Public Domain Artifact: Difference between revisions
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Thus goes the apparent thought process of using the [[Public Domain Artifact]] -- a famous, usually completely mythical, conveniently uncopyrighted, yet instantaneously recognizable item from the realms of history, literature, or legend (if not all three).
This is not to say that such items can't be included in a perfectly entertaining and even unique plot, but its variations certainly do crop up frequently, in almost every genre -- comedy, drama, science fiction, fantasy -- and pretty much every culture from East to West. Some cultures have favorite items to use (Holy Grail for the West, for instance, the Ame-No-Murakumo for Japan, etc.), however with increasing globalization and influence of international works on the domestic and vice versa, this has been somewhat diluted in recent years, with shows like say, ''[[
It can be a weapon, a [[MacGuffin]], or hell, maybe both if it's a [[Artifact of Doom|mystical doomsday device]]. Sometimes the trope crops up as [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum]] (seen often, for example, in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''), sometimes it's a mystical object, and occasionally it's [[Magitek|both]]. Sometimes startling revelations are to be had about the object, sometimes it's straight out of the legends, heck, maybe it's even reconstructed from the original's spare parts. Regardless of its distinguishing features in the story, though, what makes a [[Public Domain Artifact]] worthy of the name is its basis on stories of the past -- the collective myths of man, with all their familiar symbols.
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There's about a one-in-three chance that [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] either [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|had it or was searching for it]]. As the book ''Angels of Light and Darkness'' put it, "If Hitler had half of what they say he had, he would have won the war."
In modern series, many of these items are made of low-grade [[Unobtainium]], especially if [[Doing in
If weapons, they are almost certainly [[Named Weapons]] and [[Stock Weapon Names]]. See also [[Stock Unsolved Mysteries]].
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=== The Magic Lamp/Bottle ===
[[Genie in
==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* The country of Chizeta in ''[[
==== [[Literature]] ====
* Also seen in [[Patricia C. Wrede]]'s ''Dealing With Dragons'', albeit comedically.
* The magic teapot in the book ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (Literature)]]''
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* ''[[
==== [[Tabletop RPG]] ====
* ''[[
* ''[[Magic:
==== [[Video Games]] ====
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==== [[Web Comics]] ====
* ''[[
== British and Irish ==
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=== Excalibur ===
[[Excalibur]] is the prototypical "special sword". It may be called "The Sword In The Stone" which often has purists in a tiff; sometimes Excalibur and the Sword In The Stone are different swords, [[Excalibur in
==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* [[Bludgeoning Angel
* In ''[[Fate/stay
** It's shown quite early in the story that Servant Lancer uses the cursed spear Gae Bolg, immediately revealing his true identity -- the Irish hero Cuchulainn. Many other Servants have ways to keep their Noble Phantasms hidden (Saber's wind barrier around her sword which renders it invisible, for one) in order to hide their true identities.
* In ''[[
* This is subverted in ''[[
* Used in ''[[Witchblade (
* [[Soul Eater
* Excalibur is actually the name of the Sword Impulse Gundam's Anti-Ship Swords in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''. Interestingly, this was used by Shiin Asuka back when he was still the main hero.
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* [[Marvel Comics]] has had entire stand-alone comic series named after [[Excalibur (Comic Book)|Excalibur]], about several UK-based teams of mutants. ''New Excalibur'', the characters even come in contact with the real deal when they travel back to Arthurian times.
** The current wielder of the sword is Dr. Faiza Hussain, a doctor of the Muslim faith with the strange mutant ability to pretty much dissect anyone non-magical to heal them! How did she find out? Randomly grabbing it to try to arm the Black Knight.
* Excalibur and the [[Excalibur in
==== [[Literature]] ====
* ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series is set [[After the End]] of a parallel Earth, where "Arthur Eld" is the semi-mythical forebearer of a caste of knightly gunslingers, and who wielded a sword named Excalibur that he retrieved from a pyramid. Roland wields a pair of antique six-shooters said to have been forged from the shattered remnants of Excalibur -- the barrels from the blade, the handles from its hilt.
* In ''[[
* Unsurprisingly, Excalibur puts in an appearance in Peter David's ''Knight Life'' trilogy (King Arthur in the modern world). Its origin and nature turn out a bit more ... complicated than usual. {{spoiler|The sword itself has no magic; the horn of the Unicorn King, concealed in the hilt, is a different story.}}
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* In ''[[Charmed]],'' Excalibur actually is a super magical sword that can only be controlled by the most powerful magical being around. (Makes one wonder what Merlin was doing.) Anyone less magical who wields the sword would turn evil. In fact, the Lady of the Lake stayed in the lake to defuse the sword's power, allowing her to stay in control.
* Inevitably, Excalibur ends up on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', what's interesting is that so far it hasn't been ''identified'' as Excalibur. Merlin has had it forged in dragon's fire, watched it defeat a wraith, thrown it in the lake, ''retrieved'' it from the lake, used it to kill an undead army, and stashed it safely in a stone, but for the most part just thinks it's a really neat sword.
* [[Stargate SG-1]] features both Excalibur and another sword in a stone, both as part of the Murden (Merlin) subplot of the Ori arc.
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* In a couple of the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games, Gilgamesh roams the land seeking Excalibur, but often winds up getting stuck with (and occasionally dropping) a 1 damage-dealing counterfeit known as "Excalipoor". When available as a summon, however, Gilgamesh tends to include the real Excalibur as part of his effect roulette.
* Excalibur and the rest of the Arthurian myth is the backdrop for ''[[Tomb Raider]] Legend''. Only the sword is MUCH older than Arthur and several other ancient cultures and actually serves as a key to open a portal to Avalon. And in ''Underworld'' it is discovered that Avalon {{spoiler|isn't the paradise the myths claim it to be, containing pools of Eitr which turns anything it touches to a soulless zombie}}, which includes {{spoiler|Lara's mother}}.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* Excalibur and Caliburn are one and the same in the [[Sonic Storybook Series]] game ''Sonic and the Black Knight''. Caliburn is his natural form and, through the power of three other swords and Sonic's own awesome willpower, becomes Excalibur. This also counts as one of Sonic's transformed states as he gains gold armor through it. {{spoiler|He's also revealed to be King Arthur, too...}}
* Excalibur is a name of a sword found in ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow
* The French translations of [[The Legend of Zelda]] have translated the "Master Sword"'s name as Excalibur.
* You get this sword by supporting the English forces in Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War.
==== Webcomics ====
* In ''[[
==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* ''[[
=== Durandal ===
Durandal -- Sword of the Hero Roland, knight of Charlemagne, as well as Hector of Troy. Supposedly he threw it into a "poisoned stream" in order to protect it from the Saracens; this seems to have occasionally given it a "Darkness" element in fiction and games. It could also be associated with evil or [[Marathon
=== Literature ===
* ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', [[Trope Maker|naturally]].
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
* The holy sword ''Esperacchius'' in ''[[
=== [[Live Action TV]] ===
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=== [[Video Games]] ===
* In ''[[Marathon
* In ''[[Fire Emblem]]'''s [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Elibe canon]], Durandal is the [[BFS|absolutely enormous]] sword used by the legendary hero Roland in the Scouring. In 6 it serves as the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] and can be used by any sufficiently skilled swordsman, while in 7 it's a [[Sword of Plot Advancement]] usable by [[The Hero|Eliwood]] in the final battle.
* Durandal gets a brief mention in ''[[Fate/stay
* ''[[
** In ''[[
* In ''[[Front Mission]] 4'', the research company the heroes work for is called Durandal.
* In [[SaGa 3]] one of the Mystic Swords that can harm the Masters is Durend.
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=== Aro(u)ndight ===
Aro[[Spell My Name
==== Anime and Manga ====
* {{spoiler|Servant Berserker}} from ''[[Fate
* Arondight is the name of the Destiny Gundam's Anti-Ship Sword in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''. Like how Excalibur belonged to Shiin Asuka when he was the hero, when he was shunted into antagonist mode by Kira Yamato's return, he was given this to hammer in that fact.
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* [[Spell My Name
* Appears, appropriately enough, in the Arthurian-themed ''[[Sonic Storybook Series|Sonic and the Black Knight]]''.
* In ''[[Fire Emblem]]'''s [[Fire Emblem Tellius
=== Other Swords ===
Less frequently, you will see other legendary Western swords such as Cortana (which actually exists as part of the Regalia of Great Britain), or Joyeuse. They do show up in ''[[Castlevania]]: Symphony Of The Night'' and all the portable 2D Castlevanias that follow it. You can find a huge amount of named armor, swords and artifacts -- from Joyeuse to the Masamune to Death's Scythe. The most powerful sword in ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow
==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* ''[[Fate/stay
** Taking it even further than that is the character [[The Epic of Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh]], whose ability is basically that he owns the originals of [[Superpower Lottery|every]] [[Public Domain Artifact]] ever.
** Of course, Gilgamesh himself is a [[Public Domain Character]].
* The Knight Leader from ''[[
==== [[Myth and Legend]] ====
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* In ''[[
==== [[Film]] ====
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==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* A structure resembling Stonehenge appears in an episode of ''[[
* An episode of ''[[
* ''[[
=== The Seven League Boots ===
The Seven League Boots, from English lore. [[Exactly What It Says
==== [[Comic Books]] ====
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==== [[Literature]] ====
* Known on the [[
* Worn by the Mercenary in ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]''.
* [[Isaac Asimov]] calculated that you could probably run around some of the other planets in our solar system and back again, just by holding your breath in outer space and wearing a pair of Seven League Boots. Also, you'd leave Earth's atmosphere in three steps if you walked in a tangent line, making them a severe case of [[Blessed
* Elizabeth Bear had Christopher Marlowe enchant some regular boots into seven league boots in ''Whiskey & Water''.
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==== [[Literature]] ====
* The first ''[[Harry Potter (
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* Appears in an episode of ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'', in which it bore a striking resemblance to "the guy from ''[[Film/Bosom Buddies|Bosom Buddies]]'' who wasn't [[Tom Hanks]]" (ironically, the wacky scientist/dad doesn't see it despite being played by that guy). It apparently grants wishes, as long as your wish can be misconstrued as "turn everything I touch into the substance I just mentioned." The climax of the episode has a guy who turns stuff to stone fighting a guy who turns stuff to cheese.
==== [[Western Animation]] ====
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==== [[Literature]] ====
* [[Terry Pratchett]] spoofed Ponce de Leon in ''[[
* Who says the fountain of Youth can't be elsewhere? There are hand-wavium FoYs in [[John Varley]]'s [[Gaea Trilogy]], ''Titan'', ''Wizard'' and ''Demon''. I can't remember off hand which book they are in.
** The fountains are in Demon
* The Fountain appears memorably in [[Tim Powers]]' ''On Stranger Tides''.
* The novel ''Tuck Everlasting''.
* [[
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* In ''[[Charmed]]'' The Fountain of Youth was like a normal fountain in a city only underground and could be accessed using a magical grail. It was located in San Francisco in a cave.
* In season seven of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', Daniel goes searching for the Fountain of Youth, or, more specifically, a powerful [[Precursors|Ancient]] healing device capable of, besides healing, reviving the dead and extending life. Its effects came to anyone who was near it when it was on. It was hidden in a temple near a waterfall, thus originating the "Fountain of Youth" myth.
* In ''[[Power Rangers
==== [[Tabletop RPG]] ====
* An artifact card in the ''[[Magic:
==== [[Video Games]] ====
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==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* Appears in an episode of ''[[
* This was the objective in a ''[[Codename
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==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* The Lost City of Atlantis itself, as seen in ''[[
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' had several depictions of Atlantis over the years: one was in the Second Doctor serial ''The Underwater Menace'', and the other was the Third Doctor serial ''The Time Monster''.
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'' is about the titular character searching for Atlantis before the Nazis can find it and use its secrets. Indy makes use of various Atlantean artifacts powered by beads of [[Orichalcum]]. Naturally, orichalcum originally comes from Atlantis.
* ''[[
* [[Eternal Champions
==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* ''[[Atlantis:
* Name-checked in ''[[
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* In ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
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==== [[Film]] ====
* And as the final goal of the second ''[[Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
==== Literature ====
* In ''[[Percy Jackson
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
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==== [[Video Games]] ====
* Opening Pandora's Box is what triggered the ongoing Age of Heroes in ''[[City of Heroes]]''' backstory.
* It also played a huge role in the mythology-themed ''[[God of War (
==== [[Web Original]] ====
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==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* An episode of ''[[
* The Box Ghost gets his [[Day in The Limelight]] with this in [[Danny Phantom]].
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==== [[Literature]] ====
* The Golden Fleece is actively used in the ''[[Percy Jackson
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* You require Golden Fleece to make a magic harp in the MMORPG ''[[Runescape]]''
* You can pick this up from Jason in ''[[God of War (
* In ''[[Fate/stay
* In the ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' series, the Golden Fleece is an artifact left behind by [[Precursors|Those Who came Before]], and is also known as the Shroud of Turin. It is advanced technology with incredible healing abilities and the power to temporarily animate the dead.
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* The titular ''[[
* ''[[Ghost in
* The necklace used to give ''[[
** Additionally, in the third [[The Movie|movie]], ''Swords of an Honorable Ruler,'' some comedy is generated by Kagome's grandfather's misreading of the kanji on the sheath of the evil [[Empathic Weapon]] Sou'unga, which causes him to believe that it is the real Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
** [[
* ''[[
* Orochimaru of ''[[
* In ''[[
* In the ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' series, two of Orb's great weapons are named after the mystical weapons: the space battleship ''Kusanagi'' and the anti-beam reflecting armor ''Yata no Kagami''.
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==== Literature ====
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
* In ''[[
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* The Regalia are especially popular in Japanese video games, also forming the second set of [[Plot Coupon|Plot Coupons]] in ''[[Baten Kaitos]]: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'', and also show up in ''[[
* In ''[[Dark Cloud
* Though the artifacts themselves don't appear, certain characters from ''[[
* As you would expect for a game starring Amaterasu, ''[[
** More interesting still, the first and final swords you receive are won by defeating Orochi. And the two most powerful Rosaries look like ''Yasakani no Magatama''.
** Also note, this is one of the rare examples where ''all'' the blades are double-edged straight swords (albeit a lot larger and wider than average) that match the "ancient (read:pre-katana) Japan" aesthetic.
* The Magatama is used extensively in the ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
* The sword, mirror, and "proof of royalty" in ''[[Ruin Explorers]]''.
* In the game ''Saga Frontier'', these three items (a sword, shield, and necklace respectively) can be found in Sei's Tomb in Shrike. Players can choose to keep these items, which are medium-powerful in their own right, or put them on particular pedestals to open the way to the undead King Sei (who promptly attacks the grave-robbers.)
* Another notable example occurs in the first two ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' games, in which they are called the "Majinki" (meaning "Demon God Weapons"). They can grant whoever uses them the power of a god . . . or a demon. They are stolen and used by the [[Big Bad]] in the first game, and are destroyed in the second game to prevent the second game's [[Big Bad]] from doing likewise.
** they also allow someone from the Shinguji bloodline to banish the Kouma Demons at te cost of their life... which also plays into Oogami's decision to destroy them, as Sakura does consider their use... like her father did in the first war.
* The Blue Moon Crystal in ''[[
* [[Touhou
** Also [[The One Guy|Rinnosuke]] owns the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, according to the ''Curiosities of Lotus Asia'' stories. (He got it from Marisa, who'd unknowingly found it as a kid and kept it in a pile of scrap metal.)
* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' the [http://www.wowpedia.org/Grasscutter Grasscutter] is yours for only 60 Badges of Heroism! (note: it's an off-hand weapon)
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* In the Zanpakutou Unknown Tales filler arc of the ''[[
* ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
* Katana, from [[Batman and
* In ''[[Wolverine]]'', the Muramasa Blade is a magical/cursed blade which cancels out advanced healing factors, like Wolverine's. In addition to being freakishly sharp. Needless to say, this is a major item in the Marvel Universe, and has been used to decapitate at least one character.
==== [[Film]] ====
* The first ''[[
{{quote| '''Ramirez:''' Macleod, I was born 3,947 years ago. In that time, I've had three wives. The last was Shakiko, a Japanese princess, in 543 A.D. Her father, Masamune, a genius, made this for me. It is the only one of its kind. Like she was. [[Mayfly-December Romance|When Shakiko died, I was shattered.]] [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|I would spare you that pain.]]}}
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series includes swords with each name.
* ''[[
* Several ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games have swords by this name (Auron's ultimate weapon comes to mind); however, the most (in)famous example is certainly [[Final Fantasy VII
** One of [[Final Fantasy IX
* The Muramasa is the name of the sword occasionally found in barrels and such in ''[[Final Fight]]''. Sodom wields swords called "Muramasa" and "Masamune".
* In ''[[
* The Muramasa is featured in ''[[
* ''[[Muramasa:
* Two "two-handed-sword" class weapons named Muramasa and Masamune are found in ''[[Ragnarok Online]]''. The former raises its user's critical rate, but has a chance to [[Standard Status Effects|curse]] its user, and the latter is more powerful and raises dodge rate, but reduces its user's defence to 1/3.
* ''[[Soul Series|Soul Calibur III]]'' at least has an unlockable weapon for Japanese Ronin Mitsurugi: the Masamune.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Mabinogi (
* ''[[Nethack]]'' features the Tsurugi of Muramasa as the Samurai's quest artifact. Advantages include a chance to [[One-Hit Kill]] anything up to about human-sized via [[Half the Man He Used To Be|bisection]] (if that chance comes up against anything larger, like a dragon, it'll do double damage instead). Its main disadvantage is that it's two-handed, which can be bad news if it gets [[Clingy MacGuffin|cursed]].
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* In ''[[
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* ''[[
** In one of [[The Movie|The Movies]], villains are regathering the five treasures and [[Inuyasha]] gets involved when they try to steal his robe.
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==== [[Video Games]] ====
* In ''[[
** ''Hourai'' is mentioned quite a few times in ''Touhou'':
*** The elixir of immortality, formally the Hourai Elixir, is an accursed [[MacGuffin]] from the back story of the Lunarian residents. Its creation and consumption was the catalyst of Kaguya's exile.
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* Let's not even get started on [[Nasuverse|Kinoko Nasu's]] ''[[Fate/stay
** Though at least in the [[Nasuverse]], it's explicitly stated that there are dozens of artifacts which claim to be the Holy Grail, and that whether that particular one had anything to do with Jesus is irrelevant considering its power. Turns out {{spoiler|it was made from scratch in the 1800s}}.
* As previously mentioned in ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
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==== [[Film]] ====
* In the ''[[Indiana Jones and
==== [[Literature]] ====
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* In ''The Forever King'' by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy, the Grail is a cup fashioned out of a stone that fell from the heavens, many years before the birth of Christ. Its association with Jesus is only coincidental, and He is not the source of its powers (nor, though the villain initially smugly assumes so, is it the source of His).
* Spoofed in ''Grailblazers'' by [[Tom Holt]], where the Grail is a bowl that was used at the Last Supper, which was miraculously transformed into Tupperware.
* Inverted in the second ''[[Nightside]]'' book by [[Simon R. Green]] with the [[MacGuffin]] being the ''Unholy'' Grail -- the cup Judas drank from. [[Fridge Logic|Which... was the same cup.]]
** No, it wasn't the same cup. {{spoiler|It did ''stop'' being Unholy at the end of the novel, when it's used to perform a communion ceremony, but after that it's just a regular antique cup.}}
* This comes up in Peter David's ''Knight Life'' trilogy - the Grail is still in the keeping of Percival, the knight tasked with finding it. {{spoiler|Turns out it's magical from catching the blood of the Unicorn King, back when Merlin was a young man. It became linked up with Jesus when he drank from it.}}
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==== [[Video Games]] ====
* [[Romancing
* The Holy Grail in [[Treasure of the Rudra]] is a sealing receptacle which holds a netherworld spirit in it. It's considered "Holy" since it repels monsters.
==== [[Web Comics]] ====
* In ''[[
=== Fragments of the True Cross ===
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* In the ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
* [[Doctor Doom]] was revealed to have splinters of the True Cross in his armour in a recent Captain Britain and the Mi13 series. Just in [[Crazy Prepared|case]] he'd run into [[Dracula]] one day.
* In the continuity of [[
==== [[Literature]] ====
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==== [[Web Comic]] ====
* The webcomic ''Clan Of The Cats'' has a stake made from the True Cross as the only way to permanently kill [[Dracula]]. Which is, admittedly, a pretty good way.
* The webcomic ''[[
==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (
* Guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf from the band Dethklok from ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' explains that one of the guitars he designed and created is made of the one True Cross, and bassist William Murderface notes that they'll probably get letters from offended religious fanatics, which causes Skwisgaar to quip "Who could be offended by the most religious instrument ever?"
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=== Nails that punctured Jesus in the Crucifixion ===
Nails that punctured Jesus in the Crucifixion are seemingly less common (God's Hooks, sometimes corrupted into gadzooks), oddly enough, but not unknown, let alone in fiction: they've appeared in ''at least'' one really popular series of fantasy novels. ''[[
==== Anime and Manga ====
* In ''[[
==== [[Film]] ====
* In ''[[Fright Night (2011
==== [[Literature]] ====
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** It does bring up the question of why the Roman judicial court wouldn't have entire bushels full of nails already, given how common crucifixion was. (Although most crucifixions were done with rope, nails weren't that uncommon.) Or why they didn't simply buy or commandeer some from a construction project, given how Herod had been upgrading Jerusalem's infrastructure for years.
* The nails are used as the ultimate weakness to defeat Satan in ''[[Magnus]]''.
* ''[[
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* ''[[
* Appeared in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
==== [[Comics]] ====
* It's the central object in [[Doug Ten Napel]]'s graphic novel ''[[Creature Tech]]'', in which the Shroud actually has the power to instantly heal anything, even bringing things back from the dead, such as {{spoiler|GIANT SPACE EELS.}}
* Appears in the ''[[Wild Cards]]'' novel ''Death Draws Five,'' in which the Shoud is stolen and {{spoiler|given to an ace with the power to speak with the dead, in order that she might summon up Jesus and have him give instructions as to what to do to bring about [[The End of the World
==== [[Literature]] ====
* In ''[[
** Fun fact: The working title of that particular book was ''Holy Sheet'', but the [[Executive Meddling|publishers demanded a change]]. One instance where they couldn't [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|get crap past the radar]].
** For all of this, the jury actually stays out on whether the thing really ever came within a thousand miles or years of touching Jesus. In fact, Harry (as both protagonist and narrator) comes down on the side of "probably not." It turns out, though, that when millions of people in the Dresdenverse venerate something as an artifact of power, they [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|literally can't be wrong]].
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* There was an episode of ''[[
==== [[Video Games]] ====
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=== The Lance of Longinus ===
The Lance of Longinus / Spear of Destiny / Holy Lance / Spear of Longinus / Spear of Christ / Holy Spear: The spear which supposedly pierced Jesus' side during the crucifixion, reputed to have all kinds of crazy powers ranging from healing to the ability to destroy the whole world in one shot. Three known items are sometimes claimed to be the Holy Lance; One resides in the Vatican, one in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna (having been moved from Nuremberg during the Napoleonic Wars) and one in Krakow, Poland. The Catholic Church has made no statements as to the authenticity of any of them -- perhaps wisely as the latter two have been shown by recent research to be of a later origin. It's used everywhere from video games, to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion
==== [[Comics]] ====
* Used in DC comics set during WWII. Hitler had it, as the [[Justified Trope|justification]] why [[
** The Spear has been shown to be one of the few things effective against the otherwise near-omnipotent hero, [[The Spectre]].
** In the four-part [[Elseworlds]] story ''[[The Golden Age]]'', it is [[Retcon|revealed]] that the ''real'' reason none of the American superheroes attacked Germany directly was that Hitler had a superhero of his own whose power was to negate the power of other superheroes. But ''[[The Golden Age]]'' isn't canon with mainstream DC.
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==== [[Film]] ====
* A scarily accurate replica of the German spear (which is actually just the spearhead) made a brief appearance in the ''[[Hellboy (
** The replica from ''[[Hellboy]]'' also appears as a major plot device in [[The Movie]] of the comic book ''[[
==== [[Literature]] ====
* ''American Desert'' by Percival Everett actually has a reason for including this specific spear--the blood on it is used to clone Christ. Not that it works very well . . .
* One of supporting characters in mighty postmodernist Russian [[Urban Fantasy]] novel ''Look Into the Monsters' Eyes'', a Soviet paratrooper turned Belarussian partisan, turned American marine, turned Mossad operative, turned Argentinian gaucho was at one point of his turbulent life one of the aforementioned marines tasked with finding the Lance. It's also alleged that he was ''the very same'' marine who is ''Wolfenstein'''s protagonist. Yes, the book is ''that'' weird, but otherwise excellent.
* The Spear plays an important part in the plot of [[
* Appears in the Wyrd Museum trilogy as the only weapon that can kill the three fates.
* {{spoiler|The Dragon of the Grand Canal}} in ''[[The Magicians|The Magician King]]'' boasts of a vast collection of magical artifacts, including both the Lance of Longinus and the noose that hung Judas.
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==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
* The short-lived [[Nineties Adventure Show]] ''[[
* The spear shows up in an episode of, of all things, ''[[
==== [[Real Life]] ====
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==== [[Video Games]] ====
* Oddly shows up as a combination NPC/weapon, in ''[[
* Somewhat ironically, in the Japanese version of ''Final Fantasy X'', Kimahri's ultimate weapon was named after this... however it got changed to the 'spirit lance' for the Western releases because it was thought to be too controversial
* A notable appearance as a weapon in ''[[God of War (
* All members of Hitler's most-trusted robot knight battalion, who followed him to Antarctica after WWII use mass-produced copies of the Holy Spear to seal Persona selection in ''[[Persona 2]]: Innocent Sin''. Somehow "Jesus!" is the only fitting thing one ''can'' say to that.
** In the first [[Persona]] (or at least the [[Updated Rerelease|remake]]), there is a spear with that name that is an equippable weapon.
** And at the end of ''[[Persona 2]]: Innocent Sin'', {{spoiler|Maya Amano is stabbed by Maya Okamura with the Lance of Longinus/Holy Spear, and because of rumors that a wound caused by it can't be healed, bleeds to death}}.
* The [[MacGuffin]] from ''[[
* [[Big Bad|Reinhard Heydrich]] of [[Visual Novel]] [[Dies Irae]] uses this [[Physical God|as his weakest weapon]]. It also appears as the game’s custom cursor.
* The plot of ''[[Tactics Ogre the Knight of Lodis]]'' is based around the race to find this, as it is the [[MacGuffin]] that can resurrect the fallen angel... or kill him. It also makes a decent melee weapon.
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=== The Crown of Thorns ===
The Crown of Thorns has occasionally popped up too. Supposedly worn by Jesus during and prior to the Crucifixion, it's often said to have the power to defy death. Or maybe it's just a [[Final Fantasy VI
* Or, in ''Chrononauts'', you yourself may travel back in time to 33 AD, and steal it from You-Know-Who, to aid in your Mission as a Time Traveler, or perhaps to simply sell off as a Biblical Relic to gain a bonus card when given the opportunity to Sell an Artifact.
* DC Comics also has the Crown Of ''Horns'' (obviously a play of words) that allows its user to rule Hell.
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=== The Lazarus Bowl ===
The Lazarus Bowl: the words of Christ used to raise Lazarus from the dead, recorded in the grooves of a pot being thrown at the time. Used in ''[[
=== Judas' 30 Pieces of Silver ===
==== [[Film]] ====
* In ''[[The Librarian]]'': The Judas Chalice, they had been forged into a silver equivalent to [[Indiana Jones and
==== [[Literature]] ====
* Show up in ''[[
* In''The Last Coin,'' by James Blaylock, the Big Bad is collecting the 30 coins to fulfill his vile schemes. He's up to 29 at the beginning of the book and close to the last one.
* In Kathryn Smith's ''Brotherhood of Blood'' romance novel series, the 30 pieces of silver were impregnated with Lilith's spirit and passed from man to man, the most famous being Judas, and eventually melted into a cup, the Blood Grail, which turns anyone who drinks from it into a vampire. This goes badly for the guys who find it thinking it's the ''other'' Grail.
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* The 30 Pieces of Silver also show up as items to search for in ''[[
==== [[Web Comic]] ====
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=== Judas' Noose ===
* The noose with which Judas Iscariot hung himself ''also'' shows up in ''[[
* {{spoiler|The Dragon of the Grand Canal}} in ''[[The Magicians|The Magician King]]'' boasts of a vast collection of magical artifacts, including both the Lance of Longinus and the noose that hung Judas.
=== The Ark of the Covenant ===
From the Old Testament, there's the Ark of the Covenant -- though, as ''[[
==== [[Tabletop Games]] ====
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==== Literature ====
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
* In [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos]]'', the genie came from such a bottle.
* In the ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]'' prequel we see Solomon use it to summon and control thousands of demons, ''[[Cast From Lifespan|though at a price ]]''.
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==== [[Anime and Manga]] ====
* ''[[
* Look at any work by Kosuke Fujishima, ''[[Ah!
* Marie Mjolnir from ''[[
* Laevatein is the name of Signum's Intelligent Device from the ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'' series, though it's also been called Levantine.
* Bayloupe of New Light from ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
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==== [[Film]] ====
* One of the ships in ''[[
* The weapon of the titular hero in [[Thor]]. One of the regular human characters [[The Unpronouncable|refers to it as "Mye-mye"]]
==== [[Literature]] ====
* Additionally, there's [[Theme Naming]] in the ''Mjollnir'''s crew members: all of them were named after guns, except the medic (who was named after a magazine) and the captain (who was named after [[The Dark Tower|Stephen King's gunslinger]]). Which fits this theme more, an unpronounceable Norse weapon or the thing that strikes off a cartridge?
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
==== [[Live Action Television]] ====
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** All the more interesting since one of the villains seven seasons earlier (''[[Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue]]'') was a demon named Loki, and King/Lord Neptune himself appeared in that same season. How Overdrive's long-abandoned city of Atlantis squares with ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'''s ancillary materials placing Atlantis in the South China Sea is unknown..
* This is ''really'' common in the various ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' series. Thor's Hammer included. These are usually [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum]] of some sort.
* Mjolnir showed up on ''[[
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* Unsurprisingly, Mjolnir shows up in [[Eve Online]]. Mjolnir Torpedos deal EM damage to a target. Though it is primarily a Caldari weapon and most Norse named ships are Minmatar....However, perfectly acceptable for an Icelandic company.
* Yet another ''[[Halo (
* Mjolnir is the focus of ''[[Tomb Raider]] Underworld'', which is the sequel to Legend. Just like Legend, the mystical "weapon" turns out to be {{spoiler|a key to enter Helheim}}. Wherein the [[Big Bad]] is attempting to wield Jormungandr, {{spoiler|a gigantic ancient machine that will bring about [[The End of the World
* ''[[
* Gungnir is mentioned in passing in ''[[Fate/stay
* In ''[[Breath of Fire]] 4'', one of the combination magics is named after this.
* ''Tales of Phantasia'' has a weapon named Gungnir.
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==== [[Web Comics]] ====
* In ''[[
==== [[Western Animation]] ====
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=== Necronomicon ===
[[
==== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ====
* The Necronomicon was mentioned in passing as one of the 103, 000 grimoires inside Index's brain in ''[[
==== [[Comics]] ====
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==== [[Film]] ====
* The Necronomicon Ex Mortis from the ''[[
==== [[Literature]] ====
* P.C.Hodgell's ''[[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]]'' has a Cryptonomicron-analogue in "The Book Bound In Pale Leather", one of several mythic treasures ( or curses) of the Kencyr. The Book can be bruised if mishandled, and contains rune-spells of such power that numerous priests went mad simply writing them down to make The Book.
* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[
** It also appears in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[The Sandman]]'' under its alternate title, ''Liber Paginarum Fulvarum'', dog-Latin for "Book of the Yellow Pages".
* [[Christopher Pike]] made the ''Necronomicon'' into the Satanic Bible. There actually is a book called ''[[Satanic Verses]]'', by Salman Rushdie, but it's not the ''Necronomicon''. There actually is a book called ''The Satanic Bible'', by Anton La Vey, but it's not the ''Necronomicon'' either.
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==== [[Video Games]] ====
* This appears in ''[[
* The ''Necrotelicomnicon'' also shows up in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]''.
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==== [[Western Animation]] ====
* The ''[[
==== Other ====
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==== [[Tabletop Games]] ====
* The [[Black Templars]] from ''[[
==== [[Video Games]] ====
* Was a piece of cut content in ''[[
* Appears as one of the higher tier weapons in ''[[
** Interestingly you can set the timer not only to three but also to one, two, four, and five.
* One is a findable magic item in the ASCII graphics-based Omega RPG.
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* Nowadays we have U.F.Os, Area 51 and [[The Greys]], which seem to qualify as the latest [[Public Domain Artifact|Public Domain Artifacts]].
** Or, as the quote from ''Angels of Light and Darkness'' states, half of what they say was owned by [[Godwin's Law|Hitler]].
* ''[[Fables]]'' seems to be extremely fond of this trope -- which considering it also uses [[Public Domain Character|public domain ''characters'']] as the primary basis for its main cast (even relatively obscure ones like Rose Red), should probably not surprise anyone in the least. [[Public Domain Artifact|Public Domain Artifacts]] in the series include the magic beans (from which come magic beanstalks, of course), the Vorpal Sword (as described in [[
** The fountain of youth is used in the first story; it is what keeps all the fables ageless for hundreds of years, they drink its water during a yearly ceremony.
* There are some artifacts which are associated with Santa, but occasionally show up without him. Usually his bag (ascribed mystical properties of producing whatever is desired) and his sleigh (or some other fantastic method of transportation).
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* The Hand of Glory is a common item in folklore, a magical relic made from the hand of a hanged man. It can be lit like a candle and provides a light that only the wielder can see. Various other powers have also been ascribed to it in various tales - generally something appropriate for a sneak thief.
** [[The Laundry Series]] has Hand of Glories serving as channels from an extradimensional energy source. Not only do they bestow invisibility, they can be used to fire [[Frickin' Laser Beams]], though this causes the hand to degrade. The Laundry usually gets theirs from Chinese political prisoners.
** ''[[
** The TV Dresden Files adaptation had a Hand of Glory that could let people walk through walls.
** [[Simon R. Green]] occasionally has one show up with the power to open and seal locks, portals and barriers both mundane and magical.
** Also appears in a poem by the same name in the ''Ingoldsby Legends'' where it has the power to send a household into a deep slumber.
** Also seen in [[Harry Potter]]: It seems Draco Malfoy owns one.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
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