"Turn on your heartlight
Let it shine wherever you go
Let it make a happy glow
For all the world to see."
Let it shine wherever you go
Let it make a happy glow
For all the world to see."
— Neil Diamond, "Heartlight"
As dictated by the Rule of Cool, aliens, robots and magical creatures in fiction have a tendency to give off light from various places on their bodies, including eyes, mouths, veins, and markings. This trope is about creatures who have a single light source on their chest, which is usually either centred straight in the middle (as is the case with most robotic examples) or off to one side if it represents their actual heart. If the Heart Light shoots some sort of beam, it's a Chest Blaster.
Some forms of Chest Insignia may overlap with this trope if they glow or emit light. May overlap with Heart in the Wrong Place. Compare Heart Drive.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- One-Punch Man has the Demon Cyborg Genos and his power core. It comes in handy when charging attacks.
- Sailor Moon's final form consists of her having wings and a glowing lotus symbol on her chest.
Comic Books
- Iron Man's power source resembles one of these.
- The circles on the armor of The Mighty Thor are sometimes portrayed as glowing.
- The post-Annihilation costume of Nova has these all over the place.
- As shown in the page image, the Alpha Lantern Corps makes use of these. Most of them are both aliens and robots/cyborgs.
- The Green Lanterns themselves sometimes employ this when the lantern symbol on their costumes light up.
- Wonder Woman Vol 1 Judgment In Infinity: The Adjudicator is an extra-dimensional Omnicidal Maniac who has a bright glowing light in the middle of his chest.
Film
- ET has the organic variant, and is probably the Trope Codifier.
- In all versions of Iron Man, the power source of the suit is the same as the magnet keeping the shrapnel out of his heart. In the film version, and most animated versions that came after the first film, the "arc reactor" in Tony Stark's chest always generates a light that can be seen through his shirt.
- In Ra.One, both (video-game escapee) villain and hero have these. For additional points, the villain's (red-glowing light) is in the center of his chest, while the hero's blue light is off-center, on the left.
- Humongous Mecha Gipsy Danger from Pacific Rim is powered by a glowing “nuclear vortex turbine” mounted in its chest. It serves as a Chest Blaster in a pinch.
Live-Action TV
- Ultra Series: The Ultras always have one of these. The faster it's flashing, the closer they are to running out of power.
Narrator, Once per Episode in the original Ultraman: "The energy Ultraman receives from the sun diminishes rapidly in Earth's atmosphere. The warning light begins to blink! If it should stop, Ultraman will never rise again!"
- There are some exceptions though, because the Showa universe Ultras only receive their color timers if they are enlisted in the Space Garrison. Since he is a scout charter, Ultraseven doesn't possess a color timer, and neither does his expy, Ultraseven 21 (although they possess a similar light on their heads). In the Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends movie, civilian Ultras could be seen in the Land of Light without color timers, signifying that they are not part of the Space Garrison.
Music
- The song by Neil Diamond quoted at the top of the page is the Trope Namer, having been inspired after seeing the Trope Codifier "E.T."
- Owl City's music video for "Shooting Star"
- Katy Perry's video for "Firework" has Katy bringing together a crowd of bullied and neglected people, and they run through the city shooting fireworks and light from their hearts.
- Meg and Dia's music video for "Monster", coupled with And Show It to You with the heart still beating/glowing.
- Weyes Blood's And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow.
Toys
- Beast Wars: The Transmetal 2 characters in the cartoon and toyline had glowing orbs called spark crystals with their faction insignia on it that represented their sparks, and were often located on the robot mode chest.
- All the people of the Matoran Universe in BIONICLE have these, at least according to the books and movies. They're even called heartlights.
- Similarly, the Hero Cores in Hero Factory.
Video Games
- Orion in Atlas Reactor has a huge glowing scar on his chest from the experiment that created him. In-game, Orion absorbs all energy he gains from his Empathic Healing through the scar, and consumes his shards into it when using his ultimate.
- Icarus from Dyson Sphere Program has a nuclear fusion reactor in the middle of his chest, which glows orange.
- Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has a white, glowing scar in the middle of his chest, left over from when the Sages tried and failed to execute him with a sword.
- Ghirahim in Skyward Sword, during Link's third battle with him, develops a similar one, and for similar reasons.
- The Sectoids in XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 have a glowing organ in their chest or abdomen, while the Sectoid Commanders in the first game add Glowing Eyes of Doom and a glowing brain.
Western Animation
- The symbol on Captain Planet's chest.
- Parodied in an episode of American Dad!, when a drunk Roger switches on a flashlight under the sweatshirt he was wearing, in a Shout-Out to ET.
Roger: *gasp* I can see my heart light!
