History Main / TripodTerror

-->-- ''Literature/{{The War of the Worlds|1898}}''

The UrExample is undoubtedly Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/{{The War of the Worlds|1898}}'', and its many adaptations since. Compare and contrast to SpiderTank. A SubTrope of StarfishRobots.

* Mr. Hyde {{lampshade}}s the design of the Tripods during the Martian Invasion in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Volume 2''. He then proceeds to [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] the trope by commenting how there's a good reason no ''animals'' have only three legs, and demonstrates this reason by breaking one tripod's legs, causing the thing to fall over. He then breaks the cockpit open and '''eats''' the horrified Martian inside.

* ''ComicBook/ScarletTraces'', being a fansequel to ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.
* The Dark horse comic version of ''The War Of The Worlds'' made the tripods more fearsome than the previously known (such as the page image)
-->"That thing I saw! [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Darkhorse_tripod_small_2429.png How can I describe it?"]]
* When Martian from ComicBook/{{Killraven}}'s reality invade the mainstream marvel universe they arrive in giant tripods.

* Deconstructed in ''Fanfic/SlippingBetweenWorlds''. A group of "visitors" from Roundworld (Earth) provoke a mass panic that Ankh-Morpork is being invaded by pitiless alien conquerors. The possibility of a Slight Disagreement Of The Worlds is explored in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' style, and includes stolid Discworlders debating the self-evident drawbacks of top-heavy tripod war machines. A farmer looks down at a cattle grid and nods, saying "I'd like to see 'un get over ''this'' 'un!", while a Man In A Pub smugly discusses how unbalanced a tripod would be to, for e.g., a troll or a golem grabbing one leg and flipping it over. "Sides, your golem. Made out of invulnerable heat-resistant ceramic. Your troll. Fire a death ray at him, just makes him dumber and angrier. Them tripods is just scrap metal either way!"

* ''Animation/WarOfTheWorldsGoliath'': being a sequel to the TropeMaker, naturally the Martian tripods reappear. However, this film supposes that humanity reversed-engineered leftover Martian tech from the original invasion and have used it to create a DieselPunk world full of human-built tripods armed with human-built heat rays, which become major centerpieces of the action when a second Martian invasion takes place.

* Most film adaptations of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' feature the tripods.
** Even the 1950s "floating" ''[[Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953 War of the Worlds]]'' Martian war machines have, if you look closely, ''3'' repulsors keeping it hovering in the air. (They originally planned to have the usual tripods, but the amount of money available and the limited technology of the day led them to change it to more fit a "Flying Saucer" motif)
** In ''Machinima/WarOfTheServers'', the Mingepods aren't even really tripods. They have two front wheels, and a third "leg" with another two wheels on it. So while they're technically tripods (three 'legs') they still have four points of contact.
* Lightning [=McQueen=] has a dream where he stars in a movie about spark plug tripods (actually "quads," as they have four legs) destroying the city in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}''.

** [=R2-D2=] himself is tripedal, although his supporting struts don't bend and he rolls rather than walks.
* The ''Film/LostInSpace'' movie features a race of insectoid creatures with this flaw. The [[WordOfGod DVD commentary]] acknowledges this, admitting that nature would never design anything like this because of the off-balance problem.

* Creator/HGWells' 1898 ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' is the TropeMaker. Arguably the Codifier as well.
* The young-adult trilogy-plus-a-prequel by Creator/JohnChristopher called ''Literature/TheTripods'' features, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin what you might expect]]. (The aliens that pilot them also have three legs.) Christopher essentially [[CaptainErsatz filed the serial numbers]] off Wells' Martians, and depicted what the world might be like if their initial invasion had been successful. He also does a fair job of justifying the impracticality of the 3-legged design; the number 3 appears to be integral to the culture of the Masters, presumably as a consequence of their biology (as well as 3 legs they also have 3 tentacles and 3 eyes) and as well as tripodal design of their vehicles they also incorporate triangles and pyramids into their architecture and technology at every opportunity.
* Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Literature/RendezvousWithRama'' features 3-legged [[OrganicTechnology biots]] used as a sort of mobile sensor. These move very fast by pivoting around on one leg, using each of them in alternation, and reversing the direction of rotation from time to time. As a matter of fact, a 3-part symmetry is central to all things Raman. Unlike many of the examples on this page, they're harmless, unless you [[spoiler:cut into one's power-cell while dissecting its corpse.]]
* Creator/LarryNiven's ''Rainbow Mars'' features creatures with these -- they are meant to be roughly the WOTW Martians, had they lived on the same Planet Mars as the [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Barsoomian]] Martians, the "[[Literature/AMartianOdyssey Martian Odyssey]]" martians, the "Literature/OutOfTheSilentPlanet" martians and the Franchise/FlashGordon Martians. Niven calls them the Softfingers or Astronomers, depending on who is talking about them.
* Kevin J. Anderson's ''The Martian War''
* ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes' War of the Worlds'' by Creator/ManlyWadeWellman
* The series ''{{Warstrider}}'' features an inversion, as the tripods are actually the humans' titular mecha.

* Wayne Barlowe's ''Literature/{{Expedition}}'' has a number of tripodal creatures, such as the Sac Back, Beach Loper, and the Groveback mentioned below.
* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' the Jan and most of the animals from their world have trilateral symmetry. The Jan are cone-shaped, with three stumpy legs underneath and three arms sprouting out the top, two ending in hands and one in an eye. Like ''[[Literature/RendezvousWithRama Rama's]]'' biots, they revolve as they walk.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Creator/TheBBC serial ''Series/TheTripods'', based on the Christopher novels.
* On the SpeculativeDocumentary ''Film/AlienPlanet'' (based on Barlowe's ''Expedition''), the groveback is a gigantic animal that goes about on two legs and a massive supporting tail.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The Lorwardians in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', though their walkers are technically four-legged.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' advanced to the point where the 135 ton Ares, and its slightly smaller precursor, the 125 Poseidon, have been added to the game as the first two tripod mechs. Players have yet to decide if the advantages they have in firepower, armor, and their three-person cockpits make up for their [[MightyGlacier extremely low speed]]. Beyond those two monsters, though, there are rules for constructing tripodal mechs (as well as one canon design that's a mere 75 tons, the Triskeleon). They get bonuses to stability and can easily change direction compared to standard designs, but with the added tonnage cost of the extra leg and the parts needed to control it they're a bit more limited in overall firepower than a standard bipedal mech of the same size and speed would be.

%%* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': The Combine Striders and Hunters.

* The Combine Striders and Hunters of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' and its episodes.

* Tripods also appear in ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'', but the ships never use their legs to walk.
** ''Pikmin 3'' introduces a biological variant in the Quaggled Mireclops, the largest boss in the game which resembles a chunk of earth walking on three hoofed legs with a fruit-like head at the top. Its three legs are also its weak point, attacking them will cause the Mireclops to fall over, leaving its fruit-like head within reach of your Pikmin.
* Colossi in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' may have four legs, but they are otherwise totally in fitting with the spirit of the trope. They fry stuff at extreme long range with sweeping heat rays, and have very long stilt-legs that let them stride over any terrain with ease.
* The Hierarchy Science Walkers from ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar''
** ... and Defilers, and Detection Drones, ''and'' Reaper drones. Honestly, the Hierarchy ''is'' this trope.
* Darkwalkers and Scavengers from ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII''. The Darkwalker is the classical HumongousMecha variant of this trope, armed with a dual laser cannon. It is one of the stronger vehicles of the game. The Scavenger is a small but fast vehicle that runs on three tentacles. One of its attacks is turning into an electrified ball and roll into enemy players.
* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2'' has tripod drones known as Pingers, who substitute the death ray for [[YourHeadAsplode powerful]] sonic weaponry.

[[quoteright:334:[[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/War-of-the-worlds-tripod.jpg]]]]

[[caption-width-right:334:"And this ''Thing I'' saw! How can I describe it?"]]

->''"...I'm no engineer and correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't you have rather a design flaw in these things? Now, don't get me wrong: God created a lot of useless, stupid-looking things on this world too, but he didn't see fit to make any of them three-legged. Why was that, do you think?"''
-->-- '''[[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Edward Hyde]]''', ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Volume 2''

The UrExample is undoubtedly Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', and its many adaptations in the century since. Compare and contrast to SpiderTank. A SubTrope of StarfishRobots.

The UrExample is undoubtedly Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', and its many adaptations in the century since. Contrast to SpiderTank. A SubTrope of StarfishRobots.

RuleOfThree comes into play for the AlienInvasion, when our new overlords bring out their army of Three-Legged HumongousMecha. This may also be here to induce WhatMeasureIsANonHuman or earthly being, as most animals tend to have even numbers of legs.

* The battle with Princess Shroob in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' has her battle the brothers in a three-legged robotic throne that [[FrickinLaserBeams shoots huge lasers]] and [[DeflectorShields protects her with a force field]].

* Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Literature/RendezvousWithRama'' features 3-legged [[OrganicTechnology biots]] used as a sort of mobile sensor. These move very fast by pivoting around on one leg, using each of them in alternation, and reversing the direction of rotation from time to time. As a matter of fact, a 3-part symmetry is central to all things Raman.

* Mr. Hyde {{lampshade}}s the design of the Tripods during the Martian Invasion in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Volume 2''. He then proceeds to knock them off balance... and '''eat''' the horrified Martian inside.

* The ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' spinoff manga ''[[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Delta Astray]]'' has the Guardshell, which can change from a tripod to a Gundam-like form that uses the tripod's carapace as a giant yo-yo. Considering it was designed and piloted by a Martian, it's definitely a ShoutOut to ''War of the Worlds''.

* The Dark horse comic version of War Of The Worlds made the tripods more fearsome than the previously known (such as the page image)
--->"That thing I saw! [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Darkhorse_tripod_small_2429.png How can I describe it?"]]
** As a [[TheGreys Grey's]] head on legs?
* When Martian from Killraven's reality invade the mainstream marvel universe they arrive in giant tripods.

* The tribbetheres of ''WebOriginal/Serina'' are tripedal mammaloid vertebrates descended from mudskipper-like ancestors that modified their pectoral fins and tail into three walking limbs. One group, the canitheres, become fierce hyena-like top predators of the plains, with some ArtisticLicenseBiology being made in the assertion that their three-legged gait made them more efficient to the other quadrupedal bird-descendants they preyed upon (which is clearly a very unlikely case.)

* Speaking of the Jeff Wayne version, most Martian units in ''VideoGame/JeffWaynesWarOfTheWorlds,'' although they have a few quadropods, a bipod, and even a pentapod (five footed) walker, their mighty can of BeamSpam called the ''Tempest.''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Mechwarrior}}'' has the Ares.
* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' advanced to the point where the 135 ton Ares, and its slightly smaller precursor, the Poseidon, have been added to the game. Players have yet to decide if the advantages they have in firepower, armor, and their three-person cockpits make up for their [[MightyGlacier extremely low speed]].

[[folder: Anime ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Mr. Hyde {{lampshade}}s the design of the Tripods during the Martian Invasion in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Volume 2''. He then proceeds to knock them off balance.
** ... and '''eat''' the horrified Martian inside.

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Even ''StarWars'' is not exempt from this. Though not as huge as most other examples, the Droidekas are functionally tripods when they're not rolling around as wheels. They aren't meant to move around much like this, though; it's mostly just to steady them, like an actual tripod.

** The AT-AP (All-Terrain Attack Pod) Walker seen in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' is a tripod. However, the third leg is retractable - it primarily serves to steady the Walker when using its artillery cannon.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

[[folder: Toys ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Deconstructed in ''Fanfiction/SlippingBetweenWorlds''. A group of "visitors" from Roundworld (Earth) provoke a mass panic that Ankh-Morpork is being invaded by pitiless alien conquerors. The possibility of a Slight Disagreement Of The Worlds is explored in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' style, and includes stolid Discworlders debating the self-evident drawbacks of top-heavy tripod war machines. A farmer looks down at a cattle grid and nods, saying "I'd like to see 'un get over ''this'' 'un!", while a Man In A Pub smugly discusses how unbalanced a tripod would be to, for e.g., a troll or a golem grabbing one leg and flipping it over. "Sides, your golem. Made out of invulnerable heat-resistant ceramic. Your troll. Fire a death ray at him, just makes him dumber and angrier. Them tripods is just scrap metal either way!"

* On the SpeculativeDocumentary ''AlienPlanet'' (based on Barlowe's ''Expedition''), the groveback is a gigantic animal that goes about on two legs and a massive supporting tail.