to cut anything it hits (until [[WorfEffect it fails against Cell]]), making it useful even against fighters that would normally be out of Krillin's league, like Oozaru/Great Apr Vegeta.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Darth Vader is associated with the Force Choke, Force Lightning is Palpatine's favorite ability (something which Count Dooku was also no slouch at), and everyone remembers Obi Wan's use of the JediMindTrick. Oddly, the films never show Vader using the Force Choke on an actual enemy, just people who've [[YouHaveFailedMe failed him]] or done something else to piss him off. This may be because in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the first person he used the Force Choke on was ''Padmé'', the love of his life. [[spoiler:He finally chokes some rebels on the big screen at the end of ''Film/RogueOne''.]]

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has a few interesting cases.

** Wrestling/TheUndertaker's famous rope-walk forearm club is always a sight to see. His Tombstone Piledriver actually [[GrandfatherClause remained after piledrivers were banned]], ''because'' it was a Signature Move.

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' the [[WhipItGood Vampire Killer]] whip attack has great range and is iconic, then there's the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/4/4c/SOTN_Vampire_Killer_3.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171006182629 flame version]] and also the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/f/f2/SOTN_Cross_2.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171006181245 cross throw]] where you use a crucifix as a shrunken.

* ''Manga/KamuiDen'': Kamui's most iconic technique is the "kasumi-kiri," in which he draws a short sword from a hidden position in the back of his obi and cuts his opponent horizontally. A close second is the "izunatoshi" used during tree top battles with other ninja.
* Nanoha from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' tends to use her [[WaveMotionGun Divine Buster and Starlight Breaker]] to [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriend]]... lots of things, really.

* Invoked by ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. The teachers at the SuperheroSchool encourage the students to come up with their own "ultimate moves" -- a move that represents them, assures their victory, and is so ingrained in their body that no one can copy it. They even lampshade some conventions of the trope (eg. the move should also have a name that is easy to say) when helping the class.

* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', the Elemental Hyper Beams eventually become this for the Dex Holders of the first three generations and their starters. Meanwhile, Yellow, commanding Red's Pikachu along with her own and Gold's Pichu, gets Volt Tackle.
* Aside from their signature magical attack, every Anime/PrettyCure and ally has her own physical attack move that she constantly ends up doing. For example, [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure White's]] twirling front flip, [[Anime/YesPrettyCure5 Rose's]] elbow jab, or [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Sunshine's]] use of actual martial arts moves.

* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Bloom's is summoning a dragon made of fire around her. She usually launches the thing at whoever has managed to really piss her off -- which happens when one of the villains has hurt one of her loved ones or when she's had enough of getting her ass handed to her. It's also a case of EvolvingAttack as it's {{implied}} that, every time she uses this spell in a new transformation, it's stronger than her previous attempts. She's also combined this spell with other magical essences, including doing Convergence with the other Winx, to make it a SuperSpecialMove. Her Fire Dragon is also versatile, as it has been used for purposes other than combat -- in season four, she uses it to awe some humans into believing in magic and, in season five, to save a horse from a pretty nasty fall. For all of these reasons, Bloom is marketed as casting this spell on more than one occasion. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwK1ZsfAOCE Here's]] a fan compilation of all the times Bloom has summoned her Fire Dragon.

* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Bloom's is summoning a dragon made of fire around her. She usually launches the thing at whoever has managed to really piss her off -- which happens when one of the villains has hurt one of her loved ones or when she's had enough of getting her ass handed to her. It's also a case of EvolvingAttack as it's {{implied}} that, every time she uses this spell in a new transformation, it's stronger than her previous attempts. She's also combined this spell with other magical essences, including doing Convergence with the other Winx, to make it a SuperSpecialMove. Her Fire Dragon is also versatile, as it has been used for purposes other than combat -- in season four, she uses it to awe some humans into believing in magic. For all of these reasons, Bloom is marketed as casting this spell on more than one occasion.

* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Bloom's is summoning a dragon made of fire around her. She usually launches the thing at whoever has managed to really piss her off -- which happens when one of the villains has hurt one of her loved ones or when she's had enough of getting her ass handed to her. It's also a case of EvolvingAttack as it's {{implied}} that, every time she uses this spell in a new transformation, it's stronger than her previous attempts. She's also combined this spell with other magical essences, including doing Convergence with the other Winx, to make it a SuperSpecialMove. Her Fire Dragon is also versatile, as it has been used for purposes other than combat -- in season four, she used it to prevent the fairy pets from crushing their necks in a pretty nasty fall. For all of these reasons, Bloom is marketed as casting this spell on more than one occasion.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'': It isn't made much ado about, but Nala gets a lot of mileage out of a tomoe nage + roll to pin combo. in the first film, she uses it to pin Simba twice as a cub and Simba immediately recognizes the move when they meet as adults. Simba then proceeds to use it in the climactic battle against Scar.

* [[TheVoiceless Soundwave]] in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has the means to open groundbridge and spacebridge portals at will, and prefers to just teleport his problems to some desolate location out of his hair.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Darth Vader is associated with the Force Choke, Force Lightning is Palpatine's favorite ability (something which Count Dooku was also no slouch at), and everyone remembers Obi Wan's use of the JediMindTrick. Oddly, the films never show Vader using the Force Choke on an actual enemy, just people who've [[YouHaveFailedMe failed him]] or done something else to piss him off. This may be because in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the first person he used the Force Choke on had been ''Padme'', the love of his life. [[spoiler:He finally chokes some rebels on the big screen at the end of ''Film/RogueOne''.]]

** His infamous nemesis King Ghidorah has his [[ShockAndAwe Gravity Beams]] which he puts to good use every time he appears. In [[Film/GodzillaFinalWars at least one incarnation]] the name of the attack is [[GravityMaster a bit more literal]].

** The many versions of Mechagodzilla all have their own signature move. The Showa incarnation goes with a MacrossMissileMassacre, the Heisei variant uses a stomach-mounted WaveMotionGun and the Millenium incarnation uses the [[AnIcePerson Absolute Zero]] [[ChestBlaster Cannon]].
* Franchise/KingKong favors the {{Jawbreaker}}.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' Lina tend to express her strong disapproval in a way predictable even more than impressive. "[[FantasticNuke Dragon Slaaaaavu]]"! There's also Amelia and her [[RapidFireFisticuffs Vistfanrank]] spell, and Zelgadis' [[TheMagicTouch Astral Vine]] spell, both which act as enhancements. The aformentioned two also use the Ra Tilt spell frequently, usually together. In the novel series, there is also Luke's Ruby-Eye Blade spell.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'':
** There are randomly obtained "extra skills" that can be earned through difficult circumstances. Some are easier than others -- Klein's [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana]] skill can be obtained simply by using Curved Swords a lot -- but many others are so rare, with requirements no one understands, that they turn into this trope. One of the most notable is [[spoiler:Kirito]]'s [[DualWielding Dual Swords]] skill, which he kept hidden for as long as possible to give him an edge. ''No one'' else has it.

** Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL has Yuma and the spell card Double or Nothing!, which he uses after negating Utopia's first attack to launch a more powerful second attack. Notably this is a technique that tends to be used when Astral isn't giving Yuya advice or Yuya is deliberately ignoring it, making it the signature move of ''Yuma'', and not ''Yuma and Astral''.

* ComicBook/SpiderMan like to shoot webs at the eyes to [[AHandfulforanEye blind]] his foes and he does it to literally '''everyone''' including [[https://img.srgcdn.com/e//U2pLWXZRZmxkc2FjMzJZVkVDUHQuanBn.jpg Thanos]], also his full body web-attack works a charm (even against a FlyingBrick). At other times the dropkick is Spidey's go-to move, or [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ee/f6/a7/eef6a7216ae11d06bf4ec8da9a86ce61.jpg web-covered fists]] when he's feeling fancy or facing [[ShockAndAwe Electro]].

* Fittingly enough, given its sources of inspiration, some effort was made to give each of the [[HumongousMecha Jaegers]] in ''Film/PacificRim'' a signature move or weapon, such as Gipsy Danger's [[PlasmaCannon plasma cannon]], or Striker Eureka's [[MacrossMissileMassacre chest-mounted missile launchers]].

* On the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} sketch-comedy ''Series/AlmostLive'', Billy Quan always [[FinishingMove finished]] his "Mind Your Manners" shorts with a double-footed jump-kick that could go for blocks, travel around corners, [[RuleOFFunny wait for an elevator]]..

* ''OnceUponATime'': Regina's signature go-to is conjuring a fireball hurling it towards her enemies. It's very rarely effective and often an odd choice considering she has been schooled in powerful dark magic by the most powerful dark magic user in all the realms. It also seems to have become the go-to magic for her sister Zelena too.

** Alucard from ''Videogame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' introduces dozens of new moves (spells) like his [[http://i.imgur.com/dTiXRIB.gif back dash]], [[http://i.imgur.com/zoOWQEk.gif teleport]] sword attack, [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/1/1a/SOTN_Summon_Spirit.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171008065837 Summon Spirit]], [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/b/b4/SOTN_Dark_Metamorphosis.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171008065802 Dark Metamorphosis]] [[{{Animorphism}} Wolf Form]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/f/fc/SOTN_Tetra_Spirit.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171008065838 Tetra Spirit]], [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/0/03/SOTN_Hellfire.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171008065805 Hellfire]] and especially [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/3/3b/SOTN_Sword_Brothers.gif/revision/latest?cb=20171008065837 Sword Brothers]] attack.

*** Cloud's Braver and Omnislash, his first and final {{Limit Break}}s respectively. The former being a powerful, leaping, vertical slash, quite often accompanied with various acrobatics to add centrifugal force to the strike, and the latter being a 15 {{Critical Hit}} combo to random targets. He also uses the Omnislash in the PostFinalBoss encounter with Sephiroth to finish him off.
*** Tifa's Beat Rush, Somersault, Final Heaven and especially [[WrestlerinAllofUs Metodrive]]. Somersault in particular is in nearly every appearance of hers. After ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' her Star Shower attack is becoming one of her staples.

** Leon S. Kennedy's sigatures moves in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' are the RoundhouseKick and SuplexFinisher, Leon has further grapple attacks in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' which are straight out of the [[WrestlerinAllofUs WWE]] as well as an ax-kick as seen in ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta''.

** [[BlackMagicianGirl Rita Mordio]] of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' favors the same spell in cutscenes. Similarly, Yuri seems to prefer [[SwordBeam Azure Edge]]. Most artes in this game are [[EvolvingAttack Evolving Attacks]] that get better with continued use, so it does make ''some'' sense to pick a favorite move and stick with it. [[LampshadeHanging The rest of the party will call you on this, however]].
* From ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'':

** Mothra has her [[AttackReflector reflective scales]] that can turn even Godzilla's aforementioned breath against him, but usually when she uses this move it means that [[SuicideAttack she intends to die]].
** As of ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'', Anguirus' signature move is to [[RollingAttack curl up into a ball and ram his opponent]]. It has reappeared in many games and comics, in one instance using it to defeat [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu a weakened Destoroyah]].

* Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'s Thermonuclear Breath.

** Samus has heaps of them: [[MacrossMissileMassacre Missiles]], [[ChargedAttack Charge Shot]], [[SpinAttack Screw Attack]], [[BetheBall Morph Ball]], [[SuperSpeed Shinespark]], [[AnIcePerson Ice Beam]] and the [[EnergyWeapon Hyper Beam]] which is the FinishingMove in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.
*** More recently Samus's melee attacks and counters (likely based off her Super Smash Bros attacks) has prevalent in her games especially Overblast and Lethal Strike which ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' introduced which involves grabbing or mounting the opponent and shooting at [[NoRangeLikePointBlankRange point blank range]] with her ArmCannon. Despite the controversial reception of ''Other M'', ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' brought the concept back with a similar, refined melee system with the aforementioned moves.
** Ridley really, really loves [[WipetheFloorwithYou grinding]] Samus across the walls he does in most of his [=3D=] appearances and he also does it to you as a stage boss in ''Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS'' except on the floor of the platform, not the walls. Ridley also uses his vicious serrated tail to [[BewareMyStingerTail stab]] Samus frequently. In Ridley's ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' trailer he brutally takes down Mega Man and Link with the attack.
*** Ridley's [[BreathWeapon fire breath]] can be considered his FinishingMove.

** The Rathian's tail backflip, which she will happily spam in order to poison unfortunate hunters.
** The Plesioth's hipcheck, notorious for its [[HitboxDissonance disjointed hitbox]] in early ''Monster Hunter'' games.
** Qurupeco's monster call imitation, which can summon anything from the lowly Melynx to the standard Rathian to {{the dreaded}} Deviljho.
** The Brute Tigrex's [[MakeMeWannaShout super roar]], infamous for being one of the few roars in the series that can ''damage hunters''.

* From ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', [[spoiler: Sans]], the FinalBoss of the KillEmAll route has two: his powerful opening attack (which [[spoiler:is done before your first turn, by the way]]), and his final special attack, which consists of [[spoiler:doing nothing in hopes of boring you into a RageQuit.]]

* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Thor's [[DropTheHammer Mjölnir]] [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throw]] is his most common attack ([[https://imgur.com/gallery/RQabb sometimes tricking his opponent into getting hit by it when he summons it back to his hand]]), followed by [[WeatherManipulation summoning lighting]] or just a [[https://dorisvsutherland.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/thorb2.jpg?w=574&h=523 overhead]] [[https://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2017/04/IMG_0436-720x960.png?fit=bounds&width=1280&height=720 strike]]. There's also his "[[https://i.imgur.com/FVsRUix.jpeg God Blast]]" attack which sadly [[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes rarely]] shows up in adaptations.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'': It isn't made much ado about, but Nala gets a lot of mileage out of a tomoe nage + roll to pin combo. in the first film, she uses it to pin Simba twice as a cub and Simba immediately recognizes the move when they meet as adults. Simba then proceeds to use it in the climactic battle against Scar.

** Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} has his Spear, and is still considered to have the greatest one of all time, despite it not being his finisher (as it is for Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/RomanReigns). While he used the Jackhammer (Vertical Suplex Powerslam) as his finisher, it was his Spear that would pop the crowd because he'd hit guys with what looked like enough force to snap a man in half.

** Majin Buu fires a magical beam from his antenna that [[BalefulPolymorph turns his victim into candy]], which he consumes.

** From ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', Jinana has ''Seraph Lore'' (massive Expel damage to everyone unless you block it), Bat has ''Zotzilaha Bane'' (BalefulPolymorph), Lupa has ''Pyriphlegethon'' (most powerful fire spell in the duology) and Angel has ''Reincarnation'' (massive Almighty damage).

* Cell's signature move is the fact that he takes the signature moves of his several genetic sources, most notably Goku's Kamehameha. Though he does have unique moves of his own (like his Perfect Barrier, which is a mixture between a super explosive wave and a shield of energy), none really stand out as much as the ones he has taken from his templates.

** Yamcha is introduced with his Rōgafūfūken ("Wolf Fang Fist"), but when what is essentially just a series of punches and kicks starts to lack a certain flair, he develops Sōkidan (the "Spirit Ball"), a ball of ''chi'' that he can manipulate at high speed. [[ButtMonkey Not that it helps.]]
** Krillin's is the Kienzan ("Destructo Disk"), an absurdly sharp energy disc that he can throw and, later, control in flight. It never fails to cut anything it hits (until [[WorfEffect it fails against Cell]]), making it useful even against fighters that would normally be out of Krillin's league, like Oozaru Vegeta.

** Tien's buddy Chiaotzu had a telepathic technique that caused severe stomach pains and cramps in the opponent. Both were also the first users of Bukujitsu, or flight, [[EveryonesASuper something which would become common later in the series]].

** Gohan's answer to the Kamehameha is his ''Masenko'', which functions similarly but is fired by crossing his hands, palms out, above his forehead rather than in the familiar "fireball" motion. He learned it from Piccolo during his year of training in preparation for the Saiyan invasion, hence the Ma in the name, to mean devil.
** Nappa's ultimate move is firing a ki blast from his mouth.
** Vegeta never really gets one that sticks. He goes through the Galick Gun, Big Bang Attack, and Final Flash at various points. Most video games seem to settle on treating the Galick Gun as his generic 'big ki blast' attack, and the Final Flash as his devastating, all-out FinishingMove (with the BBA being somewhere between the two). In fact, one of Vegeta's most commonly-used techniques is generic BeamSpam ([[WorfBarrage which never works]]).

*** Jeice used the Crusher Ball, a big energy ball that is spiked like a volleyball. He also used Red Magma that combined with Burter's Blue Hurricane to make the Purple Comet Hurricane.

** Freeza's Death Beam is a deceptively small laser-like blast fired from his fingertip that pierces the victim's heart and [[OneHitKill nearly always causes instant death]]. He also has a much larger version, a Death Ball, generally used for destroying planets.
** Future Trunks is interesting here. He has a very visually distinct Signature Move, but as he generally doesn't call his attacks, it's only named in the video games -- Burning Attack. He used it as a distraction move to set up his Shining Sword Attack on Frieza.
** Cell signature move is the fact that he takes the signature moves of his several genetic sources, most notably Goku's Kamehameha.

** Gogeta and Vegetto both have fusions of signature attacks. For Gogeta, it is Big Bang Kamehameha, and for Vegetto it is Final Kamehameha. One could also count Gogeta’s Soul Punisher attack as this.

* ComicBook/{{Thor}}'s [[DropTheHammer Mjölnir]] [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throw]] is his most common attack ([[https://imgur.com/gallery/RQabb sometimes tricking his opponent into getting hit by it when he summons it back to his hand]]), followed by [[WeatherManipulation summoning lighting]] or just a [[https://dorisvsutherland.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/thorb2.jpg?w=574&h=523 overhead]] [[https://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2017/04/IMG_0436-720x960.png?fit=bounds&width=1280&height=720 strike]]. There's also his "[[https://i.imgur.com/FVsRUix.jpeg God Blast]]" attack which sadly [[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes rarely]] shows up in adaptations.