Dismantled MacGuffin: Difference between revisions

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* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' the Silver Crystal split into the the seven Rainbow Crystals after Queen Serenity used it to send her daughter and the Sailor Senshi and Prince Endymion's souls to Earth for reincarnation. The Rainbow Crystals had to be found by those wishing to reassemble them into the Silver Crystal -- with the Sailor Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and the villainous Dark Kingdom all after it. Each crystal was contained within the body of a normal human who (unbeknownst to them) was a really a reincarnation of the "Seven Great [[Monster of the Week|Youma]]".
* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' the Silver Crystal split into the the seven Rainbow Crystals after Queen Serenity used it to send her daughter and the Sailor Senshi and Prince Endymion's souls to Earth for reincarnation. The Rainbow Crystals had to be found by those wishing to reassemble them into the Silver Crystal -- with the Sailor Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and the villainous Dark Kingdom all after it. Each crystal was contained within the body of a normal human who (unbeknownst to them) was a really a reincarnation of the "Seven Great [[Monster of the Week|Youma]]".
* Done in the second season of ''[[Sonic X]]'' by Super Sonic to prevent the Chaos Emeralds from being used for evil.
* Done in the second season of ''[[Sonic X]]'' by Super Sonic to prevent the Chaos Emeralds from being used for evil.
* Inverted in ''[[Voltron|Voltron: Defender of the Universe]]'': it is the bad guys who originally dismantle Voltron because he/it is too powerful for them, and the pilot is spent trying to get the robot to reassemble.
* Inverted in ''[[Voltron|Voltron: Defender of the Universe]]'': it is the bad guys who originally dismantle Voltron because he/it is too powerful for them, and the pilot is spent trying to get the robot to reassemble.
* Mostly subverted in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. {{spoiler|The whole series is essentially the protagonists trying to keep the Angels from reuniting with Lilith. Partial in that a few of the "protagonists" secretly actually WANT an Angel to reunite with Lilith, only on their timetable.}}
* Mostly subverted in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. {{spoiler|The whole series is essentially the protagonists trying to keep the Angels from reuniting with Lilith. Partial in that a few of the "protagonists" secretly actually WANT an Angel to reunite with Lilith, only on their timetable.}}
* Inverted and then played straight on all sides in ''[[Ronin Warriors]]''. Originally, the Ancient [[Fling a Light Into the Future|defeated Talpa, and divided his armor into 9 parts, which were then separated]]. However, Talpa managed to survive and recover 4 of them. The Ronin Warriors were given the other 5, which they had to recover. Eventually, the Ronin Warriors gain all 5 armors and combine them into the Inferno armor, however this is where the trope gets averted (or played straight on the other side) as this merely puts all 5 armors in one place for Talpa to get ahold of. Finally played straight when the Ronin Warriors AND Talpa's evil henchmen give him exactly what he wants, and overpowers him with the rejuvenated force of all 9 armors, thus defeating him permanently.
* Inverted and then played straight on all sides in ''[[Ronin Warriors]]''. Originally, the Ancient [[Fling a Light Into the Future|defeated Talpa, and divided his armor into 9 parts, which were then separated]]. However, Talpa managed to survive and recover 4 of them. The Ronin Warriors were given the other 5, which they had to recover. Eventually, the Ronin Warriors gain all 5 armors and combine them into the Inferno armor, however this is where the trope gets averted (or played straight on the other side) as this merely puts all 5 armors in one place for Talpa to get ahold of. Finally played straight when the Ronin Warriors AND Talpa's evil henchmen give him exactly what he wants, and overpowers him with the rejuvenated force of all 9 armors, thus defeating him permanently.
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** It also separated a splinter of itself at some point, which it gave to Hedge with the plan of possessing Prince Sameth of the Old Kingdom, presumably for the poetry's sake, since his family was the executor of the will of its imprisoners. It got the Ancelstierrian Prime Minister's nephew instead, but that worked too. It needed the splinter back at the end.
** It also separated a splinter of itself at some point, which it gave to Hedge with the plan of possessing Prince Sameth of the Old Kingdom, presumably for the poetry's sake, since his family was the executor of the will of its imprisoners. It got the Ancelstierrian Prime Minister's nephew instead, but that worked too. It needed the splinter back at the end.
* In Garth Nix's other series ''[[Keys to the Kingdom]]'', Arthur Penhaligon must find and reunite the seven parts of the Will of the Architect. However in order to do this he first has to [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|collect the seven keys to the seven kingdoms]].
* In Garth Nix's other series ''[[Keys to the Kingdom]]'', Arthur Penhaligon must find and reunite the seven parts of the Will of the Architect. However in order to do this he first has to [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|collect the seven keys to the seven kingdoms]].
* The golden capstone of the great pyramid of Giza in [[Matthew Reilly]]'s ''Seven Ancient Wonders''. It is the key to stopping the end of the world, but also gives it's possessor invincibility in battle. Alexander The Great got bored with it's power and split it into 7 pieces, hiding each in one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the Ancient World.
* The golden capstone of the great pyramid of Giza in [[Matthew Reilly]]'s ''Seven Ancient Wonders''. It is the key to stopping the end of the world, but also gives it's possessor invincibility in battle. Alexander The Great got bored with it's power and split it into 7 pieces, hiding each in one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the Ancient World.
* In the last [[Well World]] series, the villains are attempting to find all the pieces of the dismantled Straight Gate. As it was an artifact of the Markovians, it was indestructible, so it had to be split up, scattered, and removed from the history books to keep it from being misused.
* In the last [[Well World]] series, the villains are attempting to find all the pieces of the dismantled Straight Gate. As it was an artifact of the Markovians, it was indestructible, so it had to be split up, scattered, and removed from the history books to keep it from being misused.
* The [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] novel ''Shining Darkness'' has the antagonists (and kidnapped Donna) on a quest to reassemble their superweapon.
* The [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] novel ''Shining Darkness'' has the antagonists (and kidnapped Donna) on a quest to reassemble their superweapon.
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== Live Action TV ==
== Live Action TV ==
* Inversion seen on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episodes "Surprise" and "Innocence", where the split MacGuffin ''is'' the ultimate evil and the bad guys have to assemble it. The good guys take it out with a single shot.
* Inversion seen on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episodes "Surprise" and "Innocence", where the split MacGuffin ''is'' the ultimate evil and the bad guys have to assemble it. The good guys take it out with a single shot.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S1 E5 The Keys of Marinus|The Keys of Marinus]]'', the Doctor and companions are sent to collect the Keys (scattered throughout the planet Marinus) that control the Conscience Machine, which made everyone peaceful on the planet till it malfunctioned.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S1/E05 The Keys of Marinus|The Keys of Marinus]]'', the Doctor and companions are sent to collect the Keys (scattered throughout the planet Marinus) that control the Conscience Machine, which made everyone peaceful on the planet till it malfunctioned.
** "Last of the Time Lords" parodies the trope by revealing Martha's search for the four pieces of an anti-regeneration gun to be just a smokescreen for her real mission. She laughs at the Master for actually buying it. Apparently, the Doctor had never brought up...
** "Last of the Time Lords" parodies the trope by revealing Martha's search for the four pieces of an anti-regeneration gun to be just a smokescreen for her real mission. She laughs at the Master for actually buying it. Apparently, the Doctor had never brought up...
** ...the Key to Time arc, in which the titular device could stop time throughout the universe once its six parts were transmuted back into their original forms and reassembled.
** ...the Key to Time arc, in which the titular device could stop time throughout the universe once its six parts were transmuted back into their original forms and reassembled.
** Inverted in "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." The twenty-seven planets the Daleks needed weren't pieces in and of themselves; they ''stole'' those planets and formed an intricate superweapon with them.
** Inverted in "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." The twenty-seven planets the Daleks needed weren't pieces in and of themselves; they ''stole'' those planets and formed an intricate superweapon with them.
* In the third season of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', they broke the [[Mineral MacGuffin|Zeo Crystal]] into five pieces, and ''threw them into unstable time portals'', so the five pieces were literally scattered throughout space and time, their locations unknown even to the Rangers. Not such a good idea, as they ended up needing it again [[Power Rangers Zeo|less than a year later]].
* In the third season of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', they broke the [[Mineral MacGuffin|Zeo Crystal]] into five pieces, and ''threw them into unstable time portals'', so the five pieces were literally scattered throughout space and time, their locations unknown even to the Rangers. Not such a good idea, as they ended up needing it again [[Power Rangers Zeo|less than a year later]].
* The Cup Of Ankh in ''[[House of Anubis]]''. According to Fabian's book on Egyptian mythology, Amneris took the Cup and hid it inside the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Anubis was angered by this and split the Cup into seven pieces, preventing it's use. Rufus later explains that Anubis and Amneris reached an agreement whereby the Cup could be put together once every twenty five years at a certain hour, but only by a member of Amneris's bloodline.
* The Cup Of Ankh in ''[[House of Anubis]]''. According to Fabian's book on Egyptian mythology, Amneris took the Cup and hid it inside the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Anubis was angered by this and split the Cup into seven pieces, preventing it's use. Rufus later explains that Anubis and Amneris reached an agreement whereby the Cup could be put together once every twenty five years at a certain hour, but only by a member of Amneris's bloodline.
* A number of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episodes revolved around re-assembling some piece of phlebotinum scattered throughout the galaxy. The most notable are ''Gambit'', which involves finding the components for an ancient Vulcan weapon, and ''The Chase'', revolving around a search for a secret message hidden within the genomes of life forms from dozens of different planets.
* A number of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episodes revolved around re-assembling some piece of phlebotinum scattered throughout the galaxy. The most notable are ''Gambit'', which involves finding the components for an ancient Vulcan weapon, and ''The Chase'', revolving around a search for a secret message hidden within the genomes of life forms from dozens of different planets.


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