Line #67 Main/MidfightWeaponExchange


1	Two characters are fighting against or with each other in a battle, and occasionally they find themselves swapping their weapons with each other. The reasons for this vary.
2
3	If enemies:
4	* The battle is so fierce they [[MeleeDisarming knock each other's weapons out of their hands]] and have to use the other's weapon to continue fighting.
5	* To make a challenge of using each other's weapons, especially if they're not familiar with each other's weapons.
6	* They face a common foe, essentially making it an EnemyMine situation.
7
8	If allies:
9	* Because one is in a situation which the other's weapon is better suited for. May be part of ConfusionFu, especially if they're not particularly skilled with each other's weapons, their opponents aren't skilled at fighting against a different weapon type, or their opponents completely don't expect them to use such a weapon. This is especially important against enemies that NoSell against a character's signature weapon fighting style.
10	* It may be part of their fighting style.
11	* There are more people than available weapons, so they pass what they have back and forth as needed.
12	* Both have attempted ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks and somehow end up with each other's weapons.
13
14	Not to be confused with RealTimeWeaponChange. See also FreakyFridayFlip and OpponentSwitch. Compare with UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem if one person's is lost and used by another.
15
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22	* ''Manga/BlackClover'': When Dante ensnares Asta's anti-magic swords with his Body Magic, Yami passes his katana to Asta, [[spoiler:with his newly transformed right arm coating it in anti-magic. Asta uses it to land the defeating attack on Dante just before the time he can use his right arm runs out.]]
23	* The final battle in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession26TheRealFolkBluesPart2 The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)]]", ends when [[spoiler:Spike and Vicious]] end up dropping their signature weapons -- [[spoiler:Spike's pistol]] and [[spoiler:Vicious's katana]] -- and end up with their opponents' favorite sidearm. They hand them back just before deliberately launching final, suicidal strikes against one another.
24	* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': In the battle between Wrath and old man Fu in front of central headquarters, Wrath ends up taking control of Fu's sword and Fu is forced to use one of Wrath's discarded knives.
25	* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Heero and Zechs fight each other in mechas with the Zero System (a sophisticated computer designed to give the pilot CombatClairvoyance), Gundam Epyon and Wing Gundam Zero respectively. After both systems crash from trying to take each other into account, the pilots get out and after some consideration, switch their mechas.
26	* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', Louis and William swap weapons in ''The Phantom of Whitechapel'', after William leaves his sword in one body and Louis throws a knife into another opponent. Their opponents are excited that they're unarmed, until the brothers simply remove the other's weapon from the nearest body.
27	* In ''Anime/{{Noir}}'', while Mireille is fighting Silvana, aka "the Intoccabile", Kirika [[ImprobableAimingSkills shoots off the tip of Silvana's knife]] just as she's about to stab Mireille, who drops her own gun in shock before either realize what actually happened. They then both scramble to pick up something, with Mireille winding up with the broken end of the knife, and Silvana winding up with the gun. Notably, while Silvana has Mireille dead to rights, she hesitates -- either out of genuine surprise at how quickly the situation reversed on her, inexperience since she usually uses knives, or some combination. [[spoiler:It's just long enough that Mireille is able to close in for the kill and stab her.]]
28	* In ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', Sorath steals Shana's [[FlamingSword Nietono no Shana]] and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness callously discards]] his [[{{BFS}} Blutsauger]]. Shana then picks up Blutsauger and continues the fight. They end up switching swords back.
29	* In the final duel of ''Anime/SwordOfTheStranger'', [[NoNameGiven the nameless ronin]] gets Luo-Lang's dao stuck in his arm and thrown down a story or so, so Luo-Lang picks up his katana while the ronin pulls Luo-Lang's sword out for their final clash. In a bit of ShownTheirWork, this actually works against both of them (the strong clashes Luo-Lang is used to breaks the katana and the ronin is moving slightly slower due to the heavier sword), but it soon becomes a moot point [[spoiler:as they score a mutual stab that only [[PocketProtector narrowly]] avoids being a MutualKill.]]
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Card Games]]
33	* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'':
34	** The spell card '''[[https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Exchange Exchange]]''' allows the user and their opponent take one card from each other's hand.
35	** '''[[https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Creature_Swap Creature Swap]]''' allows each player to swap control of one monster they have with the other.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* In the ''ComicBook/TheAvengers / Ultraforce'' crossover series, [[TheTrickster Loki]] forces ComicBook/IronMan and Prototype to battle one another after maneuvering them into accidentally switching their PoweredArmor suits.
40	* After being lured into a death-trap by some villains, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica briefly ended up wielding Hawkeye's bow and arrow while Hawkeye tossed around Cap's shield. Luckily, those villains were the Death-Throws, a troupe of criminal jugglers.
41	* In an issue of Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', the hero and his ArchEnemy Bullseye end up switching weapons briefly, with Bullseye using the hero's billy club to good effect while Daredevil quickly discards the villain's gun.
42	* In ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'', Luke Skywalker and Palpatine swap lightsabers during one of their fights.
43	* An old issue of ''Marvel Team-Up'' from the 1970s has ComicBook/DoctorStrange and ComicBook/SpiderMan use a spell to give Spider-Man's web-shooters to Strange and Strange's magical abilities to Spider-Man just long enough to confuse and defeat a sorcerer armed with a powerful mystical talisman.
44	* During the Conclave arc’s CombatByChampion In ''ComicBook/{{Lazarus}}'', Forever Carlyle and Sonja Bittner switch swords near the fight's end. Sonja mentions how Forever’s sword felt different after the fight.
45	* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern[=/=]WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost Special'', Hal Jordan and Space Ghost are knocked out and captured by Keila, a native of a planet they landed on, and Keila confiscates Jordan's Ring and Space Ghost's Power Bands. When they are all attacked by a hostile military, the heroes quickly ask for their equipment back, but she accidentally throws them to the wrong hero. Space Ghost fumbles with the Ring while Jordan fumbles with the Power Bands, but they are able to defend themselves adequately until they are able to switch back.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Fan Works]]
49	* ''Fanfic/FatesCollide'': During their fight, Neo and Hyde end up trading their umbrella and knife. Hyde eventually takes his knife back.
50	* Happens twice early on in ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/109581/1/i-did-not-want-to-die/i-did-not-want-to-die I Did Not Want To Die]]'', after the protagonist is shot the first time and he drops his [=M4A1=]. He is first handed an FN Minimi to suppress the enemy while he is evacuated, and then receives an [=AKMS=] once he is behind cover.
51	* In ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars'', during the fight with the Gorog (a monster larger than a rancor), Jedi Master Aayla Secura ends up defending herself with Steve Rogers's shield, while Steve borrows one of her lightsabers to kill the Gorog from inside after it eats him.
52	* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', when Ash and Anabel find themselves facing a Moltres, Ash tosses her his Z-Ring so that she can use his Psychicium-Z to trigger Shattered Psyche with her newly-evolved Espeon.
53	* In the mass [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth]]/Series/{{Arrowverse}}/Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse crossover "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13428927/1/Heroes-stand-united Heroes stand united]]", during the final battle, [[spoiler:Steve Rogers and Aragorn find themselves wielding Mjolnir, batting it back and forth and using it to boost Anduril and the vibranium shield as they fight Thanos and his core allies until the other heroes can return to the fold]].
54	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12909945/24/Professor-Arc-Student-of-Vacuo Professor Arc: Student of Vacuo]]'', Jaune's second practical lesson has pairs of students fighting other pairs with "randomized" weapons[[labelnote:*]]It's revealed after the lesson that the weapons weren't random and Jaune was selecting which weapon each student would get[[/labelnote]]. Cardin and Russel get a rapier and great axe respectively and promptly swap weapons the moment their match starts as both are far more used to weapons similar to their partner's.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
58	* Happens in some of the sword fights in ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro''.
59	* One of these occurs in ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' but to a less friendly degree. The main hero and his two allies take out a group of gangsters, then grab their weapons. The SupportingProtagonist quickly swaps guns with the DecoyProtagonist a moment later. Seeing that he now has a much smaller gun, he swaps it with another hero who bemoans the fact he now has the smallest weapon.
60	* During the climactic battle of ''Film/ABetterTomorrow II'', Ken Gor and his opponent do this at the very end of their duel, which may have inspired the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' example.
61	* Jet Li's character and his samurai opponent Tanaka in ''Film/{{Fearless\|2006}}'' end up swapping their weapons, a [[ExoticWeaponSupremacy three-section staff]] and a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] respectively, in the last fight of the movie. They pause the fight to switch back and make things even again after Tanaka whaps himself in the back of the head with the three-section staff.
62	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', Elizabeth and [[ThoseTwoGuys the two comic relief pirates]], Pintel and Ragetti, are fleeing a gang of Davy Jones's henchmen with the chest and two swords between them. They end up [[GiveMeASword throwing the swords back and forth to each other as needed]] to defeat the mooks, [[RuleOfCool despite none of them having shown that level of swordsmanship or coordination before]]. [[note]]The commentary track says that Liz and Will have been working out their sexual tension since the first movie -- since they certainly wouldn't be allowed to sleep together -- by close dancing and practicing swordfighting. Lots and lots of swordfighting. Pintel and Ragetti never had a chance to really show off their swordsmanship or coordination in the first film, but they ''are'' pirates with at least ten years' experience each.[[/note]]
63	* A drawn-out example features in the climax of ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. Jason gets the upper hand on Freddy, but Freddy manages to turn the tables by slicing off Jason's fingers, making him lose grip on his machete which Freddy uses along with his claw to beat Jason to a pulp. While grappling, Jason rams his severed stump into Freddy's torso, who retaliates by slowly driving Jason's machete into him. The heroine and her boyfriend manage to blow up a gas tank which sends both of them hurling into Crystal Lake. Just when they think it's over, they're approached by Freddy who's still wielding Jason's machete. Before he can kill them, he's run through with his own severed claw arm by Jason, who then topples back into the water. Lori then uses Jason's machete to finish off Freddy by decapitating him.
64	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
65	** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:Captain America and Thor spend the FinalBattle wielding [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld a past version of Thor's former hammer Mjölnir]] and Stormbreaker, respectively. During the fight, they briefly end up with each other's weapons and sheepishly return their weapons.]]
66	--->[[spoiler:'''Thor:''' ''[to Cap]'' No, give me that. You have the little one.]]
67	** ''Film/BlackWidow2021'': Natasha and Yelena, who have similar skills and training, begin their FightThenTeamUp sequence by performing identical simultaneous disarms, then pointing the other's pistol at each other again.
68	* This trope was meant to happen in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' during the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. One scene opens with a cut to Obi-Wan holding a lightsaber while Anakin, who is unarmed, has grabbed Obi-Wan and has him in a chokehold; Obi-Wan then kicks Anakin to break out of this hold, they fight hand-to-hand and then both retrieve their lightsabers and begin swordfighting again. This scene is a bit confusing since in some shots Obi-Wan has his own lightsaber and in other shots he has Anakin's, because it was meant to show both disarming each other and ending up with the other's weapon briefly, but was shortened and changed to look like only Anakin was disarmed. Some shots with Obi-Wan holding Anakin's lightsaber were still used in the finished film though, leading to a small continuity problem.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
72	* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'':
73	** In "Mountain Men", Caleb's son captured Duncan early in the episode and took away his katana, and gave it to Caleb. When Duncan finally faces off with Caleb, Tessa tries to return the katana to him, but Caleb stops her. So Duncan picks up Caleb's battle-axe, leaving Caleb to use Duncan's katana. In the fight that follows, both prove to be quite skilled with the other warrior's weapon.
74	** In "Unholy Alliance Part 2", the final battle between Duncan and Xavier St. Cloud has this. Duncan disarms Xavier who promptly returns the favour with his metal hook hand. After some hand to hand combat, both end up near each other's weapon and continue the fight with each other's sword. This is the likely reason for Xavier losing the fight: while Duncan has no trouble using Xavier's rapier, the katana is basically a two-handed sword, making it awkward for Xavier to fight with one-handed.
75	* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Xena once fights a one-on-one fight against a giant barbarian with an axe and near the end of the fight, they switch weapons. Xena adapts much better than the barbarian, who's never held a sword in his life.
76	* Done with fighting styles rather than weapons in ''Series/SeijuuSentaiGingaman''/''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy''; Cobies/Chameliac, a MonsterOfTheWeek that is able to copy and counter the Rangers' fighting style gets outsmarted when the Rangers switch fighting styles and weapon configurations with each other, confusing the monster. Then, in the Megazord fight, he copies the Megazords' powers as well. When the Stratoforce Megazord shows up, he copies the Stratoforce's weapon (a giant boomerang/blade)... only for it to play this trope by pulling out the Centaurus Megazord's giant cannon and shooting him.
77	* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'':
78	** Each team member starts with SwordAndGun, but they tend to swap around to suit their specialties: Joe (Blue) and Luka (Yellow) prefer DualWielding, Don (Green) and Ahim (Pink) go GunsAkimbo, while Marvelous (Red) sticks with sword and gun).
79	** In #26, the team-up with ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'', Don calls for one with Joe and Kouta (Hurricane Yellow). This lands Kouta with a Gokai Saber and Gun, MasterSwordsman Joe with both a Gokai Saber and Kouta's Hayatemaru, and ButtMonkey Don with just the one Gokai Gun.
80	** During the final showdown between Marvelous and his RivalTurnedEvil Basco, the pair, who each use SwordAndGun, end up swapping one of their two weapons briefly, giving Marvelous two swords and Basco two guns.
81	* Each of the members of ''Series/ResshaSentaiToQger'' will often switch ''their entire costumes'', which gives them each other's signature weapons. This explicitly confers no practical benefit whatsoever, and they're just switching for the fun of it, [[ChekhovsSkill until later in the show when they encounter areas where each of their powers will only work for a brief period, and thus switching dramatically extends how long they can fight]].
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Sports]]
85	* Although officially illegal, there have been a couple of cases of ice hockey players playing and scoring goals using an opponent's stick that he took after his own was lost -- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmi8CR2sxXA here's an instance]] in 2010 with the Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan scoring using a stick belonging to the Minnesota Wild's Mikko Koivu [[AndShowItToYou and then showing it off towards Koivu in celebration]] (the refs missed the fact that the stick Ryan used belonged to Koivu).
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Theatre]]
89	* Per JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples, none other than Creator/WilliamShakespeare uses this device in the climactic scene of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', when Hamlet forces a sword swap with his opponent, Laertes. This is important, as [[PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo Laertes is using]] a {{Poisoned Weapon\|s}}.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Video Games]]
93	* Used in a cutscene in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', when Dante and Vergil are forced into an EnemyMine battle against Arkham. Usually, Vergil's weapon of choice is the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Yamato]], and Dante fights with the [[{{BFS}} Rebellion]], but they switch weapons briefly during the fight and are just as capable of fighting with the other's sword as their own.
94	* In ''VideoGame/OverGrowth'' , successfully countering an attack will give you your opponent's weapon. Enemies can do this as well, which can quickly change who has the upper hand if you aren't careful. It's sometimes a good idea to holster your weapon before attacking an unarmed enemy for this reason.
95	* ''Videogame/CaveStory:'' after you [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeat and befriend]] Curly Brace, she offers to trade her Machine Gun for your Polar Star (the first weapon you acquired in the game). You can decline or take the offer, and if you do the latter, the swap is permanent. Slightly later in the game, you end up fighting side-by-side through a few levels.
96	* In ''Videogame/SecretOfMana'', one party member equipping another party member's equipped weapon triggers a short cutscene of the two flinging their weapons to each other.
97	* In ''VideoGame/TheLastStand: Union City'', you can do this with your AI partners. Most often, players use this to exploit their [[BottomlessMagazines infinite reserve ammo]] by giving them [[MoreDakka automatic weapons]], a valid tactic as long as you don't care about XP, as you don't get any when the AI kills the zombie.
98	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'':
99	** This is how Blades and Drivers work. The Blade [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation can create a weapon out of thin air]], which the Driver uses while the Blade feeds them energy. Once they've synched enough, the Driver throws the weapon back to the Blade, who can use it for a powerful combo--but they have to throw it back to the Driver after that, as the Blade can't continue using such large amounts of energy for long.
100	** The prequel DLC reveals it wasn't always this way. It used to be that Blades had their weapons at all times, while their Drivers simply fought with normal weapons. This was inefficient, however, as the Blades couldn't recover their energy very fast or directly support their Driver with power. Lora and her Blade Jin invented weapon switching, which quickly became the standard across the world. When Addam asks how they came up with it, Lora admits [[PerpetualPoverty they were out of money and couldn't afford to buy another sword]]. Addam and Mythra are flabbergasted.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Web Animation]]
104	* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I70FbloQ4k this]] Stick Fight animation, Hyun (blue) and FLLFFL ("Alfa", green) knock away and catch each other's weapons. They both just hurt themselves trying to use each other's weapons, so they quickly switch them back.
105	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': In [[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheProjectFreelancerSaga season 9]] episode 2, [[https://youtu.be/l1mmelrL3r8?t=254 South calls out to North]] for a shotgun while they're both mid-battle. He tosses her one, and she uses it to blast one of the soldiers she's fighting.
106	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': During Cinder and Raven's fight, they exchange strikes so fiercely they temporarily lose grip of their swords only to continue the fighting with each others' swords after grabbing them midair.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Webcomics]]
110	* Used in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' when the protagonists are doing battle with the Yellow Musk Creeper and the Thornback Orc clan it has enslaved. Big Ears ends up holding off the orcs with Complains' magical shortsword and Thaco's SwordCane after [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throwing his handaxe]], while Thaco takes Complains' katana and attacks the creeper's heart.
111	* In one strip of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the party is fighting a sand elemental that is under [[ExactWords specific orders]] to "Kill everyone, starting with the human with the greatsword" (i.e. [[BaldOfAuthority Roy]]). When Roy starts getting low on hit points, [[TheLancer Haley]] takes his sword in order to force the elemental to attack her instead, while Roy takes Haley's bow so he can still attack it. This backfires on Roy when he starts thinking about where Haley keeps her arrows (She usually just has one in her hand when she needs one thanks to WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief) and quickly runs out of ammo.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Western Animation]]
115	* The episode "Jack and the Spartans" of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' has Jack throw his sword to an ally after the ally's weapon breaks. The ally gives his shield in return and they finish off their opponent, Jack with [[ShieldBash two shields]] and the Spartan with Jack's sword.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In their duel with the Grand Inquisitor in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E13FireAcrossTheGalaxy "Fire Across the Galaxy"]], Kanan and Ezra wind up wielding each other's lightsabers. The Inquisitor had confiscated Kanan's when he was captured, so he borrows Ezra's because they both know he's the better swordsman. Ezra then swipes Kanan's from the Inquisitor's belt while he's distracted fighting Kanan.
117	* Used at least twice in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'':
118	** In one episode, Leo and Shredder's fight reaches a climax when Leo arms himself with the Sword of Tengu, which was forged specially for the Shredder, while the Shredder ends up wielding Leo's dual katanas. This leads to a SingleStrokeBattle.
119	** In another, the brothers are facing a combat robot invented by [[MadScientist Baxter Stockman]] which has been specifically programmed to counter their fighting styles; they decide to swap weapons with each other in order to confuse it, though with some difficulty early on.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Real Life]]
123	* [=WW2=] saw lot of examples of this. Equipment captured by one side was frequently reconditioned and used against its original owners. After the shattering Italian defeat in North Africa, for instance, two full regiments of Australian armour were equipped with captured Italian tanks. On the Axis side, Rommel employed captured British tanks to make up his own shortages. Things could get confusing in the desert. The Russians captured so many German Pnz III tanks that they considered it worthwhile to rebuild the booty German chassis to carry a far more potent anti-tank gun. Bizarrely, several of these were recaptured by the Germans and things came full circle -- a German tank equipped with a Russian gun now fighting again for its original owners. The British Guards Armoured Division employed at least one captured Panther as a main battle tank. The Japanese captured so many M3 Stuarts in the Phillipines that they fitted a tank regiment with them. These American tanks fought against their original owners during the 1945 reconquest. Second echelon German units employed tanks and armoured cars captured from a dozen different countries...
124	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MidfightWeaponExchange