Silver Bullet: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.5
m (update links) |
(Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.5) |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''That silver could have fed my entire village for a year.''|'''[[The Lone Ranger|Tonto]]''', ''[[Robot Chicken]]''}}
The silver bullet is a common form of [[Depleted Phlebotinum Shells]]. It's often called for when supernatural creatures are around for whom silver is an [[Achilles' Heel]].
Throughout mythology and subsequent fiction, silver has been a common ward against evil. Silver, especially if blessed, was thought to ward off or harm certain supernatural beings (including vampires) since the Middle Ages. The use of silver bullets to kill werewolves has become popular [[Newer Than They Think|only since]] it was invented by Curt Siodmak, the writer of the 1941 film ''The Wolf Man'' (though in the 1933 novel ''The Werewolf of Paris'' by Guy Endore, someone did use a silver bullet on Bertrand Caillet, though it did not slay him, only landing in the leg).
Line 13:
== Anime and Manga ==
* In the ''[[Hellsing]]'' anime Alucard uses silver bullets against other vampires; after a while, he is given a new gun which uses mercury ("[[Istanbul (Not Constantinople)|quicksilver]]") bullets. Since mercury has about the same density as lead, but is a liquid, the effect it has upon striking a body is quite horrific (it practically explodes).
* In ''[[Berserk]]'', silver possesses protective properties against astral creatures, such as [[All Trolls Are Different|Trolls]]. Farnese and Casca wear shirts made out of silver mail for this reason, and the former has a silver knife to fight them off.
Line 32:
* Hilariously, in the [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] fodder movie ''[[Werewolf (film)|Werewolf]]'', after spending over 10 minutes going on and on about how the skeleton they discovered isn't of "your white man's movie monster werewolf", but a traditional Native American skinwalker, when one of the characters turns into one he's quickly killed with a silver bullet.
{{quote|
* In ''[[The Monster Squad]]'', one of the protagonists crafts silver bullets but neglects to bring a gun. Rudy, the oldest of the Squad, eventually has to use a gun from a fallen cop to deliver the fatal bullet to the Wolf Man.
** He most likely seated them into .38 cartridges with the intention of grabbing a dropped service revolver, as there were going to be plenty of those to go around [[Police Are Useless|once the cops showed up]]. He belonged to a club [[Crazy Prepared|formed around dealing with monsters]], remember?
Line 42:
** The same punchline is used in ''[[My Best Friend Is a Vampire]]''.
* In ''[[Brotherhood of the Wolf]]'', Jean-François de Morangias uses a one-handed musket and silver bullets as his signature weapon.
* ''
* In ''[[Project Metalbeast]]'', Silver Bullets can kill werewolves but this particular one happens to be cybernatically enhanced, so it requires a silver tipped bazooka shell to kill it.
* Silver is good against werewolves ''and'' vampires in ''[[Van Helsing]]'', with silver bullets and stakes being employed against both.
Line 55:
** However, the book reveals later that it was not the silver slug, but rather the children's [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|belief in its killing power]], that made it work.
** Silver bullets are used to kill the title creature in King's ''Cycle of the Werewolf''.
* In [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s [[Father Brown]] story "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131010042845/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/chesterton/gk/c52fb/chapter30.html The Dagger with Wings]," a man speaks of using white magic against his enemy, and shows he had a blunderbuss specifically so he can charge it with silver bullets. He cites the legend of Dundee, who had [[Deal with the Devil|sold his soul to the Devil]] and so could be shot only with a silver bullet. {{spoiler|Father Brown debunks, throughly, and concludes he is the murderer, posing as the victim.}}
** Note that this was a genuine legend; while Dundee was not shot with a silver bullet (or button) that story really was told.
* In the Silver John vignette "You Know the Tale of Hoph" by [[Manly Wade Wellman]], John uses a silver bullet to slay the Hoph. Silver, not necessarily in bullet form, is generally effective against evil creatures elsewhere in the stories.
Line 70:
* Silver is confirmed to be dangerous to werewolves on the [[Discworld]]. Along with fire, it is one of the few weaknesses they have.
* Silvered weapons, mostly blades, feature in ''[[Anno Dracula]]'' as one of the few guaranteed ways to harm a vampire. ([[Jack the Ripper]] is originally known as Silver Knife.) Silver bullets also make an appearance; in one of the books' many [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] they're called "[[The Lone Ranger|the Reid design]]"
* ''[[Monster Hunter International]]'' notes silver is too soft to engage rifling correctly and has established several different kinds of silver bullet as work arounds.
** Silver shot is the simplest and (relatively) inexpensive as it is (relatively) easy to make. As shotgun ammo rifling isn't important. Only 12 gauge is mentioned, but it could exist in other sizes.
** US (and possibly other) government forces use frangible bullets with silver powder instead of lead. The company that makes these refuses to sell them to private organizations.
** Older hunters or those forced to make their own ammo would use saboted silver. Not especially accurate, but better than shot for longer ranges.
** Modern hunters use Pow'R Ball ammo with silver in place of the polymer. This is only offered in a limited number of calibers, primarily 45 auto and various 30 caliber cartridges.
** {{spoiler|Some Finnish hunters took things further and used fey blessed silver. This is potent enough an untransformed werewolf is seriously hurt just by touching it and one shot with it explodes}}.
== Live Action TV ==
Line 76 ⟶ 82:
** The Disney film was intended to feature werewolves as the antagonists though, if early reports are to believe.
** Another motivation: making the bullets valuable was a reminder that firing a lethal weapon (even when done [[Blasting It Out of Their Hands|without lethal intent]]) was not a thing to be done lightly. See the entry under "Radio".
* ''[[
** [[Fan Dumb|It would not be surprising if they received complaints from fans for that exact reason.]]
* In ''[[Supernatural]]'', the Winchester Boys often use silver bullets, most commonly against shapeshifters.
Line 94 ⟶ 100:
* In some epic folk songs about Bulgarian rebel leader Delyo, he is described as invulnerable to normal weapons, driving his enemies to cast a silver bullet in order to murder him.
* "Silverstrike" by Ablazer.<ref>Melodic Death Metal band (Finland)</ref>
== New Media ==
Line 116 ⟶ 123:
** ''High-Tech'' is ''wrong''. Silver is ''harder'' than lead, but also less dense. It has also been discovered that a silver bullet will shrink while cooling, and thus a silver bullet cast in a regular bullet mold comes out smaller than the intended size. Also, silver does not "mushroom" in the barrel as much as lead does. Thus, the bullet does not form a proper seal against the grooves of the barrel, allowing much of the gas to escape around the bullet, and the bullet does not get as much spin imparted to it. As a result, a silver bullet has a shorter range and less stopping power (except against werewolves, of course) when compared to a lead bullet.
* A rule of thumb in ''[[Rifts]]'' is: "If Mini-missiles won't work, try silver." Silver is useful not only against werebeasts, but also vampires (damages, and a silver stake works just as good as a wooden one) and most other Undead, demons, and some gods. One country in South America actually issues silver-plated swords to it's [[Humongous Mecha]] because they're at war with a kingdom of vampires.
* ''[[Dungeons
** To prevent silver weapons being a [[Game Breaker]] in ''[[Dungeons
{{quote|
'''Guide''': "You know, you've been using that silver spear for so long that the point is dull. It's like hitting that ogre with a clumsy club, only it doesn't work that well!" }}
** In later versions they then decreed that the silver that worked against supernatural beings wasn't ''actually'' silver but "alchemical silver" ... much as "cold iron" was a metal that looked a bit like iron but wasn't. Okay, technically it's normal silver alchemically bonded (whatever that means) to an iron blade, so you get the best of both worlds, but whatever.
Line 134 ⟶ 140:
* In ''[[Silent Hill 4]]'', silver bullets are the fastest way to down a ghost, and without it, it becomes nearly impossible to pass the water prison the [[Copy and Paste Environments|second time]] around... There are only two of them in the game, so they are best saved for the Water Prison and Building World ghosts.
* Konami's licensed ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' [[Action RPG]] allows you to use the show's staple silver bullets, which can drop almost anything in one or two hits. They are rather hard to obtain however, and as such are usuallly [[Too Awesome to Use]].
* Like the book series it's based off of, silver is especially effective against monsters in ''[[The Witcher]]'' games. Geralt carries a silver one for dealing with them alongside a steel sword for humans, though as he puts it, "[[Humans Are
* In every game of ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'', enemies such as ghosts and wraiths can only be harmed by weapons that are enchanted, or made of silver. Werewolves are also vulnerable against it.
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' allows weapons and ammo to be crafted out of silver. It is the worst material available for any type of edged weapons. Since it treats all weapons as a completely rigid item, it does make for very effective [[Drop the Hammer|war hammers]] and maces.
Line 151 ⟶ 157:
* During the 18th century hunt for the Beast Of Gévaudan, Jean Chastel reportedly loaded his gun with silver bullets. However, in this case the bullets were not 'special' because they were made of silver, but because the silver was obtained from a blessed medallion of the Virgin Mary (the creature was thought to be demonic in nature).
* Silver has a density of 10.5 grams per cubic centimeter. Lead has a density of 11.3 g/cm<sup>3</sup>. In the ballistics game, higher density means better performance, which is why bullets are still made out of lead. (Uranium, it should be noted, has a density of 19 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, which is one of reasons why anti-
* [http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/silver/silverbullets.shtml Book author's husband researches making silver bullets]. It's not as straight-forward as casting bullets from lead. Silver melts at 1761 °F (versus 621 °F for lead), this makes just melting it a problem for home-made bullets. And silver has a different coefficient of expansion, and the hardness difference means the bullet has to be crafted more precisely. And silver jewelry and coins are made with silver alloys that are harder still (to reduce wear, as well as cost). The bottom line is that silver bullets aren't something even someone who home loads can make in a hurry, from materials at hand; they take planning and preparation.
* During the 17th Century, many people believed that only a silver bullet could kill a king.
** Well, [[Shapeshifting_Lover#Folklore_and_Mythology|some reputedly had Melusine]] in the genealogical tree. This sets expectations.
* Count Jan Potocki, a Polish [[Gentleman Adventurer]] and author of ''The Manuscript Found In Saragossa'', allegedly killed himself with a silver bullet made from the knob of his mother's
{{reflist}}
Line 162 ⟶ 169:
[[Category:Bullet Index]]
[[Category:Horror Tropes]]
[[Category:Silver Bullet]]▼
[[Category:Tropes Examined by the Mythbusters]]
| |||