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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Till, bruised and bitten to the bone
''And taught by pain and fear,
''He learned to deal the far-off stone,
''And poke the long, safe spear.''
|'''[[Rudyard Kipling]]'''|"The Benefactors"}}
A subtrope of [[Weapon of Choice]].
A
Polearms are extremely effective weapons, especially the halberd and naginata, both of which require considerable training. Those weapons are extremely effective in massed battles, much more so than the sword. This is due to their reach and the fact that they're more effective at mounted combat and penetrating armor. However, many longer
In the hands of a hero, a spear is often swung around as a [[Slice
Often the preferred weapon of a [[Lady of War]]; a Naginata was traditionally the weapon of a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] [[Housewife]] while the husband was away, giving it a "feminine" mystique.
See also [[Harpoon Gun]], [[X
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Kan'u Unchou from ''[[
* ''[[
* Erio Mondial of ''[[Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. His Intelligent Device, Strada, takes the form of a spear. Other polearm users include Zest and his Armed Device, and Nanoha and her Raising Heart's [[Swiss Army Weapon|Excelion Mode]]. A Bardiche is a type of polearm too, and Fate's Device of the same name has this form in its basic combat form.
* ''[[
** Whitebeard wields a
** Also the weapon of choice for Alabasta soldiers, based on the Egyptian fan-axe.
** Predating both of them is Don Krieg and his Great Battle Spear, which also explodes on contact. Once its blade is destroyed, Luffy dismisses the weapon as just a Bomb on a Stick.
** Katakuri, the strongest Sweet General under Younkou Big Mom, wields a large trident-like spear called "Mogura", made even deadlier by his Devil Fruit abilities, allowing him to stretch, compress and twist his arms to put more oomph behind each strike.
** In the Wano Arc, we have Gyuukimaru, a Benkei-lookalike who wields an humongous naginata as his weapon of choice.
* ''[[Gunbuster]]'': Jung Freud's [[Humongous Mecha]] has this, which she uses to stab...''a lot''. Made more apparent in ''[[Super Robot Wars]] Alpha 3''.
** Speaking of ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', one of the [[Elemental Powers|Elemental Lords]] [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Gaddeath/Goddess]] comes up with a trident called Gungnir. Though it's not used as much as a melee weapon (it's the weakest attack for that), but more of a medium to execute long range water attacks. That Gungnir is actually named after Odin's spear, Gungnir.
** The [[BFG]]s of the [[Super Robot Wars Compact 2|Weiss Ritter]] and [[Super Robot Wars Alpha|Wild Falken]] are named after the Oxtongue spear. Which is fitting, seeing that shooting someone is pretty much the descendant of stabbing them with a spear.
** The "Sonic Javelin" wielded by KoRyuOh in the Alpha and OG series', which is primarily used to stab, although slashing attacks are also used in some games.
* ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'': One of the weapons of the titular [[Humongous Mecha]] was the Double Harken, a stick with one moon-shaped blade on each end.
* ''[[Bleach]]'':
** Madarame Ikkaku's Houzukimaru, which doubles as a <s>three-piece nunchaku</s> three section staff.
** Kaien Shiba's Nejibana takes the form of a massive white spear with a trident-like set of blades and a blue tassel on one end and a small drill on the other. Aside from using it to summong waves of water out of thin air, Kaien employs his spear in a very peculiar way, keeping a high guard and making it spin frequently.
** {{spoiler|Lisa Yadomaru's Hagurotonbo is one as well and It's [[BFS|huge]].}}
** Sokyoku is a huge execution halberd, though it takes the form of a giant phoenix made of fire when it's about to perform its duty.
** In the anime of the ''Thousand Years Blood War arc'', we get to see a glimpse of the original Gotei 13, among them a busty, bespectacled woman using a long glaive as her Zanpakuto in lieu of a sword.
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' has Sailor Saturn and her Silence Glaive, which can cause [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
* Shizuru Fujino's Element in the ''[[My-HiME]]'' anime (she doesn't fight in [[Mai-HiME (manga)|the manga]]) is a large naginata whose blade doubles as a [[Whip Sword]].
* Atena from ''[[Kamui Den]]'' is a naginata master.
* In ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', Tomoe Marguerite gets a standard spear once she obtains her {{spoiler|[[Dark Magical Girl|Valkyrie]]}} Meister Robe.
* Of course, ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' had the [[Faux Symbolism|Lance of Longinus]]. Which is capable of transforming into a two-bladed [[BFS]] and can pierce AT-fields. In it's default form it's essentially a red two-edged bident light enough that in the first episode it gets used, Unit-00 ''chucks it into orbit with enough force to reach escape velocity''.
** ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]] 2.0'''s after-credits scene has the Mark.06 [[Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work|doing the reverse]] and [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|throwing a massive glaive down from orbit, pinning Unit-01 to the ground]].
* Balsa the Bodyguard from ''[[Seirei no Moribito]]'', who uses the superior reach offered by a spear (and not to mention that you can [[Martial Pacifist|smack people silly without killing using the blunt end]]) to great effect.
* Sumire Kanzaki from ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' wields a naginata, both in and out of her [[Powered Armor]].
* Azumi Kiribayishi ''[[Real Bout High School]]'', an [[Heir to the Dojo]] [[Lady of War]] with a [[Noblewoman's Laugh]], wields a naginata. Well, okay, most of the time, she uses one with a wooden blade, but isn't averse to busting out a real one for "serious" fights.
* Shiina from ''[[Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu|The Secret of Haruka Nogizaka]]'' studies the naginata.
* ''[[
** Hungary has a spear as one of her [[Weapon of Choice|Weapons of Choice]], the other being her [[Frying Pan of Doom]].
** Also, a drawing by Himaruya has [[
** As a child, Finland possesses one of these as well.
* ''[[
** The God Poseidon wields a Trident as his signature weapon. It can focus his divine power as damaging blasts, and is quite sharp. The Gold Cloth of Libra also has a smaller, shorter trident as part of its arsenal.
** Poseidon's Shogun Chrysaor also wields an ornate spear, which he uses [[Spam Attack|very effectively]] until Dragon Shiryu slices its head off with his Excalibur.
** Pandora also has a spear as her preferred weapon
* ''[[Ranma
** The Kinjakan and Gekkaja are matching weapons that can be used as keys to lock and unlock the waters of Jusendo.
** The Kinjakan is a polearm with a detachable [[Rings of Death|metal ring]] as its head, which can spin and zip around at lightning speeds with devastating force.
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** Also, when particularly irritated (or in the need for a weapon) the only weapon Soun Tendo will reach for is a ''yari''-style spear. He may bring out a naginata when in full samurai regalia.
*** Actually, in one episode of the anime, at least, he is shown wielding a sword, and in at least one other he is shown with two sheathed swords at his hip. He's also used a bow and arrows in at least the manga as well.
* In another of Takahashi Rumiko's works, ''[[
* The eponymous Ryofuko from ''[[
* In ''[[
* In the first ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' movie, when Achika gets the Tenchi sword, it seems to extend to naginata-like lengths.
* The ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
* In ''[[
** In this case, the widespread use of naginata may also be serving as visual shorthand that the film is set earlier in Japanese history than the usual Warring States and Edo Period settings, as the weapon had been replaced on the battlefield by the yari long before (though women and lone wolf/warrior monk characters continued to wield them until the Meiji Period).
** San also carries a spear at several points in the movie.
* Tao Ren wields a guan do (a sort of chinese glaive) early on in ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
* While the original ''[[
* The Beast Spear in ''[[
* Nadeshiko's naginata from ''[[
* Aside from the [[Blade Below the Shoulder|section of forearm plating he often lengthens into a blade]], Edward Elric of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'''s favorite weapon seems to be an ornate dragon-motif ranseur he transmutes from the ground butt first [[Running Gag|which is inevitably destroyed.]]
* Lind's [[Weapon of Choice]] in ''[[Ah
* [[Fiery Redhead|Kyouko]] from ''[[
** In the Manga version, her weapon has a cross-guard just beneath the head. [[Japanese Christian|The symbolism is entirely intentional]].
* ''[[
** During the climax of the second round of the tournament, the Ogame Ryuu fights the Myojin Ryuu, a school with only four official members who carry the four "Divine Spears": Onidachi (Ogre Splitter, an humongous omi-yari), Beninuki (Crimson Extractor, a custom-made katakama-yari), Ginkan (Silver Gate Bar, a naginata-like kikuchi-yari) and the Kuyo (Navagraha/Cosmic Influence, a kuda-yari or tube spear). Aside from Ginkan, all other spears get a lot of focus and explanation.
** Former members of the Sojin Ryuu hired by the Muhou Ryuu exchanged their original weapon (the juumonji-yari or cross-spear) for the western Polearm, described as a versatile but deadly weapon on the battlefield. Another halberd user, Seiya Zoin, appears in the sequel series, this time wielding a more historically-accurate halberd.
** ''Gamaran Shura'' notably has one of the [[Super Soldier|Genkai Tenpei]] using an unique style called "Twin Partisan Spearmanship", which allows him to dual wield partisans with great skill, performing comboes of wide sweeping attacks and sudden thrusts.
* Several Knightmares in ''[[Code Geass]]'' are equipped with a lance.
* ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]]:'' Red Tiger/Benitora (aka Hidetada Tokugawa) carries with him a collapsible jumonjiyari he calls "Tiger's Wing", and he's skilled enough to basically open perfectly circular holes in his opponents before they can even realize. He later exchange his wrecked spear with the Muramasa Cursed Spear Hokurakushimon/Fomalhaut, an [[Evil Weapon|cursed blade]] which is even stronger than Tiger's Wing, but harder to control. The series also has Gihyo/Mekira, Benitora's former partner who uses a kama-yari with an overly large scythe blade called "Panther's Wing" and uses an hallucination/based fighting style (think of [[Trigun|Dominique the Cyclops from Trigun's anime]]) and Saishi/Tomoe Gozen, who wields an humongous naginata as her weapon of choice.
* ''[[Rave Master]]:'' Hamrio Musica can make any weapon ouf of his silver chain, but he'll usually go for a spear in combat, with variants such as a corsesque or a chinese pike. {{Spoiler|After Reina sacrifices herself to stop the Silver Ray superweapon, she transmute the weapon in a large, elaborated spear called Silver Ray, merging her own Silver Claymore powers and soul in it, giving Musica a permanent upgrade.}}
* ''[[Fairy Tail]]:'' being a weapon expert, Erza Scarlett can also fight with spears, lances and glaives as easily as she does with her usual swords. Among them the Evil-Banishing Spear, a massive spear she uses to break the spell-induced dome over Galuna Island, and a naginata she uses with her flexible Yuen Armor. Her Edolas counterpart wields a magic spear with the same powers of the Ten Commandments sword from the author's previous work ''[[Rave Master]]''.
== Comic Books ==
* ''[[Y:
** Well the people Toyota was going to use them against ''were'' strung up at the time...maybe she just wanted to see which blade was sharpest?
* In one issue, the protagonist of ''Shaolin Cowboy'' attached a chainsaw to the end of a stick to create a polearm. He used this polearm to fight against a shark which held a head in its mouth. The head held a knife between its teeth.
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** One issue of ''Hidden Years'' deals with young chief Ember set on learning how to fight with a sword, like her father, until Redlance points out that that she has more talent when it comes to handling a spear and that, yes, a spear is a chief's weapon, too, citing among other examples Two-Spear. He goes on to train her, soon after drawing a comment from Pike that she was already better than himself.
** When Rayek fights with a weapon it's with either a hunting spear or [[Knife Nut|a dagger]]
* Marvel's [[Thor]]'s father Odin often wields Gungnir, a mighty spear. Of course he does this in the ancient myths as well, so it has a reason.
* The titular heroine of ''Shi'' is descended from a long line of Kyoto ''[[Warrior Monk|sohei]]'', and often uses the naginata, their favoured weapon.
* In ''[[Sin City]]'', an assassin named Mariah has a collapsible staff with twin prongs.
* In ''[[
== Fan Works ==
* In ''[[Enemy of My Enemy (Fanfic)|Enemy of My Enemy]]'', the Sangheili/Elite Rukth Kilkaree fashions himself a staff with bladed tips. He's ''extremely'' lethal with it.
* In ''[[Drunkard's Walk]]'', protagonist Doug Sangnoir's [[Magic Staff]] (called "God's Toothpick") is a celestial weapon that sometimes manifests a spearhead of golden energy. He has no control over this, though.
== Film ==
* ''[[Kick-Ass (
* In ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]'' there is an extensive spear duel between [[The Hero|Makabe]] and [[Friendly Enemy|Hyoe]].
* [[Lady of War|Daphne]] in ''[[The Gamers]] Dorkness Rising'' wields a spear.
* In ''[[Hellboy II]]: The Golden Army'', Prince Nuada has two weapons: a curved short sword, and a spear that can alternate between compact and full size.
** The spear's tip is detachable when struck at a living target and will attempt to burrow deeper if removal is attempted.
* In Disney's ''[[
* In ''Musa: The Warrior'', the reticent slave Yeo-sol turns out to be a master with a polearm, which he tends to swing in whirling arcs to hack off limbs and heads.
* William Wallace of ''[[Braveheart]]'' makes pikes, though he doesn't call them that, to counter King Edward's cavalry. The historical Wallace's army was armed almost entirely with them in every battle.
* ''[[Troy]]'' shows use of spears as a very useful weapon, particularly in Achilles duel with Hector.
* ''[[Hero (
* Most of the Spartans in ''[[
* During the song "Topsy Turvy" from ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', Esmeralda actually uses a spear for part of her dance. Guess what she does with the spear?<ref>[[A Worldwide Punomenon|Polearm dancing.]]</ref>
* The killer's main weapon in ''[[
* In Peter Jackson's ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
== Literature ==
* Kel, from [[Tamora Pierce]]'s ''[[Tortall Universe|Protector of the Small]]'', uses a glaive <ref>Really a naginata, since she spent several years in the fantasy version of Japan while her parents were ambassadors there</ref> as one of her main weapons. Kel's bigoted training master wouldn't let her use it but her more liberal training master did; the children who looked up to her asked her to train them to use one. Interestingly enough, people's acceptance of her weapon seems to represent their acceptance of her.
** In ''Trickster's Choice'' we're introduced to what is probably the most fantastical weapon in Pierce's books. As a slave, Junai has to be more covert; therefore, Junai's "staff" sprouts foot-long blades at both ends when she twists the grip.
* Just about everyone in ''[[
* ''[[
* Ronan got a huge, glowing, magical, ''elemental'' spear forged by the Irish gods, from iron drawn directly from the heart of the sun, in Diane Diane's fourth [[Young Wizards]] book. Granted, it almost cost him his sanity to decide to finally use it.
* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'': Mat Cauthon of Robert Jordan's series, as part of his role as the inspiration for our tales of Odin, has his [[The Man They Couldn't Hang|interestingly acquired]] [http://bp3.blogger.com/_tAGiUyc7Zrs/R5exIWodT3I/AAAAAAAAAqU/8q2JpKYU8m8/s1600-h/mywnat.jpg ''ashandarei''] which he naturally uses to [[Badass Normal|kick ass and take names.]] Also, the Aiel from the same book wield spears with deadly skill.
** Short spears, which are a bit too short for this trope, but still of a length with most swords and balanced for throwing.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Warhammer
** In William King's ''[[Space Wolf]]'' novels, the Spear of Russ, the ancient weapon of the Space Wolves' primarch. Prophecy says that when he returns, he will take it up to fight. {{spoiler|Which causes real problems when Ragnor loses it, fighting against a [[Back
** The funny thing is that, according to the Thirteenth Company, whom "modern" Wolves encountered during the recent Dark Crusade, Russ (who is, apparently, still alive and kicking ass in the Eye of Terror) doesn't put any real significance to the spear in question, and is greatly amused by the reverence Wolves gives to this ordinary (to him, at least) weapon. He only kept it around at all because it was a present from his father; he actually lost the thing several times himself, mostly when drunk.
** In [[James Swallow]]'s [[
** Characters in the ''[[
* In the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' novel ''Sellsword'', the [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|gnome]] Theodenes has a [[Swiss Army Weapon|multi-purpose polearm]]... [[Awesome but Impractical|that can switch from one polearm to another and another and another]].
* Used a few times in ''[[Discworld]]'' and other Terry Pratchett works. It's mentioned in ''The Carpet People'' of how a kitchen knife tied to the end of a pole is a popular makeshift weapon among impromptu civilian fighters.
* In ''[[
* In David Eddings's series ''[[The Elenium]]'' and ''The Tamuli'', the character Bevier uses a [
* ''[[Posleen War Series]]'': Take one [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]], put it on a stick. What do you get? The boma blade, used as a secondary weapon by the [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Posleen]], in [[John Ringo]]'s series.
* Lady Cregga Rose Eyes of the [[Redwall]] book ''The Long Patrol'' carries an axepike, which is [[Exactly What It Says
* In [[Bernard Cornwell]]'s novel ''Agincourt'' the hero is an archer, but the knight who's company he joins to go off to the war cross-trains every one of his archers to use the pole-ax.
* From ''[[
{{quote|
''of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
''we have heard, and what honor the [[Blue Blood|athelings]] won!'' }}
* ''[[
* In the [[
==
* Practically too many [[Super Sentai]] members and [[Power Rangers]] to mention.
** ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger]]''/''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'': The Blue Ranger's personal weapon is the Tricera Lance which, [[Exactly What It Says
** ''[[Gosei Sentai Dairanger]]'': All five main Dairangers have their own [[Simple Staff]] (Dai Rod), to which they can attach a unique blade: Red gets a halberd, Green a fork, Yellow gets a spear, Blue a sideways axe (called a plane), Pink a round blade (just called a weight).
** ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'': The Red Ranger's main weapon is a javelin with a pair of pincer claws on either side of the blade; the blade can retract, allowing the pincers to close on an object.
* ''[[Highlander (TV series)|Highlander]]'': Duncan beheads Kern using what the CCG calls a broad-bladed spear, using the weapon for sentimental reasons. It appears to have a heavier and longer blade than a normal spear, and he has to do a complicated wind-up and spinning swing to decapitate Kern with it.
== Mythology ==
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** During the First Crusade, a group of Crusaders claimed they had found the head of the Lance of Longinus. It didn't help much.
* In [[Japanese Mythology]], is said that Izanagi and Izanami pulled Japan and the other isles and continents out of the water using the ''Ama no Nuhoko'' (Heavenly Swamp Pike or Heavenly Jeweled Pike). After the creation of the world, however, the whereabouts of the spear are unknown.
* In ''[[
** A plague began (during the 40 years of wandering, still) when people of the children of Israel were lured away to Moabite gods. One man, Zimri, even brought one of the women back to show her off. Phineas, however, took a javelin, went after them, and thrust it through both of them, killing them and stopping the plague.
** Joshua used a spear in his attack on Ai (the attack that worked).
Line 177 ⟶ 182:
** Once, while Saul was looking for David, he and his men made camp. While they slept, David and Abishai snuck into camp. Abishai offered to kill Saul, but David said no, just take his spear and water jug from beside his head, and let's go. So that's what they did, and they took it and called to the camp, and let the king know that he could have killed Saul, but did not.
** After Abner anointed Saul's son Ishbosheth king rather than acknowledge David's kingship, there was a battle at Gibeon. Abner ran off, but Asahel ran after him. When Asahel wouldn't stop following, Abner struck him with the ''blunt'' end of the spear, so that it came out the back.
***Descriptions from the Bible of Hebrew spears at the time seem to indicate that they often had butt spikes. For instance on one occasion Saul is described as planting his spear in the ground at the door of his royal tent.
** One of the giant's sons, Ishbi-Benob, thought he could kill David with a 7-1/2 lb. bronze spear. And David was faint at the time, so maybe he could've had not Abishai intervened and killed Ishbi-Benob first.
** Among other things, Benaiah wrested a spear out of the hands of an Egyptian and killed him with it.
** Perhaps the most famous spear in the New Testament, if not the whole Bible, is the Spear of Destiny. This was thrust into Jesus's side after He died, causing blood and water to come out. It left a mark which, after He came back to life, he showed to the disciples. According to tradition, the blood running down the spear touched the partially-sighted eyes of its wielder, the legionary Longinus, and cured his sight; he became a Christian as a result of this, and the spear is also called the Lance of Longinus.
== Tabletop Games ==
* The original ''[[Dungeons
** Fortunately, they cut things down to a more manageable list in 3rd edition (along with the other swords, axes, and other antisocial devices). One of its [[Sourcebook
** The lance in particular is ''the'' best melee weapon to use on an aerial mount. ''[[Dragonlance]]'' is named for a group of artifact weapons that are powerful against dragons and that can be wielded from dragonback.
** One of the best examples of a polearm wielder in D&D lore is [[Chaotic Evil|Gruumsh One-Eye]], god of [[Our Orcs Are Different|orcs]] and [[Ax Crazy|savagery]], wields a great iron spear as his primary weapon.
* In ''[[Warhammer
** The Adeptus Custodes ([[Dark Messiah|The Emperor]]'s guardians) use a spear - before the end of the Horus Heresy, it had [[Bifurcated Weapon|a bolter incorporated in it]].
** The Eldar are also fond of this - their Farseers and Warlocks can carry Singing Spears, ''anti-tank'' Blades On A Stick. The Avatar of Khaine also can bring a spear into battle.
** [[Our Orcs Are Different|Da Orks]] use pointy sticks to show off their collection of severed heads. Their ''combat'' Blades On Sticks are 'Uge Choppas, essentially ''[[Chainsaw Good|two chainsaws back to back on the end of a pole]]''. The forces of the Imperium or Chaos occasionally make use of similar chain-glaives, too.
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** The Imperial Guard Rough Riders also have their own version - a single use lance with an explosive charge at the tip.
*** Surprisingly, this one is [[Truth in Television]]; the Japanese were short on antitank weapons in 1939, so they started putting tank-busting mines on the end of long poles. This was only slightly safer than slapping the mine on the tank by hand.
**** ...and pole mines were in turn an adaptation of the XIX century ''naval'' stopgap weapon - spar torpedo.
** The Necrons also have a variant in the dreaded Warscythe, although it's more of a glaive than a military scythe, and is so deadly it can bypass virtually ''any'' defense, up to and including energy shields and massive sheets of armor.
** The Tau's closest allies, the [[Noble Savage|Kroot]], use [[Schizo
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' of course has spears, halberds and lances as an option for many infantry and cavalry units in various armies, though different factions tend to have their own styles. [[Our Goblins Are
** Unique to the Dogs of War list (which is two editions old) is the pike, which as you'd expect functions much like a spear, only significantly more so. They were ''not'' popular with the cavalry-heavy Bretonnian Knights.
* ''[[GURPS]]'' gives all polearms one skill but provides a dizzying variety of different ones in the ''[[Martial Arts]]'' book plus smaller dueling versions of the common ones.
** ''[[GURPS]]'''s predecessor ''[[The Fantasy Trip]]'' includes several varieties of polearm. Because of the game mechanics relating to pole weapons, they're only so-so in a one-on-one fight, but are devastating as part of a team. They end up being a popular weapon for characters that aren't primarily fighters.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' naturally has polearms and their super-sized artifact variants, the larger types gaining a damage bonus if used against a charging foe, or if used as a lance when charging. They also have the Reach tag, which allows them to attack enemies on [[I Have the High Ground|higher terrain]] or those in high mounts (such as elephants) without penalties.
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Vagrant Story]]'' has spears, two handed axes, and two handed maces, and you can combine them to your hearts delight
* Lots and lots of them in ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]''. Justified because in the era of ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'', the spear is a much preferred weapon while on horseback, so almost everyone wields a spear. Examples here: Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao (though he switches into a bastard sword in DW6 Special), Jiang Wei, Wei Yan, Yue Ying, Zhang Liao, Pang De ([[Dual
* Also in ''[[Samurai Warriors]]'': Sanada Yukimura, Maeda Keiji, Honda Tadakatsu, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Azai Nagamasa. Maeda Toshiie also carries two spears on his back, but they're not his main weapons. With the 5th Game's reboot, we now have three different weapon types: naginata, spears and "great spears".
* Again in ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'': Sanada Yukimura ([[Dual
* This seems to be a favorite weapon for ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' Dragoons. Examples of those who wield spears as their default weapon: [[Final Fantasy II
** Interestingly, in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy|Dissidia]]'', [[Final Fantasy IV
** And in other installments that use a class/job system, spears tend to be available only to Dragoons. Often enough, a spear is also required for their iconic Jump attack, or at least makes it much more efficient.
** Additionally, the strategy-oriented games in the franchise allow Spears and Polearms a two-panel reach. In ''[[
** Although there's no specific Dragoon-class character in ''[[
* Obviously, the Lancer classes in ''[[Fate/stay
** Both Lancers ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]) from ''[[Fate Nuovo Guerra]]'', naturally. One of them is somewhere between this and a [[Sinister Scythe]], though.
** Leysritt, Ilya's [[Our Homunculi Are Different|homunculus]] caretaker, is skilled with a halberd.
* ''[[Castlevania]]'''s Eric Lecarde wields the ''Alucard Spear''. It's not known if Alucard actually specializes in spears out of all the things he wields; judging from his weaponry in ''Symphony of the Night'', he likely specializes in swords (heck, there is even an Alucard Sword). When they appear as protagonist-usable weapons, spears tend to be slow and powerful with good range. Bladed sticks are also the weapon of choice for several villains, notably Isaac and Slogra.
* One of the many available weapons in ''Silkroad Online''.
* Xaldin from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' uses six lances in conjunction with his [[Blow You Away|wind powers]].
* The Spear Master of ''[[Bloodline Champions]]'', [[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' has the Bill bec-de-bardiche glaive-guisarme (yes, [[Weapons Kitchen Sink|that's one weapon]]) as a weapon available to players.
** Another is the halfberd. Get two of them, and you can make a wholeberd.
** There's also the Plexiglass Pikestaff, one of the best weapons in the entire game. It's obtained by completing a Hardcore Oxygenerian run as a Seal Clubber.
*** And yes, it's tipped with [[Incredibly Lame Pun|a statue of]] [[
* This has also recently be a specialized weapon in the ''[[Tales
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
* Seung Mina from the ''[[Soul Series]]'' of games uses a polearm as her weapon of choice.
** ''Soul Calibur 3'' also featured the Lance, which appeared to be an oversized spear. It still ended up swung quite often.
** ''Soul Calibur IV'' adds the new character, Hildegard von Krone, who wields a spear and a short sword.
* The cows in ''[[Diablo]] 2's'' Secret Cow Level wield <s>halberds</s> [
** The Amazon class can also wield spears and javelins, which can only stab, thus avoiding [[Slice
** Most notably, the Druid class is one of the few cases in which polearms (including scythes) have a fast attack speed, making them viable weapons).
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]: Morrowind'' possesses spear weapons, most of which are most effective with a thrust attack, averting the 'spear slash' notion. Some spears like Naginitas and Glaives are different in that they are most effective with a slash effect. These are notably missing from the sequels, ''Oblivion'' and ''Skyrim'', though.
* One of the weapon types in ''[[Fire Emblem]]'', the other being Swords, Axes, Bows, and Magic Books. Lances are stronger then swords and more accurate then axes, making them a [[Jack of All Stats|Weapon Of All Stats]]. Lances receive bonuses when used against sword-wielding opponents (and penalties against axes), and are the main weapons of several fighting classes (Knights, Pegasus Knights, Wyvern Knights) and secondary weapons for others (Cavaliers and Falcoknights, who can use both swords and lances; Generals and Great Knights, who use both lances and axes). In general, Lances are the preferred weapon of mounted units.
** Prince Ephraim of Renais (''The Sacred Stones'') is a Lord that [[Heroes Prefer Swords|specializes in this]]. He later gets the lance Siegmund, one of the Renais Sacred Twins aka the holy weapons of their country; his fellow Prince Innes later brings one of the Frelian Sacred Twins, another lance known as Vidofnir.
** In [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Seisen no Keifu]], two of the Twelve Crusaders (Dain and Noba) were lance users. Their sacred weapons, only avaliable to people of major Dain or Noba blood, are the lances Gungnir and Gaebolg. Dain's Gungnir is wielded by [[Magnificent Bastard|King Trabant]] of Thracia and his son [[Dragon Rider|Crown Prince Areone]]; Noba's Gaebolg is the weapon of Duke Cuan and later of Princess Altenna {{spoiler|who, after her dad and mom's murders, is taken in by Trabant as his war spoil. When she finds out the truth (assuming you don't kill her in battle), she has a [[Heel Face Turn]] and joins your group, putting the Gaebolg to your service. And later, if you play your cards right, Altenna can convince Areone of becoming an allied unit (not under your command, but still attacking your enemies.), thus ''sorta'' giving your group the Gungnir too.}}
*** Even more. Dain and Noba were a [[Brother
** In ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'' spear-wielding Soldiers/Halberdiers added a Third-Tier to become Sentinels. Notable spear users included [[Country Mouse]] and [[Shrinking Violet]] Nephenee, and [[Anti
* In ''[[Odin Sphere]]'', Gwendolyn's Psypher weapon is a spear with a crystal tip, with which she can use to slash and stab.
*''[[Onimusha]]'':
** In ''Warlords'', Samanosuke's last Oni Weapon is Shippu, a double-bladed naginata with the power of a whirlwind. The weapon makes a comeback in ''Demon Siege'', though it's lost after the prologue (and you need to complete a bonus dungeon to unlock it for New Game +)
** ''Samurai Soul'', among Jubei's Oni Weapons he has the Hyojinyari, a massive Yari with ice powers, excellent for one vs one, and the Senpumaru, a hooked, dual-bladed naginata with wind powers. Ally Ekei Ankokuji is a warrior monk who wields a massive Hozoin Spear (a spear with a sharp cutting edge used by the famous monk Hozoin) which can be upgraded to a Chinese halbeard and a western polearm.
** ''Demon Siege'', the second Oni Weapon recovered by Jacques is the Raisenso, a double-ended, sectioned spear with hooked blades and the ability to unleash thunderbolts in a straight line in front of them. You can also meet Heihachi (aka Honda Tadakatsu) who fights with the long spear called Genma Tonbo, which glows bright red when swung.
** ''Dawn of Dreams'', all of Tenkai weapons that aren't staves are either spears, halberds or glaives.
* ''[[Nethack]]'' features a wide variety of bladed polearms. They are useful when you need to attack something without technically touching it (floating eyes, water-based monsters which attempt to [[Super Drowning Skills|drown you]]) but they are not generally used as primary weapons.
* A common weapon available in many [[Nippon Ichi]] games, starting with ''[[Disgaea]]''. In a subversion of the [[Slice
** Something to note is that nearly all spear skills in the ''[[Disgaea]]'' titles move the user, making them perfect for literally jumping over and past most stages. Some have given the spear class users the [[Fan Nickname]] ''the Polevaulters'' for when they're used for the above-mentioned reason.
* Polearms also exist in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', but the lack of polearms with a strength bonus means that the classes that actually ''hit people with two-handed weapons'' (warriors, death knights, and paladins) have little use for them. The only two classes that benefit properly from them are Hunters, who use bows or guns instead of fighting in melee, and druids, who shapeshift into cats or bears to actually fight. Consequently past the first levels before item optimization these weapons pretty much gather dust in a weapon slot, like a mage's sword.
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* In the [[Defense of the Ancients]] series, Huskar uses throwing spears like Rambo, in the original of DOTA Huskar used the model of a Darkspear Berserker.
* ''[[Gears of War]] 2'' has its resident [[The Dragon|Dragon]] Skorge take this trope to its logical end: a ''[[Chainsaw Good|double-bladed chainsaw spear.]]''
* Oddly, this was the weapon of choice for Serge in ''[[
* Back to early games ... the halberd was one of the best mundane weapons in the first ''[[The
* In the ''[[Touhou]]'' series, the character Shanghai wields a razor blade tied to a stick.
** Considering she's a doll, she can practically use any weapon - the razor blade on a stick is a popular rendition, as are medieval swords. Alice (the wielder) generally prefers [[Beam Spam]], though.
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* ''[[Persona 3]]'' features spear weapons, usable by the protagonist and Ken Amada. The protagonist mostly uses it as a stabbing weapon, while Ken uses it as a combination stabbing/slashing weapon, and a pole around which to swing his body for a couple of crazy kicks. In an interesting justification, Ken uses a spear, which is at least twice as long as he is tall, because he's so short, and he needs to use it to increase his range. Which isn't really an issue, given his attack style.
** The female protagonist in the PSP remake exclusively uses a naginata, although it is a different weapon type that does slashing damage compared to Ken's spears.
** Back in the first ''[[Persona (
** In ''[[Persona 2]]: Innocent Sin'', {{spoiler|[[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Hitler]]}} wields the [[Public Domain Artifact|Spear of Destiny]]. It [[All Myths Are True|has been told, for the past 2000 years]] (give or take) that a wound caused by this spear [[Wound That Will Not Heal|will not heal]]... which becomes a plot point when {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Nyarlatothep]] manipulates Maya Okamura into fatally stabbing Maya Amano with it}}, therefore leading to the events of ''[[Persona 2]]: Eternal Punishment''.
* ''[[
** ''[[
* In the ''[[Avernum]]'' series, the [[Lizard Folk|slithzeraki]] traditionally use two-tined spears, remarked as being extremely heavy for humans (and making for the best types of non-magical spears). Players themselves can use polearms instead of swords and daggers: the original games had spears (one handed), pikes and halberds (stronger, but two handed). The second trilogy and the remake change things so that now all swords are one-handed and all spears/halberds (their icons run the gamut from spears to glaives to dane axes) deal more damage but are two-handed. Most notably, the [[Big Bad]] from the fifth game, Dorikas, is described as wielding a huge polearm in one hand.
* The Gerudo from ''[[
** Ganon uses a trident reminiscent of the devil.
* ''[[Terranigma]]'', wherein the hero Ark builds up a whole arsenal of weapons during the course of the game, most of which are staffs or variants of a blade on a stick. Or just a really sharp stick, in some cases. In fact, he doesn't use a proper sword at all (the closest he gets is a few spears).
* Spears/halberds are the most powerful melee weapons in ''[[Aion]]: the Tower of Eternity,'' usable only by the melee-specialist Gladiators. They swing them in enormous arcs capable of knocking opponents clean off their feet.
* Plenty of magic Blade Onna Sticks in the ''[[
* The later ''[[
* ''[[Guild Wars]]'' associates spears with the Paragon class, though they're better classified as javelins and are thrown in combat.
* Naturally, a few of these show up in ''[[Samurai Shodown]]''. Kyoshiro's naginata in the second game is VERY unfair to others. And then Gaoh's spear as an [[SNK Boss]] in 6.
* Yamatoman from ''[[
** In ''Power Fighters'', Centaurman wields a naginata at low health.
** Zero can obtain a [[Laser Blade|laser pike]] in ''[[
*** ''[[
** Model L from ''[[
* The ''[[Fallout]]'' games feature a small assortment of spears that can be useful in the early to middle parts of the game, before getting completely eclipsed by various quality melee weapons, guns, and grenades. Still, dropping a fleeing [[
* In ''[[Mount
* In ''[[Legend of Dragoon|The Legend of Dragoon]]'', Lavitz and later {{spoiler|Albert}}, combine this, and [[
* ''[[Halo]]'': Covenant [[Praetorian Guard|Honor Guards]] usually wield huge ornamental spears ('huge' as in, longer than the 8+ -foot alien wielders are tall); the Honor Guards seen in ''[[Halo Wars]]'' cutscenes can be seen wielding versions that more closely resemble Lochaber Axes ({{spoiler|Of course, thanks to the trio of Spartans, these weapons end up killing more Elites than they do humans}}).
** Though with the [[Rule of Cool|notable exception]] of the ''Halo Wars'' cutscene, the Honor Guard never actually use their ceremonial spears in combat. When danger threatens, they drop their spears and equip [[Energy Weapons|plasma guns]] and [[Laser Sword|energy swords]].
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' has a representative selection of spears, pikes, and halberds. Most of them are too large to be wielded by dwarves, but a steel pike in skilled hands can comfortably [[One
* [[Our Mermaids Are Different|Undines]] and knights wield them in ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' and it's spinoff ''[[Yggdra Unison]]''. The former use [[Prongs of Poseidon|tridents]], and the latter fights with a [[BFS|humongous lance]].
* A Spear is Eoaden's primary weapon in the ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age]]''. Though this might be because he's the last character you get and all the cool weapons (Sword, Bow, Axe) have already been taken.
* In ''[[Majesty]]'', City Guards and Royal Guards get halberds while heroes will wield bows, hammers, or [[Heroes Prefer Swords|swords]].
* In ''[[God of War (
** Also Poseidon wields a giant Trident, and many [[Demonic Spiders|Satyrs]] wield large spears
* Spearmen and pikemen are common early-game units in the ''[[Civilization]]'' series, traditionally with bonuses against cavalry.
* Though you can't buy or equip them, Ezio Auditore of ''[[
** The spears/halberds can also be thrown with deadly accuracy.
* In ''Warlords Battlecry 2'', the Human faction has the pikeman which can get upgrades twice, making them as effective endgame as in the early minutes of play.
* ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka
* Probably said best by Xin Zhao of ''[[League of Legends]]''.
** "Here is a tip, and a spear behind it!"
** A spear is also used by Pantheon, a ''[[Significant Anagram|Stanpar]]''.
* Nobumasa of ''[[Yo-Jin-Bo]]'' uses a [[BFS|really big]] spear. A [[Multiple Endings|bad ending]] may see him shishkebobbing the heroine and her bodyguard.
* Mages in ''[[
* ''Shogun: [[Total War]]'' and ''Total War: Shogun 2'' feature naginata-armed troops, which allow them to equally fight calavry and infantry, although their only advantage is versatility, as it is preferrable to use yari (spear) troops against cavalry and katana troops against infantry. Cavalry charging a line of braced yari troops is less likely to survive than cavalry charging a line of naginata troops.
* Dacia Ultan in ''[[Rift]]'' wields a halberd.
* Spears are avaible as weapons in ''[[Drakensang]]'', and a spear user can learn the useful "Death Strike" (a powerful stab attack that deals up to three wounds and lots of damage). The most notable spear user is Ancoron the elf.
* [[Canon Immigrant|Arkantos]] and [[Boisterous Bruiser|Ajax]] of ''[[
* In [[Maple Story]], spears are equip-able weapons for the Warrior tree of classes. One of these is the "Pike on a Pike", a trident with a fish stuck at the end.
* [[World of Mana]] games with blade-on-a-stick weapons:
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** [[Seiken Densetsu 3]], wielded by Reis.
** [[Legend of Mana]]
* The spear weapons in ''[[
** Ornstein the Dragonslayer wields a huge spear that he frequently charges with lightning. You can forge said spear with Ornstein's soul. Ornstein also drops a unique ring that improves the counter damage of piercing weapons like spears.
** ''[[Dark Souls II]]'': extends the roster by adding new weapon types such as making Scythes and Machetes their own weapon category (reapers), Double Blades and Lances, the latter being heavier than spears and often used for powerful short-ranged charges. Lances were changed to "Pikes" in the following title. There's also the unique Santier's Spear, a unique weapon with absurdly high durability which actually becomes much more powerful and versatile if you wear it down to zero.
** ''[[Dark Souls III]]'': the Nameless King (implicitly Lord Gwyn's firstborn son and according to fanon Ornstein's master) wields an humongous swordstaff, which he can imbue with lightning to better destroy you.
* Kharad from ''[[Evil Islands]]'' carries an unique spear that throws [[Shock and Awe|lightning bolts towards his opponents]].
* ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land]]'' features the Spear ability, an ability that is also used by Bandana Waddle Dee. It's used mostly for stabbing, but can also be thrown rapidly as a highly effective projectile.
* Deimos from ''[[Dungeons]]'' wields a poleaxe which doubles as his scepter for casting magic spells.
* ''[[Darkest Dungeon]]'': The Hellion heroine wields a massive glaive/polearm she can use to deliver devastating attacks, from both the frontline and the middleline. The Shieldbreaker carries a spear as her weapon, fittingly as most of her techniques focus on hard-hitting, precise attacks that pierce the victim and ignore armor.
== Web Comics ==
* [[MAG-ISA]] -- [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119763 Chu's Weapon]
* While he never manages to acquire one, Roy memorably attempted to purchase a polearm in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html this] ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' strip.
** "That Guy With A Halberd", a nameless Azure City [[Red Shirt]] with a rather rabid fan following.
** "[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0721.html Sneak Attack on a stick, snake-face!!]"
* The Polearm is the weapon of choice for two characters in ''[[
* Haruna in ''[[Tsunami Channel]]'' has been shown to have a high proficiency in naginata, and she is quick to pop one from [[Hammerspace]] whenever she needs to use it. Strangely, this is used to point how much of a traditional [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] she is.
* In ''[[
* The weapon of choice for Kiran of ''[[Chirault]]''.
* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Oggie the Jaegermonster uses a triple-poleaxe. Mostly as a weapon, but also as a springboard for his [[Power Trio|fellow Jaegers]] to jump off and a pole-vault so he can follow them.
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** She gets rid of it later for a magical morningstar.
* [http://www.samuraiprincess.com Princess Raeka] from [[Samurai Princess]] uses a naginata. A notable weapon for a female samurai.
* ''[[Bird Boy]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20110403051225/http://bird-boy.com/volume-1-page-4 Bali is introduced lugging a lot of spears]
* [[Tamuran]] [http://www.tamurancomic.com/?p=221 A guard's choice to harrass travelers]
* In ''[[Endstone]]'', [http://endstone.net/2010/07/08/4-04/ wolves use them to hunt Kyri].
* [[Badass Adorable|Madeline]] the ditzy paladin from ''[[Rusty and Co
** She eventually [http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-4/ upgraded]. To a "vorpal halberd". Which looks unsurprisingly like a spade, of course. But works surprisingly like a vorpal halberd. [[Crazy Awesome|When Madeline swings it with closed eyes, anyway]].
* [[Lawful Stupid|Hotaru]] from [[Mortal Kombat]] wields a naginata as his [[Weapon of Choice]].
* Carrot in ''[[
== Web Original ==
* Polearms are occasionally assigned in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', and when a character needs an [[Improvised Weapon]] they usually either make a shiv or a spear from available materials. Examples of characters who made spears include Niniko Kishinawa and Daniel Brent.
* A type of weapon exists in ''[[Chaos Fighters]]'', but is recent titles they tend to be at ''both ends'' of the stick.
* In [
* In ''[[Worm]]'', Colin "Armsmaster" Wallis' primary weapon is an elaborately over-engineered halberd.
== Western Animation ==
* In an episode of the 2003 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003
** The 2012 series has replaced his ever-present bo with a naginata, as well, if the preview trailer is anything to judge by.
* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'' "Mad Dogs and Aliens", Warmonga has a high-tech one.
* ''[[Wakfu]]'': like all Enutrof, Ruel Stroud carries around a broad, fan-shaped shovel (with a hook-like extremity) as his weapon of choice. He can throw it like a boomerang and, occasionally, sends massive quakes. Yugo's adoptive father Alibert has a shovel that resembles a partisan more than anything else.
== Real Life ==
* This was useful in real combat, both for and against cavalry. Thus, you get weapons like pikes, glaives, and bayonets, which are blades on a stick where the stick is a ''gun''.
** Used in practically every peasant's revolt ever, being quite effective against mounted nobility (horses are scared silly of anything resembling a pointy stick), so it's up to the [[Torches and Pitchforks]]. Most polearms are derived from converted farm implements or household blades stuck on long poles. They are easier for [[The Blacksmith]] to produce in a hurry: if pitchforks aren't enough, set a scythe blade on top of a straight stick, and you got some sort of glaive.
** It also helps that it is relatively easy to train someone to use a spear effectively, as opposed to weapons like swords. To give you some idea, a decent spearman can be trained in six weeks. A half-decent swordsman would take a ''minimum'' of six months.
** Ironically, when measuring the time taken to master the sword and spear, it's generally accepted in the martial arts community that mastering the sword takes less time. Strange. But spear tactics were much simpler in numbers.
*** That's because martial artists use spears differently than soldiers do. A martial artist trains to fight one-on-one or several-on-one battles, under which circumstances a spear is an awkward weapon; it's tricky to manipulate and is useless if your opponent gets inside it. A ''soldier'' trains to stand in line, obey orders, have discipline and not have to defend himself from more than one
* The Ancient Greeks used the ''dory'' for their phalanxes of hoplites; later the Macedonian phalangites under Philip II and Alexander the Great used the ''sarissa'', a double-length version.
* Roman legionaries carried two javelins, but these were thrown to soften up the enemy before using the ''gladius'' shortsword in close combat. The spearheads were at the end of a long iron part left deliberately untempered, in the hope that it would pierce a shield [[Batman Gambit|and then bend, making it near-impossible to remove from the shield which was thereby made virtually useless.]]
** Like the Greeks and Macedonians, the Romans at first made good use of the phalanx formation, which took advantage of the spear's deadliest potential: that of creating a veritable wall of sharp points that, when combined with shields, were key to pinning down an enemy while the cavalry circled round to them. The reason Romans eventually switched to the ''gladius'' as a primary weapon for infantry was that on rough terrain phalanxes (which were [[Mighty Glacier|slow and cumbersome]] for all their defensive capabilities) were easily overwhelmed by the more mobile guerilla forces which they ended up fighting more often than not. The spear thus fell out of favor as the primary weapon for military.
** The "orb" formation did remain in their arsenal later on. The Roman force would form a tightly-clustered round formation, with their shields on the outside, spears poking through the gaps, and perhaps a few soldiers with bows in the middle. This formation was a very useful weapon against light cavalry, so much so that it stayed in the British Army's book during the Napoleonic Wars.
** The romans never fully gave up the spear. Until the Marian reforms the final line of defense in their column was the Triarii, Veterans who could afford the best equipment and who used a spear as well as a shield.
* Women from Samurai families were expected to have a functional ''naginata'' as part of their dowry. The naginata was also the favoured weapon of the ''sohei'' [[Warrior Monk|Buddhist warrior-monks]].
** Naginata blades were made using the same costly and laborious process as katana blades, but were often made longer, or at least had longer shafts. So if they broke, they were re-made into katana/wakizashi/tanto depending on how much blade was left. There are also several types of naginata, including the oversized oonaginata and the axe-like tsukushi naginata (the blade isn't connected to the shaft by a tang, but by a side ring, like an axe)
** Although the sword was "the soul of the Samurai", the naginata was actually their primary battle weapon for much of their history; along with [[Bow and Sword
** The naginata wasn't the only spear available to the Samurai. Popular amongst Samurai and Ashigaru (peasant levies) alike was the yari spear. Longer than the Naginata and with a shorter blade, the Yari ranged in size (from about 3.3 feet to 20) and was a popular weapon for large formations of Samurai and Ashigaru during the Sengoku Jidai era. Samurai tended to wield shorter versions of the Yari: Ashigaru wielded the longer varieties.
** Less remembered than Yari and Naginata is the grandparent of all Japanese polearms, the Hoko: a simple spear of medium length with a sharp point meant exclusively for stabbing, often paired with shields.
** Many modern schools of martial arts lists the "Bisento" as a bigger and heavier cousin of the naginata. In truth, Bisento is actually the Japanese reading of the Chinese weapon "Meijiandao" (Brow-edged Sword), which is pretty much the same as a naginata, but with a slightly longer blade.
* The Swiss mercenaries of the 15th century deserve an entry of their own. For a long time, it was an established truth that the only force capable of beating Swiss pikemen was an equal or greater number of Swiss pikemen. The first national army to ever beat a force consisting only of Swiss mercenaries was a French army that outnumbered the Swiss force 15 to 1.
* Mixed units of pikemen and musketeers ("pike and shot") were the standard armed force of the 16th and 17th centuries until the invention of the bayonet turned every gun into a spear.
* Pikes were manufactured for use in combat as late as in 1942, when the War Office produced about 250000 pikes for the British Home Guard after accidentally misinterpreting a letter from Winston Churchill saying that "every man must have a weapon of some kind, be it only a mace or pike".
** At the time Churchill wrote the memo, they were expecting a German invasion any week; there weren't enough rifles to equip all the Home Guard fast enough. Something similar happened in Japan as they prepared for an Allied invasion in 1945- they tried to arm ''everyone'', even if that meant using pointy sticks.
** In the Japanese case, they took their standard rifle bayonet (which aside from minor revisions to simplify it for more rapid mass production, was unchanged since 1897), simplified it even more, and mounted it on a bamboo pole.
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** The poleaxe (also known as pollaxe; there is still much dispute about whether its name actually referred to the fact that it was on a pole) was one of the most versatile melee weapons ever seen. Its head had either an axe blade or a hammer on the front, a hook on the back, and a spike on the top. Depending on the variant, the main tactic was to either chop with the axe blade or crush the enemy's armor (preferably his helmet) with the hammer. A secondary tactic was to hook the enemy (preferably between the plates to cause a painful wound) and knock him to the ground, then use the spike to kill him before he can get up (as the weight of his armor would make that difficult to do). Many poleaxes also had a second spike on the bottom of the shaft. Oddly, despite being both effective and impressive-looking, poleaxes are rarely seen in fiction.
*** The whole darn contraption is a weapon. Heck, you get an axe, spear, can opener, tripping hook and hockey stick for cross-checking at price of one. Small surprise knights favoured this thingy while fighting on foot.
* In at least one manuscript on personal combat from the Middle Ages the author listed weapons in a sort of [[Rock
** The halberd is ''often'' considered the greatest polearm of all time. There were two main types — they shared an axe blade on one side and a spear-like point on top. The difference is the other side — the version for dealing with unarmored opponents had a hook to trip the opponents or pull away the shield, while the one for dealing with armored opponents had a hammer for smashing armor and crushing helmets. This versatility let it hold out or win against any type of weapon, from the sword to the pike.
* The Polearm was so effective, halfswording was invented so that a sword could be wielded like a very short spear. Though the technique didn't afford the benefit of the spear's length, it did give the sword the spear's superior point control and thrusting capabilities, which were very useful against armored opponents.
** Half-swording is also much faster than using any polearm and the thrusts can be made with much greater accuracy and precision.
** This troper has found half-swording to be the most effective greatswords technique to fight against an opponent with sword and shield.
* The Chinese had a large variety of polearms. Students of Chinese martial arts are generally encouraged to start with the staff and spear when learning weapons, as they are considered to be the best for training body coordination, since a practitioner must utilize all parts of their body in equal amounts of complexity in order to properly wield the weapon. Some schools may go as far as making them compulsory before learning other weapons.
** The most eponymous are the usual longspear (fixed with a tassel behind the blade which, in expert hands, can help distract the opponent and interfere with his/her ability to judge where the point is going, as well as preventing blood from running down the haft and making it slippery)
** The Guan Dao, a large blade fixed to the business end a long pole. There are countless variants, collectively known as "Dadao" (Great Sabers/Glaives).
** Halberds were also commonly used in war, ranging from a simple addition of a blade fixed on a right angle to the main blade to as many as 4 crescent-shaped blades fixed just below the main blade.
** Some of the polearms become rather creative, such as the shou (a spear in which the shaft thickens significantly below the blade and is full of spikes, like a morningstar), zhao (metal clawed hands on a stick) and several types of rake-like weapons.
** Double-ended weapons are also commonly taught in martial arts schools, like a double-ended spear, double volgues, and a unique wapon sometimes called the Monk's Spade.
***
** There's also a weapon known as Bandit Sword which is like a Guan Dao with a much shorter pole.
* Some sadistic Fleming comboed this trope with [[Carry a Big Stick]] to create the ''goedendag'': a pole several inches in diameter, reinforced with iron bands or studs, and with a spear or pike point on top. The idea was to spear your opponent off of his horse with the pike, and then bludgeon him to death with the pole. All the effectiveness of a halberd or poleaxe, none of the extra manufacturing time.
** An important design feature was that the point was smaller then the shaft. Thus you can stab a horse and easily recover your weapon. Boar spears have sort of a sidebar design under the blade for the same reason. The tactic for boar hunting consists of letting a big furious animal with mean tusks charge at you full speed, catch him on your spear, pull it out and quickly kill or immobilize him before he rips your bowels apart. If your only weapon is the one you're using to stop charging horses with, you need a decent chance of being able to use it against the angry knight in full armor sitting on said horse. A simple pointy stick or point on a stick will likely get stuck deep in the horse.
* Scandinavian warrios got not only the long Dane Ax, but also a cooler, unusual weapon known as "Sverdstaf" or Swordstaff, pretty much an arming sword with a spear-like shaft for a handle.
* In medieval Russia, the Sovnya (a glaive with a pronounced hooked tip) was a very popular weapon to use on horseback.
* Not as popular as the proper polearm or halberd, the glaive (at its core a cutting blade on a shaft, often ornated or improved with hooks and back spikes) was pretty much used by all soldiers and militiamen in medieval Europe.
* [[Older Than Dirt]]: Spears tipped with stone, bone, and antler points are among the first weapons ever used by humans, going back thousands of years to the Ice Age.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Index On a Stick]]
[[Category:Dark Age Europe]]
[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]
[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]
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