Heroes Prefer Swords: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:rsz_59675_3128.jpg|link=Cracked.com|frame| Even [[Emergency Services|urban heroes]] prefer them.]]

{{quote|''I'm pretty sure I'll be the main character. The people with swords usually are.''|'''[[Luke Nounverber|Lance Swordfighter]]''', ''[http://www.goldcoincomics.com Gold Coin Comics]''}}

For whatever reason, dissidents seem to cluster around firearms (and the modern sword, [[Handguns]], in particular) and fighting barehanded. In fact, this trope is so widespread that it's probably more efficient to list examples that play with this.

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* The Belmonts of ''[[Castlevania]]'' all use the same whip, the Vampire Killer, to battle Dracula. When it's a hero that isn't a Belmont, he usually has other types of weapons available, not just swords. Played relatively straight with Alucard, though, since he specializes in swords (though some of the things he wields are swords by a very loose definition).

* Ark, the protagonist and only playable character of ''[[Terranigma]]'' exclusively uses spears, staffs, and similar weapons, though several other characters use swords.

* ''Averted'' in ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]''. Yes, Wander has a [[Cool Sword]]. He is probably the only main protagonist owner of a [[Cool Sword]] in video game history to have, judging by his animations with it, not an everlovin' ''clue'' what to do with a sword beyond "pointy end goes into the thing I want dead." The weapon he ''prefers'' is his [[The Archer|bow]], as one can tell by the fact that he can do feats with it that would make [[Lord of the Rings|Legolas]] stare.

* Two of the three playable heroes in the original ''[[Golden Axe]]'' use swords, but Gilius Thunderhead used an axe, because [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same]]. About half the villain [[Mooks]] use distinctively non-sword weapons, including [[Big Bad]] Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.

* Inverted in ''[[Clive Barker's Jericho]]'', as the heroic protagonists carried rifles. The sword-wielder was an [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroic]] [[Combat Pragmatist]], who relied on stealth and [[Blood Magic]].

* In [[Team Fortress 2]], the nine main classes each had a melee weapon suited to them. Oddly, none had swords when the game launched, the closes being the Spy's knife, Sniper's Kukri, and Medic's Bonesaw. Later on, the Demoman and Soldier both got access to true swords, at first a pair of Claymores, and later on a [[Katanas Are Just Better|Katana]]

* ''[[Guild Wars]]''

** Of the ten professions in , only Warriors have any sword-based attributes or skills -- and even then, they can be just as good with [[An Axe to Grind|axes]] or [[Drop the Hammer|hammers]]. Swords have a more reliable (if lower) damage range and better defensive options than the other Warrior melee weapons, but that's pretty much it. And no, the [[Katanas Are Just Better|katanas aren't any better]].

* Frantz and Angela from ''[[Rusty Hearts]]'', though they get [[An Axe to Grind|axes]] and [[Sinister Scythe|scythes]] respectively as secondary weapons.

* Klonoa in ''[[Klonoa|Klona Heroes: Legendary Star Medal]]'' starts out wielding a magic ring that shoots wind bullets (which is his usual default, if not only, weapon in the series), but quickly acquires the "[[Laser Blade|wind sword]]" which is featured prominently in the box art and commercials. These are only two of his six weapon types, though; his others include [[Drop the Hammer|a (sensibly sized) hammer]], a [[Parasol of Pain|beam umbrella]], a boomerang, and an [[Arm Cannon]] that shoots bombs.

* In ''[[Mega Man X]] 6'', X actually has a Z-Sabre from the start of the game in addition to his usual X-Buster. The sword itself is of middling usefulness, however, as it simply doesn't have the speed or power you'd see Zero using it with. Both of the armors featured in X6 emphasize X's sword usage, though.

* Mario, in the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' [[RPG|RPGs]]. Since they aren't traditional RPG settings, Mario uses variations of his [[Goomba Stomp]] and hammer attacks.

* Senel of ''[[Tales of Legendia]]'' fights with his fists, making him the only main character in the ''Tales'' series to dodge this trope.

* [[Mass Effect 3]] gives us the Omniblade, an extension of the Omnitool technology modified for close quarter combat. Sentinels are able to dual-wield, Infiltrators have an electrified version, while Engineers get one ''on fire''. Its as ''awesome'' as it sounds.

* Prince Ephraim in ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones|The Sacred Stones]]'' uses lances, and the main character Micaiah of ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem Tellius|Radiant Dawn]]'' uses light magic. However, both these characters (as well as axe user Hector from ''Blazing Sword'', who isn't the main character, but comes close) share the limelight with other characters who ''do'' primarily use swords.

** Also, two temporary main characters from ''Radiant Dawn'' use lances.

* Averted in [[Resonance of Fate]] marketed itself as a Steampunk flavoured game with lots of guns. The heroes weren't limited to guns, though. They can still fight with grenades or fists - just no swords for them.

* In ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'', most of the cast uses a variety of realistic to fanciful guns. The only major exception is the villain, Creed, who channels Sephiroth's appearance almost completely, including a very similar sword.

* In the second season of [[Neo Angelique]], Angie, the main character, gets sick and tired of being a burden to her [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys|friends]], learns to use a rapier. Whether this counts as [[Took a Level In Badass]] or not, is up to us.

* Averted hard in issue 4 of ''Jennifer Blood'', in which the eponymous antihero easily dispatches three ninja assassins by shooting them. When questioning the leader of the ninja, she actually says how ridiculous it is to be using a katana in an age of automatic firearms. She then pretends to let the ninja leader go, but then decapitates her with her own katana as she (the ninja leader) turns to leave. She then says that she actually is impressed that the sword could take a person's head off with a single blow, but that it's still silly to use one in modern times.

* [[Star Wars a New Hope|Han Solo]] believes that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side. This helps establish him as [[The Lancer]] and Luke [[The Hero]].

* For the final duel between Brian de Bois-Guilbert and Wilfred of ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' in the 1952 movie adaptation, both are given their choice of weapon. Neither man chooses a sword for this fight; instead, Bois-Guilbert picks a morning star and Ivanhoe a battle axe (both of which are realistically better choices than a sword against a heavily armoured opponent).

* [[Badass Bookworm|Dr. James Zanasiu]] of ''[[Darwin's Soldiers]]'' wields a full sized Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun. Granted, the time frame is [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]].

* Literary exception: In the ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series by Stephen King, guns are the most respected weapons in the world, and gunslingers -- who once composed a knight-like class before their country's destruction -- are generally honoured far above normal men. However, this is at least partly because guns are so rare. Interestingly, {{spoiler|the main character is a distant descendant of his world's version of King Arthur, and his guns were made using the melted-down metal of that world's Excalibur}}.

* Averted with ancient Indian mythology, where the standard heroic weapon is the bow. In ''[[Ramayana|The Ramayana]]'', both Rama ([[The Hero]]) and his brother Lakshmana ([[The Lancer]]) are archers. Ditto Arjuna of ''[[The Mahabharata]]'' (famous in the west for his role in ''[[Bhagavad Gita|The Bhagavad Gita]]'').

* ''[[The Iliad]]'' portrays the heroes prefering their spears and resorting to their swords only as backup. Several heroes are better known for their archery than hand-to-hand fighting.

* Justified in ''[[Andromeda]]'', Dylan Hunt is challenged to a duel with ancient weaponry. His opponent picks a sword, saying that he always considered himself a swordsman. Hunt answers that "People who can't fight always do" and picks a spear. Hunt's favored weapon is the [[Boom Stick|force-lance]], which resembles a spear enough in shape for the same close-combat techniques to be useful.

* While ''[[Super Sentai]]'' (and by extension, ''[[Power Rangers]]'') generally play the trope straight (with the Red hero getting a sword), exceptions do exist such as ''[[Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]'', where it's [[The Lancer]] who gets the sword (and [[The Hero]] gets a [[Power Fist]]/[[BFG]]), or ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'' gives no one a sword as a personal weapon and Red gets a [[Blade on a Stick]]. It must be noted, however, that swords are a very common Sentai sidearm.

* Justified in ''[[In Nomine]]'', where swords routinely outperform guns in combat, to where a blade-wielder with sufficient Strength and skill can be deadlier than an M-16. Angels and demons often prefer to pack a blade, especially if it can be a [[Flaming Sword]]. Some angels even have the ability to sheathe a sword [[Hyperspace Arsenal|in thin air]] until it's needed.

* On most [[True Companions|Toa teams]] in ''[[Bionicle]]'', [[The Captain|the leader]] will have a sword. Usually a [[BFS|big]], [[Flaming Sword|flaming one]].

* [[MAG ISA]] -- [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119833 Eman] and [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119733 Claudita] are the protagonists and they prefer these weapons.

* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', John Egbert wields hammers, if only because they were the first weapon he could find. (And due to the video-game like system the universe uses, it's difficult for him to change his [[Weapon of Choice]] once he chooses it.)

* In [[Order of the Stick]] Roy Greenhilt, the party leader uses a sword.

* Subversion in ''[[Re Boot]]''. During the show's RPG parody, Bob is not content to play as a thief and wants to take Mike's sword. Bob's hand passes right through the handle and he gets frustrated about being stuck in his role.

* This trope may stem from the fact that in ancient times, swords were seen as weapons almost exclusive to the nobility, knights and warrior kings. Poorer soldiers would use axes, bows, or spears, whatever was more useful at the moment. The reason that the sword came to be known as a weapon of nobles is because it's one of the only "archtypical" ancient weapons that is only useful for waging war. In times of peace, an ax is useful for chopping trees. A spear is useful for hunting, and so is a bow. Back then, when most people had to spend the vast majority of their time and effort merely gathering enough food to stay alive, only nobles were rich enough to consider buying a tool which is only useful during a war.

** Paradoxally, sword is always the ''sidearm'', never the primary weapon. Even knights used lances while mounted and poleaxes while on foot. The sword comes really on its own in confined spaces or when the melee breaks down into a confused mess of duels.