Flaming Sword: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|which turned every way]], to keep the way of the tree of life.''|[[The Bible|Genesis 3:24]]}}

 

 

[[Older Than They Think|Great-great-great Grandfather]] to the [[Laser Blade]], this is a blade that is ''[[Kill It with Fire|on fire]]'' (or possibly ''made'' of fire). These are usually wielded by divine and infernal guardians alike, because nothing says "Gonna smite your ass" like being able to cut someone and burn them at the same time. Also a favorite trick of the [[Magic Knight]], who may also vary it with [[Elemental Powers|different elements]].

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Kaze no Stigma]]'' Ayano has Enraiha a wooden sword always in flames.

* Shishio in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''.

* Hiei in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' occasionally uses the Sword of the Darkness Flame.

** Also, in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'': Kuwabara's Rei-ken is a combination between this and a [[Laser Blade]], since it's made of his own ki.

* Captain Yamamoto in ''[[Bleach]]'', besides [[Incendiary Exponent|being on fire himself]] when fighting, has a flaming sword. Bearing in mind that he can drive people to the ground with a glance, it's no surprise that his sword puts off enough heat to burn the clouds out of the sky.

** The Filler villain Shusuke Amagai takes this [[Turned Up to Eleven|up to eleven]] with his bankai. It's basically a BFS with an afterburner for a hilt!

* [[Berserk|Isidro's]] Salamander Dagger can unleash a burning power, hot enough to melt steel.

* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', the Flame Swordsman's [[Calling Your Attacks|Flaming Sword of Battle]].

* The sword Kurikara in ''[[Blue Exorcist]]''.

* An [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/sekirei/v05/c046/9.html Inversion] appears in ''[[Sekirei]]'' with Tsukiumi's Water Blade.

* A variation in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'': Yue and Beatrice can enchant their [[BFS|swords]] to emit [[Shock and Awe|lightning]] and [[An Ice Person|ice]] respectively.

** Quartum's [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|magic spear]] and ''[[BFS|Gladius Divinus Flammae Ardentis]]'' are straight examples.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* In The DCU, the Jean-Paul Valley [[Legacy Character|incarnation]] as [[Azrael]] not only wields a flaming sword, he can ''shoot'' several of them. And come to think of it, ''most'' of the Azraels had flaming swords, not just Jean-Paul Valley.

* In the comic book ''[[Angel]]: After the Fall'', Angel wields a fire sword against the champions of the lords of Hell-A.

* The Roman God of War saw the efforts of the [[Those Wacky Nazis|Germans]] in WWII, and was impressed. He decided to help them, but because he was an idiot he accidentally gave powers to Clay Carter, American. The powers include super strength, agility, invulnerability and The Flaming Sword Of Mars, which is... a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|flaming sword]] that can cut through anything. He becomes Man Of War, a [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Public Domain Character|Public Domain superhero]].

* [[The Mighty Thor|Heimdall]]'s [[Cool Sword]] can create [[Technicolor Fire|blue]] [[Hellfire|"cosmic fire"]] and of course Surtur's black sword "Twilight", Marvel's version of Laevateinn.

* ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'' obtains a flaming [[Katanas Are Just Better]] (through [[RPG Elements|gaining a level]] {{spoiler|when [[The Power of Love|he declares his love for Ramona]]}}.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Blackfire in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. Bonus coolness points because the flames are, well, black.

 

== Films ==

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'':

** The Balrog has one of these, [[Dual-Wielding|along with]] [[Whip It Good|a fiery whip]].

** When Aragorn first draws Anduril (meaning Flame of the West), ghostly fire runs down it. {{spoiler|In case you're wondering, it's that sword that Elrond and Arwen forge from the shards of Narsil.}}

* Will Turner briefly sets his sword aflame in ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: Dead Man's Chest'' when he first runs into Davey Jones's crew by dipping it in oil then smashing a lantern.

* ''[[The Scorpion King]]'s'' [[Big Bad]] had flaming swords (due to being dipped in lamp oil) during the climactic [[Boss Battle]].

* Violet, the protagonist of ''[[Ultraviolet (film)|Ultraviolet]],'' and her arch-nemesis, have a flaming sword duel after she renders his flame-throwing pistol useless.

** This is actually helpful at one point. When Ichabod is [[Only a Flesh Wound|stabbed in the shoulder]], he doesn't bleed out because the sword cauterised the wound.

* The High Priest of the Mayan temple in ''[[The Fountain]]'' wields a flaming sword with which to defend the Tree of Life. It's actually a bit of [[Deconstruction]], as the Mayan priest basically {{spoiler|distracts Tomas with the sword and stabs him in the gut with a dagger.}}

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', flaming swords are a religious aspect of the religion of R'Hllor. Their messianic figure wielded a flaming sword called Lightbringer. Several followers of R'Hllor also wield flaming swords of various authenticity.

** Thoros of Myr wields a flaming sword in melees and battles, but it's just a trick. He buys a cheap sword beforehand and douses it in flammable wildfire to intimidate his opponents and spook their horses. Its said to also ruin the sword afterwards.

** Beric Dondarrion wields a flaming sword when {{spoiler|he duels Sandor Clegane. After cutting his palm on the blade, fire burst from the blood. Unlike the other swords, the flames really burn, which is bad for the pyrophobic Sandor.}}

* Though ironically the title character of ''[[Blade of the Flame]]'' doesn't use a flaming sword, his half-orc partner Ghaji gets a flaming axe during their infiltration of Dreadhold. They have to use it up to defeat the dire wereshark invasion in the climax of the series, however.

* Rand of ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' uses a sword made of fire from time to time, [[Cool but Inefficient|even though his powers could be put to far better use in other ways]]. He ''is'' a blademaster, though.

* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', Aziraphale, Angel of the Eastern Gate, has one. He ends up giving it to Adam and Eve to help them survive after they are cast out of the garden of Eden. God's reaction goes as thus:

"27. And the Lord did not ask him again. }}

* Subverted rather neatly in [[Harry Turtledove]]'s ''Wisdom of the Fox''. The protagonist, amateur wizard Gerin the Fox, discovers an ancient book with a section titled "A cantrip which produceth a flaming sword." Gerin proceeds to [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade]] on [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe]]. Then he tries the spell. It works; his sword bursts out in pure, smokeless [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors|elemental fire]]. Then he discovers the problem with the spell that explains why not everyone uses it. The spell covers your sword blade in fire... but gives you no insulation or protection from the heat ''created'' by the fire. Luckily for him, he manages to drop the sword in a barrel of water before his hand gets blistered too badly.

* Late in ''[[Inheritance Cycle|Brisingr]]'', Eragon gets the titular sword. Whenever he says its name (which means fire in the ancient language), it ignites. One character at least has the sense to point out this is incredibly cheesy.

* The Balrogs in [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s Middle-earth mythos (''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Silmarillion]]'') wielded not only a flaming sword, but also a flaming cat-of-nine-tails whip. Also, while Anduril is not literally on fire, it does shine "as though on fire." Even more, Turin son of Hurin has his own blade, which after a very [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|Kamina-esque speech]], he thrusts in the air and a great fire leaps up all around him. One of Gurren Lagann's writers just has to have read that for Kamina.

* Dyrnwyn in the ''[[Chronicles of Prydain]]''. This is the same sword that is one of the 13 hallows, or treasures, or Britain.

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In ''[[The Bible]]'', God had [[Our Angels Are Different|Cherubim]] (it's plural, doncha know) with these to prevent Adam and Eve and their descendants from returning to the Garden of Eden.

** That's right, it was used by ''cherubs''. Those angels have suffered quite a bit of [[Memetic Mutation]] since [[The Bible]] was written (the originals also had [[Eldritch Abomination|four heads and bodies covered with eyes]]).

*** Of course, John the Revelator ''was'' [[Good Omens|reportedly]] "[[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?|rather fond of strange mushrooms]]..."

** Wasn't that Archangel Uriel? IIRC, he is referred to as "the Flame of God" and "the Sword of God".

*** Uriel is not mentioned in the bible, only in apocrypha.

* In Farworld: Land Keep, there is a type of sword called a Flazite, made of dark metal with flames "leaping about on the surface" despite the rain. It gets worse- one scratch, and your blood turns to fire. And...it's pointed at our heroes. Crap.

 

* Honorary mention should be given to Giles from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' who went up against the vampire Angelus with a baseball bat that he set on fire. Ultimately futile, but dang did it look cool.

** That was a vial of /holy/ oil that he lit and threw upon the table, dipping the bat in as he passed. That was a Flaming Holy Avenger baseball bat.

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' has the Shogun Megazord Fire Sabre and the Lightspeed Megazord Sabre. The [[Elemental Powers|elementally-powered]] Rangers will occasionally get to do this too, such as in ''[[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy|Lost Galaxy]]'', ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force|Mystic Force]]'', and the ''[[Super Sentai]]'' season ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]''.

** Of special note is the fact that some of these and [[Super Sentai]] examples involve ''really lighting the weapons on fire''. The Centaurus Phoenix of Mystic Force had this back in Magiranger, but [[Bowdlerise|it was edited over with sparkly FX for the US.]]

* Rohan's [[Weapon of Choice]] on ''[[The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog]]''.

* ''[[Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire]]''. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Yes, that is the show's name]], and yes that is the title character's weapon.

** However, being a parody and all, Krod has no control over the flaming part. It tends to catch fire when he's "excited". Hell, the first time someone asks about it he thinks it means the sword is somehow defective and he needs to get it fixed.

* In the ''[[Series/Fallen|Fallen]]'' mini-series, [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]] and [[Half-Human Hybrid|Nephilim]] can wield swords made of pure divine fire, which they can summon from thin air. Being hit by one usually incinerates the target. Strangely enough, the protagonist, a regular kid until recently, can match his swordfighting skills with angels, who have been doing this since before humans were around, and even [[The Devil]].

 

== Music ==

* The song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY-6eZk_FxA Flaming Sword] by the British New Wave Band ''Care''.

 

* In [[Norse Mythology]]; Surtr, the leader of the giants of Muspelheim had one (called "Lævateinn"); his having it plays a major role in Ragnarok. It will burn nearly all of the earth. Oddly enough, he gets stopped by a ''tree'' of all things (granted, it ''was'' [[World Tree|Yggdrasil]]).

** Lævateinn itself was forged by [[Ultimate Blacksmith|Volundr]] and owned by [[The Trickster|Loki]]. The Old Norse translation literally means "Damage Twig" and may in fact not be a named sword, but a [[wikipedia:Kenning|kenning]] for a sword.

 

== [[New Media]] ==

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

* Commonplace in [[Garbage Wrestler|Garbage Wrestling]] (and sometimes makes its way to the professional world), it's entirely possible to see things set aflame to look more intense and painful, including but not limited to tables, two-by-fours wrapped in barbed wire, [[Man On Fire|the wrestlers themselves...]]

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** The brand new [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=214368 Sword of War and Peace] is also flaming.

* The Flame Swordsman card in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (Tabletop Game)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]''.

* This is the major schtick of the Bright Wizard in Warhammer, though other wizards have similar weapons and Daemons can crack out the flaming blades on occasion as well.

* One of the examples of common relics in the [[In Nomine]] core rules is a flame sword.

* The Flaming Weapon spell from ''[[GURPS]]: Magic''. A naturally flaming sword requires a valuable ruby to be placed on the hilt.

* The CCG [[The Moral Substitute|Redemption]] features a giant flaming sword on the back side of the cards.

 

 

== Toys ==

** Reused a few times down the line - Hordika Vakama's swords get special mention for having flamethrower nozzles worked into the design.

** Jaller Inika's Enegerized Flame Swords and Ackar's Flame Sword.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The weapon of Sword Man (which Mega Man can [[Power Copying|acquire]]) in ''[[Mega Man 8]]'' is called the Flame Sword. Or "Flame Suword".

* ''[[Phantasy Star]] Universe'' has the Crimson, an S-rank saber that glows red and is constantly on fire. There's also a Twin Saber version called the "Two-Headed Ragnus." Unfortunately, while they look badass, their damage output isn't that great compared to [[Katanas Are Just Better|other S-ranks in the same category.]]

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass]]'', if you return 10 Power Gems to the spring at Spirit Island, and equip the Fairy of Power, Link's sword becomes coated in flames. Ten more and they burn hotter.

* Combining the Cutter and Fire powers in ''[[Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards]]'' resulted in a flaming sword that is about [[BFS|twice his size]].

** Later in the series, it's revealed that the Hylden champion is supposed to wield a flaming sword. Raziel takes this to mean that he is the Hylden champion, because the Wraith Blade quite resembles a flaming sword.

* ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo II]]'' featured the Archangel Tyrael, who used a sword that burned with holy flames, before Baal wrestles it away.

*** Not that a sorceress's weapon actually appears to flame; it just turns bright red. Incidentally, there's actually unused flaming sword animations for the Paladin in the game files. And it does look as cheesy as one would imagine.

* ''[[Parasite Eve II|Parasite Eve 2]]'''s [[Big Bad]], [[One-Letter Name|No. 9]], wields one of these in the first boss battle, before ditching it in favor of a [[Swiss Army Weapon|gunblade]] in subsequent appearances.

* Enchanting weapons with elemental properties has been a staple of ''[[Mana (series)|World of Mana]]''. In ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'', Duran's dark-aligned classes all specialize in such magic, as does Carlie's light-aligned classes. Two of Kevin's classes possess similar spells, which don't enhance a weapon's damage with an element, but instead add HP or MP draining effects.

* In the doujin fighting game ''[[Eternal Fighter Zero]]'', Mishio Amano's fighting style involves enchanting her spear with fire or lightning to access different movesets.

** Durandal, the S-ranked sword in ''Sword of Seals'' and Eliwood's preferred weapon at the end of ''Blazing Blade'', is known as the Blazing Blade; however, [[Non-Indicative Name|it isn't a flaming sword.]]

** It's also one of three long range swords in the fourth and fifth game. It's also the weapon the [[Crutch Character]] in the fifth game starts out with.

* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'', Fire Melee and Fire Manipulation give the player access to swords literally [[Incendiary Exponent|made of fire]].

* Elemental effects are a large part of the ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' games. Sol Badguy actually wields a sword that has no sharp edge or point but is a great vessel for his fire magic, and French cop Ky Kiske has a regular sword charged with lightning magic.

** You can also enchant your own flaming swords, and a couple come up in the games themselves. The Sword of the Crusader, in the ''Knights of the Nine'' expansion to ''Oblivion'', may be the most prominent. Like the sword in ''Tribunal'', you first need to recover it as an ordinary sword, and in this case reconsecrate it to the gods before it will light on fire for you.

* You can snag one of these pretty early in ''[[Ultima IX]]''. As with all good flaming swords, it doubles as a handy torch in the dark.

* ''[[Nethack]]'' has a couple which seem to fit the bill; Fire Brand (which is actually pretty rubbish - it's cold counterpart, Frost Brand, is ''far'' more useful) and Sunsword (which is more for dealing with undead, but at least it doubles as a torch).

** In addition to the previously mentioned Swords, A [[Cosmic Keystone]] in the game is also one and can shift into 3 different types and helps channel magic as well.

** However, some of the entries also have flaming swords, whether it's the Firebrand or the Flamberge, or something else entirely.

* Throughout the ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' series, Swordy Two enemies have flaming swords and Swordy Three enemies have ice swords. You, [[Power Copying|of course]], ''also'' have fire and ice swords once you've beaten them.

*** Quite possibly. Lloyd's father Dirk forges the companion to Flamberge, the Vorpal Sword, both of which Lloyd uses as the Material Blades. And since Symphonia is supposed to be a prequel to Phantasia...

*** They are one and the same. The Eternal Sword was originally {{spoiler|a separate sword from the Material Blades, but when Lloyd becomes the new owner of the sword, it splits its essence between the Flamberge and the Vorpal Sword, because Lloyd is a dual-swords user.}}

* [[Name's the Same|The]] ''[[Name's the Same|other]]'' [[Name's the Same|Kratos]] from ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' has the Blades of Chaos, [[Dual-Wielding|two short swords]] on the end of [[Variable-Length Chain|variable length chains]] that light on fire when he attacks with them but cool down when he hangs them from his back.

* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'': To start off, there's the ''flaming cardboard sword'', where even the narrator [[Fridge Logic|wonders why it doesn't crumble to a crisp]]. There's also the icy-hot katana, along the same lines as the Sword of Fire and Ice mentioned for ''Magic: the Gathering''.

* In ''[[Devil May Cry]]'', Dante fights with flaming gauntlets. In DMC3, he uses a flaming sword called Agni, earlier wielded by a boss and also fights demons with flaming scythes.

** Agni ''is'' the boss. It's a talking sword controlling a body. Dante just asked it to shut up, although it'll sometimes start yelling in longer combos.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' - You can have an enchanter put a spell on your melee weapons, which some of these give your weapon a certain glow, whether it be on fire, blue for an icy death, or even green.

** Also, Shaman have a weapon buff which causes a small ball of fire to orbit their weapon and cause fire damage each time they strike.

** The [http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tm.asp?m=6291824 ReignBringer] in ''[[Adventure Quest]]'', another of [[Artix Entertainment]]'s games, definitely fits the bill, it being the most famous of all the fire swords of the various games.

* In ''[[Persona 3]]'', it's possible to obtain Surt's flaming sword as a weapon for the main character and Junpei.

* One of the swords in ''[[Ōkami|Okami]]'' looks like it's on fire, as well as being red and orange.

* This is a common weapon in the ''[[Ys]]'' series. In most games, it's either the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] or close to it.

* The old arcade game ''[[Rastan]]'' had this as a weapon you could obtain. It would shoot fireballs when swung.

** When any fire-weapon is equipped, Sagi's held weapon leaves a red-orange trail behind it, and the blade appears to burn

* The ''[[Dragon Age]] Origins'' Flaming Weapons spell isn't as useful as similar weapon enchants, but it can give you a flaming warhound.

* ''[[SaGa Frontier 2]]'': The Firebrand, Finney Kingdom's sacred treasure. Any potential king of Finney undergoes a [[Rite of Passage]] where they hold it up in the air and, if it generates flames, proves their worth as a ruler. Unfortunately for Gustave XIII, nothing happens...

* In ''[[Dark Souls]]'' one is used by {{spoiler|Gwyn, Lord of Cinder}}. If you use his soul in a weapon ascension, you can make a non-flaming version.

* In ''[[Drakan]]'', one of the pickup weapons Rynn can use is this. Not only does it set its victims on fire when it hits, it even doubles as a torch for illuminating dark places. As a bonus, the first one Rynn gets to pick up has an alternate attack that creates an expanding ring of fire that burns everything around her. Unlike most swords of this type, the one in this game is [[Breakable Weapons|not so durable]].

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* The Torchmen from ''[[Girl Genius]]''. Not only are their swords on fire, [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080730 their entire bodies are on fire].

** [[HSQ|Whoa]]. It's an [[Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie|ARMY of]] [[Steampunk|CLOCKWORK]] [[The Lord of the Rings|BALROGS]] [[Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie|controlled by a]] [[Mad Scientist]]'S [[Genius Loci|SENTIENT CASTLE]] [[Rule of Cool|attacking a]] [[Zeppelins from Another World]] [[Floating Continent|the SIZE of a CITY]].

* Red Cat in Triquetra Cats being a fire mage duel wields two of these

* ''[[Axe Cop]]'''s Fire Slicer has a magic (non-burning) sword that changes to a burning stick as it cuts the enemy.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] commented that the shuriken-and-lightning gun in ''[[Painkiller]]'' "could only be more awesome if it had tits and was on fire."

* Dr. Clef's proposal for [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-001 SCP-001] from the ''[[SCP Foundation]]'' is apparently ''the'' guardian of Eden, complete with one of these that can strike in multiple directions at once, regardless of distance.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* In ''[[Static Shock]]'', pyrokinetic metahuman villain Hot Streak attempted to use such a weapon, but was defeated before it got to see any action.

* The Dinobots in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' all have flaming weapons. Grimlock has the traditional sword, but Snarl has a flaming ''[[Drop the Hammer|club]]'', and Swoop has a flaming ''[[Epic Flail|flail]]''.

** A one shot bad guy used a whip that he set on fire.

* In ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', the Delightful Children From Down the Lane take this trope to the next level by using a giant mech sporting a pair of giant flaming ''[[Chainsaw Good|chainsaws]]''.

* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode, "Marge Gamer" used by Bart's MMORPG character.

* The Sun Sword on ''[[Thundarr the Barbarian]]'' is arguably part-way between a [[Laser Blade]] and a sword made of fire.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* You wish.

* [http://mattthesamurai.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Sword-Moves-156266698 Step aside, haters.]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mHcP9zwPg we're sorry, we can't hear you over the sheer awesomeness.]

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Rule of Cool]]

[[Category:This Index Is On Fire]]

[[Category:Biblical Motifs]]