Blade on a Stick: Difference between revisions

A subtrope of [[Weapon of Choice]].

 

 

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 spears -- and especially the pike -- are not terribly suited for single combat. In medieval combat, the sword was more a sidearm, and the polearm used as the main infantry weapon on the battlefield. The characterization of polearm being in the hands of collected individuals likely comes from how they were historically used in formations on the battlefield - and an effective formation requires disciplined people in it. The reason you may not have heard of the importance of polearms is that [[Heroes Prefer Swords|our cultural obsession with swords]] is at least a thousand years old.

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.

 

{{examples}}

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* 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 bisento as sharp as his mustache.

** Also the weapon of choice for Alabasta soldiers.

** 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.

** The [[BFG|BFGs]] 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.

** Madarame Ikkaku's Houzukimaru, which doubles as a <s>three-piece nunchaku</s> three section staff.

** {{spoiler|Lisa Yadomaru's Hagurotonbo is one as well and It's [[BFS|huge]].}}

** Sokyoku is a huge execution halberd.

* 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 [[media:kodogre.jpg|Greece]] as another spear user.

** 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

** 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.

** 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 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.

* 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.]]

** In the Manga version, her weapon has a cross-guard just beneath the head. [[Japanese Christian|The symbolism is entirely intentional]].

 

 

== Comic Books ==

** 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.

 

== Film ==

* 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 ''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.

 

 

* 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.

* 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.

** 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 From the Dead|revived]] Magnus the Red, their ancient enemy.}}

** 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 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 David Eddings's series ''[[The Elenium]]'' and ''The Tamuli'', the character Bevier uses a [[wikipedia:Lochaber axe|lochaber axe]], which is constantly commented on as being a particularly nasty weapon. The fact that Bevier is the most pious and good-hearted of all the knights isn't lost on anyone either.

* ''[[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.

* 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.

{{quote| ''Lo,[[Famed in Story|praise]] of the prowess of [[Royal Blood|people-kings]]<br />

of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,<br />

we have heard, and what honor the [[Blue Blood|athelings]] won!'' }}

 

 

== Live Action TV ==

* Practically too many [[Super Sentai]] members and [[Power Rangers]] to mention.

** ''[[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.

 

== Mythology ==

** 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.

** 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).

* 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.

* Again in ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'': Sanada Yukimura ([[Dual-Wielding|dual wields]]), Chousokabe Motochika (an anchor), Oichi, Matsu, Honda Tadakatsu, Maeda Toshiie, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hojo Ujimasa

** 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.

** 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.

* 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]].

* ''[[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]] [[wikipedia:Pike chr(28)fishchr(29)|a pike]].

* 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.

* 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.]]''

* Back to early games ... the halberd was one of the best mundane weapons in the first ''[[The Bards Tale Trilogy|The Bards Tale]]'' game. And for some reason you could carry a shield while holding it.

* In the ''[[Touhou]]'' series, the character Shanghai wields a razor blade tied to a stick.

* ''[[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.

** 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.

** 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.

* ''[[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.

** In ''Power Fighters'', Centaurman wields a naginata at low health.

* ''[[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]].

* A Spear is Eoaden's primary weapon in the ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' game ''[[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]].

** 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.

** 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.

* 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.

* ''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.

* 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:

** [[Seiken Densetsu 3]], wielded by Reis.

** [[Legend of Mana]]

** 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.

* ''[[Kirbys 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.

 

 

== Webcomics ==

** "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!!]"

* 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.

* 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.

* [[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].

** 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]].

 

 

 

== Western Animation ==

** 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.