History Main / SwordOfDamocles

* In ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', Muska takes control of Laputa for just this reason.

* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' had Raoh effectively act as this: Indeed, during his first battle with [[TheHero Kenshiro]], news of him ''not winning'' (the fight was a draw, but this was as good as outright losing to the lands Raoh conquered, and to his minions) and him hiding away to recuperate had his territories descend into chaos. It's only when he returns does he restore order to those regions.
* Literal Swords hang over the Kings' heads in ''{{Anime/K}}'', referred to InUniverse as "Swords of Damocles". They are manifestations of a King's power, and if Kings overextend their power and the Sword falls, large areas around them will be destroyed as well. When it gets close to this, the only way to prevent it is for the King to be slain - but it is difficult for one who is not a King to slay a King, and the burden of killing a King puts a huge strain on a King's sword... leading to something of a cycle [[spoiler: that two generations of Red and Blue kings have found themselves in]]. Both seasons of the anime have the possibility of this situation as a plot point.
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', this is why Frieza's minions have him revived - his empire has fallen apart in his absence, and they see him as the only way they'll be top dog again. It's a bit of an own goal, since he's [[BadBoss back to killing people who disagree with him]] almost immediately.

* There was a storyline in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', where Kang the Conqueror decides to invade Earth (again) in an attempt to train his son Marcus. His base of operations is a gigantic spacecraft shaped like a sword called Damocles.

* ''Film/InLikeFlint''. Gen. Carter schemes to load a space station with nuclear bombs instead of a weather laboratory (under the code name Project Damocles) and launch it into orbit around Earth.
* One of the songs in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' is titled "The Sword Of Damocles". In said song, Rocky sings about how he's just been born and how he can already fear that something is about to go terribly wrong.
-->'''Rocky''': (Singing) The Sword Of Damocles is hanging over my head. And, I've got the feeling someone's gonna be cuttin' the thread.
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', this is what Tarkin intended the Death Star and its [[EarthShatteringKaboom superlaser]] to be used for: The threat of having your planet instantly destroyed would (presumably) curtail the ambitions of any seditious systems and work more efficiently than actually physically oppressing someone by force. The ExpandedUniverse gave this philosophy the name "The Tarkin Doctrine", and revealed that TheEmpire built an impractically large number of various planet-destroying devices in an attempt to implement it in practice. Since they all had a nasty tendency to get hijacked or blow up due to Rebel Scum, sabotage, or other unfortunate circumstances, the doctrine was a resounding failure.
** It wasn't just the implementation that was flawed: the Tarkin Doctrine [[MoralEventHorizon demolished whatever legitimacy the Empire might have had]], pushing systems and individuals who might otherwise have sat on the fence [[NeutralNoLonger into supporting the Rebels openly]] (although to be fair, by that point it had been destroyed by the Rebels, but the Empire couldn't take back how they used it). The fact that the Death Star's first target was [[NeverHurtAnInnocent a civilian planet]] (and that it was destroyed [[KickTheDog even though Leia seemed to be co-operating]]) didn't help at all, nor did using Jedha as a testing range or firing upon your own troops on Scarif [[Film/RogueOne a few days earlier]].

* The evil professor from ''Film/RealGenius'' makes his genius students build him a laser (while his ButtMonkey student/valet works on the tracking system) for a space-laser version of one of these he promised to the military (for a supposedly obscene amount of money).
* Tony Stark's exposition of his Jericho Missile in [[Film/IronMan Iron Man]] might be a variation of this; a weapon that only needs to be fired ''once''.
-->'''Tony Stark''': They say that the best weapon is the one that you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree! I prefer the weapon you only have to fire '''once'''. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it... and it's worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves.

* Creator/RobertAHeinlein
** ''Literature/BetweenPlanets''. The Circum-Terra space station has hundreds of nuclear missiles, enough to destroy any military force that threatened Federation control of Earth.
** ''Literature/SpaceCadet''. One of the Patrol's routine tasks is to maintain the string of satellite nuclear weapons orbiting Earth. Unlike ''Between Planets'' which involves TheWarOfEarthlyAggression, this is presented as UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The protagonist however has to address the issue of whether he might be called upon to nuke his own hometown some day.

* Referenced in ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'', when referring to Uriel. Considering what Uriel is capable of, even with tinfoil hats and cruise missiles to stop him, this is not surprising.
* Voldemort in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series uses the werewolf Fenrir Greyback this way: do what he says or he'll send Greyback after your kids. As Lupin (who was himself bitten by Greyback as a child) puts it, "It's a threat that usually yields good results."

* ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'': A species called the Serioli created the SoulEating Morganti weapons -- which ''[[DeaderThanDead annihilate]]'' people in a world where DeathIsCheap and {{Reincarnation}} is the default fate of souls -- as a peacekeeping measure, by making the threat of war too horrific to risk. It worked... for the Serioli. Dragaerans and humans don't share their scruples.
* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'', the Yotsuba clan accidentally brought a PhysicalGod into existence. He was too dangerous to let live, but so ''[[StupidEvil useful]]'' that they didn't want to murder him, so they took a third option: brainwashing him into a MoralityChain. Unfortunately, the holder of that chain is mortal, and there's no way [[spoiler:Tatsuya]] [[ItOnlyWorksOnce will let them repeat the process]]. So the vast majority of Yotsuba are not ''happy'', even though they have unimaginable wealth and power; they know that someday the BarrierMaiden will die, and all the Earth with her. Even while she's young they have no peace, because they see [[spoiler:Tatsuya]] lurking in every shadow, an eternal reminder of their failure and greed.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Assignment Earth". The U.S. is about to launch an orbital nuclear warhead platform. Gary Seven's mission is to make it malfunction to scare other nations into not using them.
* This was taken very literally in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', where [[BigBad King Mondo]] dug up a "powerful but unstable" weapon called the Damocles Sword which he had buried centuries ago so he wouldn't be tempted to use it. Apparently, the sword was a self-induced version of this trope, which he broke after thinking he could defy it. As it turned out, his choice was a foolish one. Trying to fight the Rangers with it only resulted in him losing the battle (and being the first BigBad of the franchise to fall in combat to the Rangers, a very dubious honor).
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', the Eclipse Cannon was intended to serve as this. This is why it was only fired as an example. No point in Dr. Eggman ruling an empty planet, is there?

* In ''VideoGame/FrontMissionEvolved'' [[spoiler: the main enemy is revealed to be a terrorist group known as The Sword of Damocles and they plan to use a orbital laser to keep the nations of the world under their thumb]]
* At the end of the Ancient China chapter in ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', Odi Wang Lee reveals he always has a pair of assassins living behind his throne, with orders to attack whenever they see fit. They're strong enough to kill him, and thus he must always remain on guard - this is how he stays strong enough to be a powerful martial artist. They also serve as a last line of defense when the Xin Shan Quan master wipes out Lee's inner circle.
* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur IV]]'' features "Critical Finishes", OneHitKill {{Finishing Move}}s that can only be used when your opponent's Soul meter is empty and yours is full. Since the Soul meter empties through blocking, they are clearly meant to discourage excessive blocking and are not meant to be seriously used.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': In the distant past, MadGod Sheogorath hurled a rogue moon at the newly built {{Egopolis}} of the Dunmeri [[PhysicalGod Tribunal Deity]] Vivec. Vivec saved the city by freezing the moon high above it, but then invoked this trope. He told his followers that the moon was held in place by their love for him, and that if they should stop loving him, it would fall. [[spoiler: Due in no small part to the player's actions in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Vivec disappears early in the 4th era. Some temporary measures are enacted to keep the moon in place, including the use of a [[PoweredByAForsakenChild a soul-burning machine]]. However, those attempts prove futile, and the moon falls with it's original momentum, causing [[ColonyDrop province-wrecking]] results. Years later, the waters where the city once stood are still boiling]].
* ''VideoGame/TheForgottenCity'', which started life as a VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim quest mod, has this as the central premise. It takes place in a lost Dwemer city populated by various people of different races and backgrounds live in relative peace because everyone knows that if anybody so much as steals a single coin or lays a single finger on another in anger within the city's confines, the Dwemer statues scattered around the city come to life and ''[[FinalSolution murder everyone]]''. [[spoiler:That doesn't mean however that the city has no crime.]]
* In ''VideoGame/PlanetAlcatraz'', the PenalColony planet has a [[KillSat space station]] hovering in orbit, equipped with weapons capable of wiping out anything more technologically advanced then allowed. Wanna build guns to kill each other? Go ahead. Hey, what's that down there? It looks like a spaceship. Better scorch it, to be sure.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', it turns out this is the exact purpose of the titular [[AntagonistTitle Guardians]], massive Forerunner war machines. A single Guardian has enough firepower to keep an entire solar system under control. At the end of the game, we see one of their weapons is an EMP burst strong enough to overwhelm an entire planet.

* The infamous Spiny Shell (also known as the Blue Shell) in the VideoGame/MarioKart series serves this purpose, or rather, the threat of one. It is a weapon that seeks out the racer in 1st place and slams into them, causing an explosion that stops them cold for several seconds and, with a few exceptions, [[UnblockableAttack cannot be avoided]]. Everyone who has played Mario Kart games for long enough will feel on edge whenever they're ahead in case someone obtains a Spiny Shell. And in the games where other players' items are visible, such as ''Mario Kart DS'' and ''Mario Kart 8'', you can sometimes see people in the lead slam on the brakes and let people overtake them when they see someone get one. And this mechanic works very well--so well that most other kart racers [[FollowTheLeader have adopted similar weapons]]: the Ghost in ''VideoGame/SnowboardKids'', the Swarm in ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', the Blue Pac-Bomb in ''VideoGame/PacManWorldRally'', etc.
* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth'' features an item called [[ShapedLikeItself Damocles]]. If you choose to use it upon picking it up, you get an extra item for every item that spawns. Unlike other items that spawn an extra item, which make you choose between the two, extra items spawned from Damocles' use can be taken even if the originally spawned item is picked up. Extra items that spawn in Shops and [[DealWithTheDevil Devil Rooms]] can even be taken for free! The catch? Upon use, the sword dangles from a string over your head, and, upon getting hit, starts counting down an invisible timer. When this timer runs out, the sword falls off the string with no prior warning and [[OneHitKill instantly kills you]]. The timer is random, meaning it could kill you as soon as you get hit, or you could get hit and not have the sword fall on you for several floors, if at all. This creates [[SadisticChoice an interesting dilemma]] - Do you use the sword and pray that it won't fall on you before you finish the run? Or do you pass up on it and miss out on the free items? {{Downplayed}} in that having extra lives or being invulnerable when the sword drops will prevent it from killing you, though you'll lose out on the extra item drops when it does.

* [[EmperorScientist Klaus Wulfenbach]] of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is a self-described enlightened despot with only one rule: Don't Make Me Come Over There. As long as the realms of Europa don't wage war on each other, police bandits and renegade [[MadScientist Sparks]] to an acceptable degree, and turn over [[ArtifactOfDoom devices of The Other]], they may rule as they see fit. When they don't, well, that's when the armies, [[EliteMooks Jaegermonstern]], [[HumongousMecha battle clanks]], and [[CoolAirship air fleet]] earn their pay. Even Wulfenbach doesn't have enough of an army to fight everyone, but he can and will enact DisproportionateRetribution on [[WhoWillBellTheCat whoever steps out of line first]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' villain Kang the Conqueror travels from the future in his ship, which, in his bid to conquer present-day Earth, is referred to as Damocles Base, and is shaped like a giant sword. After the Avengers have Kang arrested, Damocles finds use as a base for the intergalactic peacekeeping organization, [[FunWithAcronyms SWORD]].

* This was taken very literally in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', where [[BigBad King Mondo]] dug up a "powerful but unstable" weapon called the Damocles Sword which he had buried centuries ago so he wouldn't be tempted to use it. Apparently, the sword was a self-induced version of this Trope, which he broke after thinking he could defy it. As it turned out, his choice was a foolish one. Trying to fight the Rangers with it only resulted in him losing the battle (and being the first BigBad of the franchise to fall in combat to the Rangers, a very dubious honor).

[[AC:Fanfic]]

* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', [[spoiler:Captain T-Bone reorganizes the former CP9 agents into "Ragnarok", which not only serve to assassinated the other Cipher Pol cells but also kill a member of the New World Mason if they choose to stray from the original path of the organization]].

** In the ''Manga/DeathNoteSpecialChapter'', A-Kira decides to auction a Death Note to various First World governments, rationalizing that these countries already have nuclear weapons as swords of damocles, and giving them yet another ArtifactOfDoom will just cause it to be tied up by the bureaucracy[[note]]sadly for A-Kira, he never realized there was an even greater power, the Shinigami King, holding a sword over everyone. SK orders Ryuk to kill A-Kira to send a message to the mortals; stop trading the ArtifactOfDoom.[[/note]]. He sells it to [[spoiler:Washington DC, which wins the auction with a whopping 900 trillion yen, but Ryuk reveals to Donald Trump that the new rule patch means if he accepts the note for United States custody he will literally drop dead. [[DirtyCowardThe president decides to surrender the notebook, but pretends America has a brand new magical sword of ink and paper]]]].

* In ''VideoGame/FrontMission'' Evolved [[spoiler: the main enemy is revealed to be a terrorist group known as The Sword of Damocles and they plan to use a orbital laser to keep the nations of the world under their thumb]]

The KillSat may easily be an example of this. The WeaponForIntimidation is a somewhat related, smaller scale version. See also AppealToForce and GunboatDiplomacy. For the ''other'' moral of the Sword of Damocles story, see PrestigePeril.

[[caption-width-right:250:Dionysius had [[TheChainsOfCommanding a point to make]].]]

** Meanwhile Lelouch and [[spoiler: Nunnally]] had their own separate plans for using it. [[spoiler: Nunnally]]'s plan was to turn it into a target of hate for the world to unite against, resulting in peace once it gets destroyed. Lelouch's plan [[spoiler: turns out to be pretty much the same, [[ThanatosGambit except he uses himself as the target and has Suzaku as Zero kill him]], [[TheExtremistWasRight which actually does result in a better peace than what Schneizel or Nunnally had in mind]]]]. This can be chalked up to [[spoiler: [[TheAtoner punishing himself with death for all the horrible things he already did]], and that using a person instead of a simple weapon for a common enemy would work much better]].

* In [[http://unlevelednate.deviantart.com/art/Damocles-502680870 this]] comic, the Sword of Damocles is a talking ArtifactOfDoom which hangs over adventurers that find it, someday to fall and kill them, but first to drive them into despair and loneliness by its menace. [[spoiler: The girl who finds it is TooDumbToFool, and uses the Sword to fight evil and become a great hero. Will the Sword kill her? Yes, but [[CursedWithAwesome she will wield it for good until then]].]]

** Project Cadmus employs "Damocles Class Missiles", which were used to fire directly into the space-based Watchtower of the League to preemptively start a war between superhumans. The use of them is explicitly because Cadmus felt they could not trust the league to continue to protect the people of the world.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' villain Kang the Conquerer travels from the future in his ship, which, in his bid to conquer present-day Earth, is referred to as Damocles Base, and is shaped like a giant sword. After the Avengers have Kang arrested, Damocles finds use as a base for the intergalactic peacekeeping organization, [[FunWithAcronyms SWORD]].

* The TropeNamer is the myth of Damocles and King Dionysius from ancient Greece. Damocles, a low commoner, held King Dionysios in high regard and was very supportive of his rule and life, thinking his life as a king and ruler must be the grandest of all. Hearing about this, Dionysios [[ATasteOfPower invited Damocles to dine with him]].. But when Damocles arrived, Dionysios had installed a sword just above Damocles' place in the room, hanging by a hair of a horse's mane. Despite being with his idol as an equal, Damocles couldn't enjoy any of it, being so nervous about the sword hanging above his head that he couldn't eat, drink, or talk. At the end of the night Dionysios asked Damocles if he enjoyed their meal, and Damocles answered that, in truth, it had been horrible and paranoia-inducing. To that, the king had one answer: "[[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility Now you know how a king and tyrant feels every second of his life. Go home, and cherish your freedom.]]" The [[AnAesop moral of the story]] was that being a king isn't all glamour and prestige; it's hard work, and at any moment, it could all come to a bloody end.

* The TropeNamer is the myth of Damocles and King Dionysius from ancient Greece. Damocles, a low commoner, held his king, Dionysios, in extremely high regard and was very supportive of his rule and life, thinking his life as a king and ruler must be the grandest of all. Hearing about this, Dionysios [[ATasteOfPower invited Damocles to dine with him]], but when Damocles arrived, Dionysios had installed a sword just above Damocles' place in the room, hanging by a hair of a horse' mane. Despite being with his idol as an equal, Damocles couldn't enjoy the feast at all, being so nervous about the sword that he couldn't eat, drink or talk. Dionysios asked him if he enjoyed their meal, and Damocles answered that, in truth, it had been horrible and paranoia-inducing. To that, the king had one answer:
--> ''[[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility Now you know how a king and tyrant feels every second of his life. Go home, and cherish your freedom.]]''

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', this is why Freeza's minions have him revived - the empire has fallen apart in his absence, and they see him as the only way they'll be top dog again. It's a bit of an own goal, since he's [[BadBoss back to killing people who disagree with him]] almost immediately.

** It wasn't just the implementation that was flawed: The Tarkin Doctrine [[MoralEventHorizon demolished whatever legitimacy the Empire might have had]], pushing systems and individuals who might otherwise have sat on the fence [[NeutralNoLonger into supporting the Rebels openly]]. The fact that the Death Star's first target was [[NeverHurtAnInnocent a civilian planet]] (and that it was destroyed [[KickTheDog even though Leia seemed to be cooperating]]) didn't help at all.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Arachnophobia get their hands on an ArtifactOfDoom named Brew, but it doesn't work ([[spoiler:because Medusa's team stole the real one and gave them a fake]]). However, Arachne still realizes it to be useful because everyone ''thinks'' they have it, and thus can still threaten enemies into retreating.

-->-- '''Governor Tarkin''', stating his [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tarkin_Doctrine named doctrine]] in ''Film/StarWarsANewHope''

* This was Pain's plan for the tailed-beasts powered weapon in ''{{Naruto}}''; [[FantasticNuke to create (and even use) a weapon so terrible that it would put an end to war]], at least until people stopped fearing it and it would have to be used again.

The KillSat may easily be an example of this. The WeaponForIntimidation is a somewhat related, smaller scale version. See also AppealToForce and GunboatDiplomacy.

** Subverted in "Death Watch". President Servalan is serving as neutral arbiter between two systems, and has her battlefleet on 'exercise' near the border as an assurance that nothing will happen to her. However Avon realises that Servalan is plotting to have the two systems go to war, and it's actually an invasion fleet waiting to mop up the survivors.

** "Countdown". When Albian legally demanded their independence, the Terran Federation hid a DoomsdayDevice on the planet and threatened to detonate it if they rebelled. The rebels try to seize the control room in a ''coup de main'', but it turns out the bomb itself is hidden elsewhere, and there's a RaceAgainstTheClock to find its location before it detonates.
** "Volcano". A race of pacifists threaten to detonate another DoomsdayDevice if any aggressor lands on their planet. The Federation decides to call their bluff. It's not a bluff.

* "Countdown". When Albian legally demanded their independence, the Terran Federation hid a DoomsdayDevice on the planet and threatened to detonate it if they rebelled. The rebels try to seize the control room in a ''coup de main'', but it turns out the bomb itself is hidden elsewhere, and there's a RaceAgainstTheClock to find its location before it detonates.
* "Volcano". A race of pacifists threaten to detonate another DoomsdayDevice if any aggressor lands on their planet. The Federation decides to call their bluff. It's not a bluff.

** Meanwhile Lelouch and [[spoiler: Nunnally]] had their own separate plans for using it. [[spoiler: Nunnally]]'s plan was to turn it into a target of hate for the world to unite against, resulting in peace once it gets destroyed. Lelouch's plan [[spoiler: turns out to be pretty much the same, [[ThanatosGambit except he uses himself as the target and has Suzaku as Zero kill him]], [[TheExremistWasRight which actually does result in a better peace than what Schneizel or Nunnally had in mind]]]]. This can be chalked up to [[spoiler: [[TheAtoner punishing himself with death for all the horrible things he already did]], and that using a person instead of a simple weapon for a common enemy would work much better]].

** Referred to overall as the "Doom of Damocles." The "Doom" is applied to those the White Council believes to be ''just'' shy of irredeemable, and can summed up as "One strike and you're out." With "out" meaning, "beheaded by the Wardens." Note that this usage has little to do with this trope and is based on the original meaning of the term (see the Other folder for explanation).

** Unfortunately, he also plans to nuke any city that is currently at war. In other words, all of civilization will go back to the dark ages. Also, his character flaw is that he gets bored easily and might do a certain something [b]unnecessarily sadistic[/b] just to cheer himself up...

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' villain Kang the Conquerer travels from the future in his ship, which, in his bid to conquer present-day Earth, is referred to as Damocles Base which is shaped like a giant sword.