Public Domain Artifact: Difference between revisions

{{examples|Examples}}

 

 

[[Genie in A Bottle|The Magic Lamp/Bottle]] -- sure to contain a djinni that will grant wishes to the holder, usually with a [[Literal Genie|weird]] or [[Jackass Genie|sadistic]] twist, inspired by of course, Aladdin's lamp. Ironically, the original point of this trope was that the magician who trapped the djinni (who are really good at magic) would have had to have been ''extremely'' powerful to do so, and the djinni would be so happy to be freed they would use their magic to reward the holder.

 

* The country of Chizeta in ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth (Anime)|Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' was inspired by the [[Arabian Nights (Literature)|Arabian Nights]] motif, so of ''course'' it had to include these. Turns out their starship had the shape of an oil lamp, and of course two djinn could be commanded to appear from the spout when needed.

 

* Also seen in [[Patricia C Wrede]]'s ''Dealing With Dragons'', albeit comedically.

* The magic teapot in the book ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit]]''

 

* ''[[I Dreamof Jeannie]]'', for one.

 

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' this time is closest to the source: in ''Al-Qadim'' very powerful sha'ir can make and use genie traps, but even for them this act is rarely conducive to long happy life.

* ''[[Magic the Gathering (Tabletop Game)|Magic the Gathering]]'' has "Aladdin's Lamp" (complicated rules) and "Bottle of Suleiman" (which behaves like we would think of Aladdin's lamp. It also has Aladdin's Ring, which does 4 (expensive) damage. In fact, pretty much anything in the ''Arabian Nights'' set fits this trope.

 

* The [[Sonic Storybook Series]] game ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'' used both the lamp and the ring from the ''Arabian Nights'' story. However, the genie was the bad guy and Sonic's forced to reseal him away.

 

* ''[[Last Res 0 rt]]'' uses this with Sedja, an Efreet who willingly lives in a bottle worn around Adharia's neck.

 

 

 

 

[[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 The Stone|sometimes they're the same sword]]. [[King Arthur|Arthurian legend]] is a ''very'' sketchy [[Canon]]. Occasionally called Caliburn or Caladbolg (when ''those'' aren't different swords) from the (possibly original) Welsh name Caledfwlch (literally 'hard gap/space', pronounced Cal-ed-voolkh, roughly). It's rarely called that, because Caledfwlch is hard to pronounce and looks rather scarily Welsh.

 

* [[Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan (Light Novel)|Excalibolg]] is said to be a portmanteau of Excalibur and Caladbolg.

* In ''[[Fate Stay Night]]'', Servant {{spoiler|Saber's}} primary weapon is Excalibur, {{spoiler|[[Samus Is a Girl|as she is actually King Arthur]].}} It can even be used as a [[Wave Motion Gun]].

* 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.

 

* [[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 The Stone|stone from which it was retrieved]] do make an appearance in the main series and the spin-off ''[[Jack Of Fables]],'' though... the sword is easily recognizable, the stone, however, goes through a change or two.

 

* ''[[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 ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'', the holy sword ''Amoracchius'' is actually Excalibur. For added symbolic power (which is a real force in the setting) it has one of the Nails from the True Cross worked into the hilt.

* 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.}}

 

* 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)|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.

 

* 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}}.

* You get this sword by supporting the English forces in Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War.

 

* In ''[[Homestuck (Webcomic)|Homestuck]]'', part of Dave's quest in Sburb is to get Caledfwlch (or the [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004729 Legendary Piece of Shit]). But Alternate Future Dave had already gotten it and upgraded it to become the Caledscratch, so it wasn't really very useful.

 

* ''[[Filmations Ghostbusters (Animation)|Filmations Ghostbusters]]'' features Excalibur, conflating it yet again with the Sword in the Stone. Here, it's used to set up a [[Stable Time Loop]] in the stone age--they get it stuck in the stone that Arthur will pull it from.

 

 

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 (Video Game)|insanity]]. [[Bungie|One game studio]] has not only used it, but also the inscription on Ogier the Dane's sword Curtana, which read My name is [[Halo (Video Game)|Cortana]], of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and [[Marathon (Video Game)|Durendal]]. In ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' Durandal ''is'' Excalibur, having been stolen by Orlando/Roland and renamed to not arouse suspicion (because even he knows it was kind of a dick thing to do).

 

* ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', [[Trope Maker|naturally]].

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prosperos Daughter]]'', Eramus carries it.

* The holy sword ''Esperacchius'' in ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' is Durandal, albeit reforged to look like a cavalry saber. Like the previous example above, it also has one of the Nails of the True Cross worked into it.

 

* ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger]]'': A duplicate of Durandal is forged for [[Monster of the Week|Dora Knight]]. The process requires some of the hammering to be done by a child whose birthday it is (Bandora had him kidnapped, of course), which becomes important later because the sword can't harm its maker. The sword is incredibly powerful, able to damage the Zyurangers' Legendary Weapons and even the sword of their [[First Church of Mecha|god]] [[Humongous Mecha]].

 

* In ''[[Marathon (Video Game)|Marathon]]'', Durandal is a ship AI. ''Marathon's'' [[Spiritual Successor|spiritual prequel/sequel]] ''[[Halo]]'' features an AI named Cortana.

* 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 Plus One 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.

 

 

Aro[[Spell My Name With an S|(u)]]ndight, which may or may not have been Lancelot's sword.

 

* {{spoiler|Servant Berserker}} from ''[[Fate Zero (Light Novel)|Fate Zero]]'' is revealed to hold the sword Arondight. It was formerly a holy sword, similar to Excalibur, but after his betrayal, Arondight became a demonic sword.

* 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.

 

* [[Spell My Name With an S|Aerondight]] is one of the best silver swords the first [[The Witcher|Witcher]] game. Geralt can gain the sword after {{spoiler|Completing a series of quests in act 4 to The Lady of The Lake's liking}}.

* Appears, appropriately enough, in the Arthurian-themed ''[[Sonic Storybook Series|Sonic and the Black Knight]]''.

 

 

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 (Video Game)|Aria/Dawn of Sorrow,]]'' the Claimh Solais, apparently comes from Irish mythology... odd for a Japanese game about vampires.

 

* ''[[Fate Stay Night]]'' does this to ridiculous extremes, what with [[All Myths Are True|all myths being true]], so not only were there Excalibur, Caliburn, Durandal, and Gram (and plausibly, everything else), there's also that minor event known as the Holy Grail War -- it's not the ''actual'' Holy Grail though. Almost as soon as it's mentioned, it becomes [[Moral Event Horizon|glaringly obvious]] that it's not the real Holy Grail, and it only gets worse from there...

** 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.

* The Knight Leader from ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index (Anime)|To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' uses Hrunting, which he reanalyzed and recreated in order to create new spells based on its creation. The Curtana also makes an appearance as a sword that can grant the blessing of [[Arch Angel Michael]] to the people within England. However, the sword that the Queen possesses is only a replica, and holds a mere 20% of the original's power.

 

* Any one of Beowulf's swords can be used for this, particularly Nægling and Hrunting.

 

 

The Four Treasures of Ireland: the Spear of Lugh, the Cauldron of Dagda, the Sword of Light (Claíomh Solais), and the Stone of Destiny (Lia Fáil) -- which pretty much fulfill the same role as the Treasures of Amaterasu do, but for a Western audience. They are sometimes matched up with the four western elements. The Cauldron is often identified with the Holy Grail but it also gets mixed up with the Cauldron of Cerridwen from Welsh mythology and the Black Cauldron. The Spear gets identified with the Spear of Destiny, and sometimes gets confused with the Gae Bolg. The Stone is sometimes said to be the Stone of Scone, once part of the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey but now housed in Edinburgh Castle but a few less-reliable sources say it's the Blarney stone in Ireland. There's also a standing stone in County Meath called the Lia Fáil. There's a legend that the Blarney Stone and Stone of Scone are both ''half'' the original Stone, although the Irish stone is bluestone, and the Scottish one is red sandstone.

 

* [[Terry Pratchett]] had the coronation of the dwarves in Uberwald take place with the new Underking sitting on the [[A Worldwide Punomenon|Scone of Stone]].

* They show up in ''Elidor'', a novel by British author Alan Garner.

* The Four Great Treasures show up in the fourth ''[[Young Wizards]]'' novel, ''A Wizard Abroad''.

 

* They get mentioned briefly in ''The End of the Century''.

 

* Their approximate Welsh equivalents (or at least symbols thereof) are among the objects of an extended [[Fetch Quest]] in ''Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches''.

 

 

Stonehenge is a real place (and it's not the only such circle in Britain, either), but it gets ascribed all sorts of mystic powers in fiction<ref>Of the many theories of its purpose, on of the most widely believed is that it was used to tell what time of year it is. That's right, it's a ''calendar''! To be honest, keeping track of the seasons was incredibly important in the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural ones.</ref>. Nor is it the only one in the world. There's one, also of unknown origin, in Michigan. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_circle#Distribution Stone circles] seem to have been popular with [http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/carahunge.htm everybody's] ancestors. This isn't just a British/Irish trope.

 

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima (Manga)|Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', similar structures to Stonehenge act as gateways to the magical world.

 

* The laughable ''[[Puma Man]]'' uses Stonehenge as where the alien Aztec gods drop their mind-control mask in the beginning and where they pick it back up at the end.

 

* ''Angus, the First Warrior'' has Gaoth Cerridwen, the Sword in the Stone, being forged by Druids on the Stonehenge using a nail of Jesus' cross melted with the metals.

 

* In the first part of the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' season 5 finale, [[Doctor Who (TV)/Recap/S31 E12 The Pandorica Opens|The Pandorica Opens]], Stonehenge is {{spoiler|the location of the Pandorica}}. It also mentioned much earlier in [[Doctor Who (TV)/Recap/S2 E9 The Time Meddler|The Time Meddler]], where a Time Lord, the Monk, claims to have used anti-grav machines to help the construction of it.

 

* The standing stone circles in ''[[Ultima]]'' series are gates that permit rapid travel between the cities of virtue. The Avatar originally came to Britannia via a matching stone circle on Earth that may or may not have been the original Stonehenge.

 

* A structure resembling Stonehenge appears in an episode of ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' as an alien beacon. (Note that while it resembles Stonehenge, there's some very obvious differences).

* An episode of ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' was about trying to keep someone from using Stonehenge as a weapon. {{spoiler|It turns out to be an alien signaling device, but the aliens don't show up until everyone leaves.}}

 

 

The Seven League Boots, from English lore. [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|They're boots that let you walk seven leagues in a single step.]] Often used in video games as [[Sprint Shoes]].

 

* Savant from [[Wild CATS]] had a pair of Seven League Boots at one point.

 

* Known on the [[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]] to cause severe groin sprain without proper precautions.

* Worn by the Mercenary in ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]''.

 

 

 

The Egyptian ''Book of the Dead'' has seen occasional use

 

* It appears in ''[[The Mummy Trilogy]]''

 

* It is a vital [[MacGuffin]] in the [[Roguelike]] game [[Nethack]].

** Which is funny considering how widely available it is in [[Real Life]].

 

 

The Philosopher's Stone, an item or substance of alchemical legend reputed to allow one to turn base metals into gold and possibly create an Elixir of Life, allowing one to become immortal. Incidentally, some historians believe that the "Philosopher's Stone" was actually ''Zinc''... when they initially discovered it they found what they had was something that could turn a worthless, dull metal (Copper) into a shiny golden one (Brass). By the time anyone realized that Zinc wasn't going to be lead-into-gold stuff nobody cared because, hey, ''now we can make brass so keep doing that.''

 

* It may be misnamed in Japanese media if the translators missed the reference: for example, the "Crimson Tear" from ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' or the "Ruby Prism" from the ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' series.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', a Philosopher's Stone can allow you to perform alchemy without worrying about its rules. Unfortunately, as the heroes discover, the only way to create a Philosopher's Stone is to kill dozens of people (at the very ''least''), and condemn their souls to [[And I Must Scream|eternal torment]].

 

* In the [[DC Universe]] the stone is in the possession of [[The Flash]] villain Doctor Alchemy; not only it can change any substance into any other, it can even do so without touching it.

 

* The first ''[[Harry Potter (Literature)|Harry Potter]]'' book (though they changed its named to "Sorcerer's Stone" for the U.S. release because they thought [[Viewers Are Morons|Americans are stupid]] and would be confused as to why philosophers would have anything to do with magic).

 

* Appears in an episode of ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV)|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.

 

* In ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' there is an episode centered around the stone. The bad guy wants to use it for his own greedy purposes, but fortunately there are other mystical forces around to help the Quest Team stop him.

 

The Voynich Manuscript, an untranslated medieval manuscript of a seemingly occult nature, sometimes appears in fiction as a [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]]. A list of some works featuring it can be found [http://www.ciphermysteries.com/the-voynich-manuscript/big-fat-list-of-voynich-novels here].

The Pied Piper's flute usually appears in that character's possession in stories or plays, but turns up on its own (as the ''Pipes of the Sewers'') in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' RPG.

 

 

 

The Sampo from the ''[[The Kalevala]]'', which is especially versatile as it is never explicitly established what it actually ''is''. It seems to be a machine or device used to produce whatever is demanded; we see it churning out gold and salt at two separate points in the legend. Some versions had it as a [[World Tree]].

 

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Petaja Emil Petaja] wrote a series of stories based on the ''Kalevala''. I believe ''The Star Mill'' relates to the Sampo.

 

* The Sampo was a major plot point in the featured film from the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode ''[[The Day the Earth Froze]]''. Again, the artifact is continuously mentioned, and even used, without it ever being explained just what the hell it's supposed to ''be'', leading the Satellite of Love crew to have endless fun with the concept, culminating in a fan contest asking people to send in their own ideas of what a "sampo" is. The winner: a photo of a small TV set with the brand name "Sampo" showing a frame of ''MST3K''.

 

 

The Fountain Of Youth, which differs from most of the other artifacts on this page in that it can't be transported from place to place. Nevertheless, just about every fantasy story that runs long enough will eventually address it. Historical explorer, Juan Ponce de León went looking for it and instead got famous for exploring Florida.

 

* It's only natural for [[Man-Thing]] to stumble across it in his home in the Florida swamps (and some conquistadors along with it).

 

* ''[[The Fountain]]''. In a subversion, there is no literal fountain that is being sought by either of the three versions of Tom, but a magical tree.

* Showed itself in the third ''Librarian'' movie.

** And the fourth movie ''On Stranger Tides'' features Jack and Barbossa teaming up to find it... and fight Blackbeard.

 

* [[Terry Pratchett]] spoofed Ponce de Leon in ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' with Ponce de Quirm, who spent his whole life exploring foreign countries because people made fun of his name. The Fountain granted him youth, but {{spoiler|also granted it to the strong, healthy dysentery bacteria that killed him.}}

* 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.

* [[Xanth (Literature)|Xanth]] also has the fountain of Youth. Since [[Xanth (Literature)|Xanth]] is basically Florida in a [[Fantasy]] environment, the author claims that the two fountains are in the same place (in [[Xanth (Literature)|Xanth]], Earth, and Mundania ).

 

* 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 ZEO]]'', after Billy begins suffering from rapid aging he has to go to Aquitar in order to drink from that planet's Fountain of Youth. He has to drink it fresh from the source, because otherwise it isn't strong enough. He decides to [[Stay With the Aliens|stay on Aquitar]] after being restored because he [[Interspecies Romance|falls in love]] with an Aquitian scientist named Cestria.

 

* An artifact card in the ''[[Magic the Gathering (Tabletop Game)|Magic the Gathering]]'', ''The Dark'' expansion, which also popped up in the book based on it. It's randomly located in some village. The main character hides in it from some goblins and so unwittingly gains immortality.

 

* The campaign of ''Age of Empires III'' is about three generations of people keeping it out of the wrong hands. Hell, you even get to blow it up at one point.

* The videogame ''Colonization'' lets you discover it and get a bonus. Amusingly, it doesn't limit how many times you can discover it, so a player who explores thoroughly can find dozens of Fountains of Youth scattered all over the Americas.

 

* The webcomic ''[[Oglaf]]'' parodies this, with an explorer discovering the [http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-doubt/ Fountain of Doubt], the [http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-death/ Fountain of] <s>[http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-death/ Death]</s> [http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-death/ Water So Delicious That Even Dead People Want It], and the [http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-girl/ Fountain] [http://oglaf.com/fountain-of-girl/2/ of] [[Gender Bender|Girl]].

 

* Appears in an episode of ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]''. The guy who guarded it probably should've known better than to keep a supply of its water in a carnival dunking booth, even if it was out of order.

* This was the objective in a ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename Kids Next Door]]'' episode, in which the Fountain was hidden in a cave beneath an elementary school. A girl who'd used it to remain young for generations had connected its runoff to a ''drinking'' fountain inside the school, with a permanent "out of order" sign.

 

 

A lost city that sank under the sea.

 

* Atlantis is also, of course, the respective home of [[DC Comics]]'s [[Aquaman (Comic Book)|Aquaman]] and [[Marvel Comics]]'s [[Sub-Mariner]].

 

* The Lost City of Atlantis itself, as seen in ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'', where it had been moved to another galaxy, submerged, resurfaced in the first episode, then moved to another planet.

* ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|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''.

 

* ''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.

* ''[[Age of Mythology (Video Game)|Age of Mythology]]'' set it's campaign in Atlantis.

* [[Eternal Champions (Video Game)/Characters|Trident]] from ''[[Eternal Champions]]'' fought for Atlantis against the Romans for a share of land. Following his death, his people were forced to live underwater.

 

* ''[[Atlantis the Lost Empire (Disney)|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'' accidentally subverted this trope. The heroes are able to find [[Atlantis]] because they got their hands on both the Shepherd's Journal (a road map to the place) and a linguist who was able to actually read it. In the DVD voice-overs, the creators mentioned several responses from viewers congratulating them for actually using the Shepherd's Journal for extra authenticity. Ironically, the legend of the Shepherd's Journal begins and ends with Disney's ''Atlantis'' -- there was no such artifact, legendary or otherwise.

* Name-checked in ''[[Duck Tales]]: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' in the form of Genie's account of its destruction: it was ''the'' resort getaway of its time until [[Big Bad|Merlock]] couldn't get a reservation. The rest is history.

 

 

A box that was given to a girl named Pandora, and that she was [[Schmuck Bait|told to never open]]. Obviously she opened it, and within it were all the horrors and woes of life, now unleashed upon the earth. She was made as dumb as she was beautiful by Zeus as punishment to humanity - his plan worked.

 

* In ''[[Saint Seiya (Manga)|Saint Seiya]]'', Pandora's box contained Hypnos and Thanatos, where they had been initially sealed by Athena. Pandora, of course, released them.

 

* The box (as an urn) is the major lynchpin of the [[Project Superpowers]] comic book series

 

* And as the final goal of the second ''[[Lara Croft Tomb Raider (Film)|Lara Croft Tomb Raider]]''.

 

* In ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians (Literature)|The Last Olympian]]'', Prometheus gives Percy the urn of Pandora and tells him that if he opens it, he will free Hope and so surrender. It turns out to be a [[Clingy MacGuffin]] -- it keeps showing up after being locked in a safe. Percy finally hands it to Hestia, who can keep it safe.

 

* Pandora's Box also showed up in a last season episode of ''[[Charmed]]'', with a superpowered Guardian ([[Viewers Are Morons|named "Hope"]]) who was to protect it so that demons (or anyone really) would not be able to open it and release the ills within. Naturally said Guardian knew nothing about all this and had to go through a (relatively short) [[How Do I Shot Web]] bit before she could save the world. Interestingly, since the Box had already been opened long ago to originally release its contents, doing so now merely intensified the bad traits of humanity--which, aside from the obvious negative consequences, helped to tilt the balance of power toward evil.

* Pandora's Box is in ''[[Warehouse 13]]''.

* In ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'', the Pandorica plays with the general concept of the trope; the device itself is based upon the ''legend'' of Pandora's Box (Amy's favorite story). It was made to hold the worst nightmare the Universe has ever seen (the Doctor), [[Subverted Trope|but, in its own strange way, it ended up containing Hope as well]].

 

* In the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game]]'', the "Gold Sarcophagus" is a spell that delays, then forces the draw of a card, possibly opening up a box of worms or setting up anything given enough foresight. This card could alternatively be considered an Ark of the Covenant analogue.

 

* 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 (Video Game)|God of War]]'' series.

 

* The [http://chimerabazaar.blogspot.com/2011/10/2-pandora.html second entry] in the web serial novel [http://chimerabazaar.blogspot.com/ The Chimera Bazaar] deals with Pandora's box.

** {{spoiler|Later the contents of the box mutate into the [[Eldritch Abomination]] Zaa}}

*** {{spoiler|Who apparently speaks Pandorian, the language of Pandora's Box}}

 

* An episode of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Animation)|The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' centers around the pandemonium of Pandora's ''lunch''box being opened.

* The Box Ghost gets his [[Day in The Limelight]] with this in [[Danny Phantom]].

 

 

The Golden Fleece, really more of a very, very shiny [[MacGuffin]] than anything else.

 

* The Golden Fleece is actively used in the ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians (Literature)|Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'' series. It has healing properties and certain power over Nature. In the second book, ''Sea of Monsters'', Percy and his friends go on an Argonauts-inspired quest to look for the Fleece in order to heal Thalia's tree (a tree which guards the borders of Camp Half-Blood from monsters), which has been poisoned by the [[Big Bad]]. {{spoiler|On healing the tree, the Fleece also brings Thalia herself, Zeus's daughter, back to life.}}

 

* You require Golden Fleece to make a magic harp in the MMORPG ''[[Runescape]]''

* You can pick this up from Jason in ''[[God of War (Video Game)|God of War]] II'', allowing you to counterattack enemies.

* 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.

 

 

Asian media, especially in Japan, has the Treasures of Amaterasu, aka the "Imperial Regalia of Japan": the sword ''Kusanagi no Tsurugi'', also known as ''Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi'', the mirror ''Yata no Kagami'', and the necklace ''Yasakani no Magatama''. All three actually exist, and are stored in three different temples. However, they have never been shown in public and some may be copies of lost or stolen originals. Interestingly, the Kusanagi is rarely actually depicted in the straight, double-edged, longsword-like style and bronze composition it probably should be, [[Every Japanese Sword Is a Katana|but often as]] a [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]]. The Magatama is often represented by its [http://cabekeriting04.blogspot.com/2008/03/magatama.html signature comma-shaped beads] rather than the whole necklace. The Kusanagi was found in the tail of the [[Orochi]] after its death.

 

* The titular ''[[Blue Seed (Anime)|Blue Seed]]''s that are the souls of the Aragami are single magatamas, one of the main characters is named Kusanagi Mamoru, and there is a villain named Murakumo {{spoiler|who is actually Yamata no Orochi}}.

* ''[[Ghost in The Shell]]'''s protagonist, Motoko Kusanagi, is named after the sword. (It sounds roughly as natural to a Japanese speaker as "Jane Excalibur" would sound to an English speaker... which is probably why Masamune Shirow lampshaded it with a comment in his narration about it being "obviously a pseudonym".)

* 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''.

 

* The comic ''[[Usagi Yojimbo]]'' devotes an entire [[Story Arc]] to the rediscovery and delivery for safekeeping of Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

** There's actually (to this date) two arcs based on the the safekeeping of Grasscutter (not counting a two issue arc before the first arc that told the back story to the Grasscutter). The focus is more on how the sword could be used to rally people to over throw the shogunate and restore the emperor. Despite this the Grasscutter has some supernatural power - the evil Jei can't corrupt the blade as he does all the overs he wields and it's the only thing to actually kill Jei {{spoiler|ok so it doesn't stick at least it did better then most.}}

* In The [[Groo the Wanderer|Groo]] story the "Sword's of Groo" that tells how Groo gained his swords based some it's back-story partially on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. The swords were forged by the Japanese-themed gods and served as part of the regalia of the emperor of a Japanese-themed culture. Considering [[Usagi Yojimbo|Stan Sakai]] served as letterer on the Groo comics and is a friend of Sergio Aragones, Sergio would more then likely to know about the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

 

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prosperos Daughter]]'', the sword is one of many that the Prosperos has.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'', the holy sword ''Fidelacchius'' is Kusanagi. It being a katana (or more precisely, a sword-cane with a katana blade) is Justified by it having been reforged in the past.

 

* 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 ''[[Golden Sun (Video Game)|Golden Sun]]: The Lost Age'' and ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]''.

* In ''[[Dark Cloud (Video Game)|Dark Cloud 2]]'', you can equip Monica with the Ame-No-Murakumo. The game hints at the idea it might be a fake.

 

 

The Masamune and Muramasa. Historically, they were popular, really good swordsmiths. According to legend, however, they were swordsmiths that made swords ideal to avert and perform cutting, respectively. In every place they're mentioned today, though, the Masamune and Muramasa are both swords, not swordsmiths, indicating that no one ever [[Did Not Do the Research|does the research]]. Though plenty of fiction will refer to a given weapon as ''a'' Masamune, indicating the weapon was crafted by him. Compare to the ''Stradivarii'' (plural for Stradivarius), stringed musical instruments of extreme quality made by Antonio Stradivari. As the techniques of both craftsmen died with them, and the specific qualities of their works have yet to be reproduced, surviving pieces have become legendary to the point of magical. Or consider modern weapons manufactured by the Smith and Wesson or Glock companies; often the weapons will be called by the company name.

 

* In the Zanpakutou Unknown Tales filler arc of the ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]'' anime, we are introduced to a character named Muramasa, who has the power of making the Shinigami's swords materialize in their true form, and who's controlling them into rebelling against their respective Shinigami. {{spoiler|Turns out, Muramasa ''is'' a Shinigami's sword, as well.}}

* ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' has the sword correctly named as a creation of Masamune, though it is a ''wooden'' sword. It isn't given a specific name on it's own, just called '''[http://img01.nj.us.mangafox.com/store/manga/708/062.0/compressed/Hayate_v06c62_151.jpg Wooden Masamune]'''.

 

* Katana, from [[Batman and The Outsiders]], wields a sword made by Muramasa- who was described as being mad; the sword itself steals the souls of those it kills.

* 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.

 

* The first ''[[Highlander (Film)|Highlander]]'' film. Ramirez's katana -- and subsequently, Connor's katana -- was made by Masamune, making them one of the only works to get the whole swordsmith/sword name thing right. Although the entirety of the exposition that reveals this also seems to indicate the writers [[Did Not Do the Research|did not fully do their research]]:

{{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.]]}}

 

* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series includes swords with each name.

* ''[[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Chrono Trigger]]'' features two characters named "Masa" and "Mune", who combine to create a big windblowy boss called "Masamune"; they're actually the spirits of the sword Masamune. Oddly enough, in the original Japanese they had nothing to do with the Masamune; they were "Grand" and "Leon", and the sword's name was (wait for it) GrandLeon.

 

 

* [[One Hundred and Eight|108 beads]]. This is essentially the Buddhist equivalent of a rosary/crucifix. Appears a lot in videogames.

 

* In ''[[Shaman King (Manga)|Shaman King]]'', Anna has 1080 beads, which are ten times as powerful.

 

 

In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter Kaguya-Hime, the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter] the title character is approached by princely suitors and she provides them with five [[Impossible Task|Impossible Tasks]], the recovery of certain mystical treasures. The five artifacts were the stone begging bowl of Buddha of India, a jeweled branch from the island of Hourai, the pelt of the fire-rat from China, a colored jewel from a dragon's neck, and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowrie cowrie] which was born from swallows. Though some of the more clever suitors attempt to pass-off normal items as the fantastic ones in question, all of the suitors are rebuffed.

 

* ''[[Inu Yasha (Anime)|Inu Yasha]]'' wears a robe made from the pelt of the fire-rat. Not only is it fire-proof but humans (Kagome) have actually survived the lack of oxygen and extreme temperatures while donning it and immersed in flames.

** In one of [[The Movie|The Movies]], villains are regathering the five treasures and [[Inuyasha]] gets involved when they try to steal his robe.

 

* ''[[The Practical Princess]]'' references this when the titular princess is likewise trying to dissuade an unwanted suitor - she requests the fireproof robe, then the jewelled branch and rejects him fro bringing fakes. (He kidnaps her instead before she can carry on to more of the requests and the story ends as a [[Gender Flipped]] Rapunzel.)

 

* In ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' the whole story of ''Kaguya-Hime'' turns out to be completely true: not only is there the moon princess herself living in Gensokyo but she also possesses all five of the artifacts from her impossible tasks. (It's how she beat her suitors: ask for things you already have but no one else knows you have.) She is most commonly depicted holding the branch of Hourai, which, in-universe, is a plant that exists on the pure lunar surface and only blooms/bejewels when exposed to the impurity of the Earth.

** ''Hourai'' is mentioned quite a few times in ''Touhou'':

 

 

 

Pretty much anything Jesus is reputed to have ever touched, ever. The hair, blood, nails, and foreskin of Christ apply as well. The last one is mostly used in parodies of Christianity these days, though. Also, Mary's milk and the bones of saints.

 

* In ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', the Durandal is said to contain numerous artefacts in this vein embedded in its hilt.

 

The Holy Grail: The cup which Jesus Christ supposedly drank from at the Last Supper and/or the cup used by Joseph of Arimathea to capture the blood of Christ at the crucifixion. First popularized by [[King Arthur|Arthurian Legend]], and used absolutely everywhere since, from ''[[Monty Python]]'' [[Monty Pyhton And The Holy Grail|movies]] to [[Film/Indiana Jones And The The Last Crusade|Indiana Jones]].

 

* Let's not even get started on [[Nasuverse|Kinoko Nasu's]] ''[[Fate Stay Night]]'' and ''[[Fate Zero (Light Novel)|Fate Zero]]''.

** 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 ''[[Sailor Moon (Anime)|Sailor Moon]]'' it is the Holy Grail that transforms Sailor Moon into Super Sailor Moon. That being said it may not be ''the'' Holy Grail as in the manga, and the videogame ''[[Sailor Moon Another Story]]'', there's ''two'' of them - Sailor Chibi Moon has one as well.

 

* Also the Graphic Novel ''[[Camelot 3000]]'', in which the Grail transforms a [[Mutants|mutated]] Knight back into human form, and then, when stolen by Mordred and merged into a suit of armor, creates an armor that instantly [[Healing Factor|heals any and all damage]], no matter how fatal. Not that it really did Modred that much good...

* ''[[The Invisibles]]'' features the Black Grail, which caught the blood and excreta of Judas when he hanged himself. It bestows ignorance, rather than the enlightenment of the normal grail.

 

* In the ''[[Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (Film)|Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade]]'', this is the 2nd item that the Nazis are trying to find. In an interesting take on this artifact, the grail isn't a golden cup with jewels encrusted on the sides as one may imagine, but an ordinary, relatively plain looking cup. An interesting caveat is that the grail is hidden amongst many other cups, and if you choose the wrong one, instead of eternal life, you'll die very quickly instead. And on top of that, you can't leave the area where the grail is, or you lose the eternal life part and become mortal again. This explains why the knight in the cave, while very old, is still alive, while his contemporary brethren who left the area have long passed on.

 

* And then there is, of course, [[Dan Brown]] who, in his book ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'', stated the Holy Grail is... well, let's say it's not exactly a cup. He was by no means the one who initially came up with this idea, but he was certainly the one who took it to mainly pop-cultured masses.

* 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).

* 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.}}

 

* A major part of the plot in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'''s tenth season is the Sangraal, also known as the Holy Grail. As Daniel points out, the original Arthurian legend doesn't have anything do do with Christ (as that part was added in later), and the Holy Grail is depicted in multiple ways, including "a stone that fell from the heavens". This is what they need to find, as it's actually a weapon created by Merlin, who is actually a [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]], and this weapon is the only thing capable of destroying their enemy.

 

* In the Yu-Gi-Oh [[Card Game]], the "Forbidden Chalice" is a spell that temporarily strengthens the user, but removes any ability the monster may have for the remainder of the turn. This can be used to get around pesky negative effects temporarily.

 

* [[Romancing Sa ga 3]] had the Holy Grail which once held the Holy King's blood. Ironically, it is in the hands of a vampire.

* 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.

 

* In ''[[Minion Comics (Webcomic)|Minion Comics]]'', Dingus is convinced that the evil organization he works for is seeking out the Holy Grail, because their leader is German and [http://www.meetmyminion.com/?p=218 "Germans love searching for ancient artifacts."]

 

Fragments of the True Cross -- that is, the one on which Christ was crucified. This one pops up pretty often in real life as well as in fiction -- many congregations around the world possess fragments, usually no more than a single splinter, of an artifact discovered in the 4th century said to be the relic. The miniature chapel of the fairy-tale castle at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, a priceless dollhouse filled with precious and historic furnishings, contains a reliquary with an alleged True Cross fragment. There's a common joke that there are enough fragments of the True Cross to rebuild Noah's Ark, but Rohault de Fleury, a 19thC French scholar, measured the total volume of all claimed fragments of the True Cross and found they added up to 0.004 cubic meters; his estimate was that the whole cross would have been 0.178 cubic meters. (This was published in ''Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion'', 1870.).

 

* In the ''[[Hellsing (Manga)|Hellsing]]'' manga Alexander Anderson uses in his final fight with Alucard one of the Vatican's most important relics, "Helena's Nail". According to Catholic tradition, Helena of Constantinople, mother of Emperor Constantine I, was the discoverer of the remains of the True Cross. She is said to have affixed at least one nail to the bridle of her son's horse to give him protection in battle.

 

* [[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 [[Vampirella (Comic Book)|Vampirella]], giving a vampire a scratch with a fragment of the True Cross, even if it is a wound a normal human would ignore, causes the monster [[Ludicrous Gibs|to explode]].

 

* In [[John Bellairs]]' Johnny Dixon series of novels, the heroes' greatest weapon against the forces of darkness is a small cross, worn on a necklace by a priest, containing two splinters of the True Cross.

 

* 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 ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (Webcomic)|The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' features a selection of anti ghost wizard weapons, including a staff carved from the True Cross.

 

* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (Animation)|The Simpsons]],'' where after a bullet meant for Homer strikes Ned Flanders in the [[Pocket Protector|Bible]], a second round knocks him over, and he gets up again, relieved that he was [[Pocket Protector|wearing]] "an extra large piece of the True Cross today."

* 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?"

 

* The [[Flying Dutchman]] is about a man travelling with a piece of the cross to be able to return it to his father who has been haunting the oceans since he died at sea.

* A supposed True Cross fragment is incorporated into the decor of the Fairy Castle dollhouse at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

 

 

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. ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' pretty early on introduces the concept of the Knights of the Cross, a trio of men who each have a sword imbued with magical anti-evil powers thanks (supposedly) to having one of the ancient Jesus nails worked into the hilt. Of course, the series also has a pretty firm (and in this context, even slightly subversive) "[[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|faith in something gives it power]]" [[Magic a Is Magic A|rule]], so there's no real way to tell if they're ''actually'' from the Crucifixion or not. In a double-whammy, one of said swords might be [[Excalibur]]. The Iron Crown of the Lombards (which was seized by Charlemagne when he defeated that Northern Italian state) is reputed to incorporate such a nail. Similarly, the Spear of Destiny in Vienna (cited elsewhere on this page) also incorporates an alleged nail of the Crucifixion. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Heilige_Lanze_02.JPG The Vienna spear] consists of a simple spear wrapped in a ridiculous amount of bling (including the supposed True Cross nail). The spear as was supposed to have pierced Christ's side is the core; the nail and everything else would have been added later.

 

* In ''[[Hellsing (Manga)|Hellsing]]'', Father Alexander Anderson, when confronted by a fully-released Alucard, produces one of the Nails and uses it to turn himself into a holy, inhuman monster to fight the vampire.

 

* In ''[[Fright Night 2011 (Film)|Fright Night 2011]]'', [[Chekhov's Armory|Peter Vincent's collection of arcane relics]] contains a Crucifixion nail. Stabbing a vampire in the heart with one is described as an "old school" way of killing their kind. {{spoiler|Nobody ever gets to a chance to use it.}}

 

* Variation on the nails legend: in Piers Anthony's [[Incarnations of Immortality]] series, reference is made to how the nails were fashioned. When the time came for Jesus to be crucified, the Roman soldiers needed to have nails made, but no one would make them once they found out who was to be crucified with them. After several fruitless attempts, [[Idiot Ball|the Roman soldiers finally wised up]] and didn't tell the next forger who the nails were for--until he had made three nails and was working on the fourth. Once he found out, he then refused to finish the last nail. The soldiers took the completed three, thus [[Did Not Do the Research|supposedly explaining why Jesus had his feet nailed together instead of separately]]--while the blacksmith and his family were forced to flee from terrible, nightmare visions of the unfinished nail following them everywhere they went. The forger was Roma...thus explaining [[Common Knowledge|why their people wander to this day]]. Considering the author got everything right about the origin of "Gypsy" and their being native to India, and that their depiction was both sympathetic and working hard to overturn a lot of stereotypes, these little lapses can be forgiven. Besides, it was a pretty good (albeit entirely fictional?) legend.

** 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 Shroud of Turin, unsurprisingly, has also appeared at least a time or two in fiction of recent years, usually with the implication that it has enormous mystical power. Test results that date it to the late [[Middle Ages]] are [[Rule of Cool|generally ignored]]. Similarly, there's Veronica's Veil -- a cloth that the eponymous Veronica wiped Jesus' brow with as he was marched to Golgotha, and which was imprinted with his image. Some scholars believe the Veil may have been the Shroud of Turin, just folded so only the image of the face appeared. There's been recent evidence to suggest that the original results from 1988 were either the results of bias or poor data sampling. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin See the "chemical properties of the sample site" under the "Analysis of the Shroud"]

 

* ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index (Anime)|To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'''s titular character, Index, claims her outfit, the Walking Church, is an accurate replica of the Shroud, and is of Pope-class hardness, able to deflect physical, magical, and psychic attacks. Well, it ''was'', until Touma's [[Anti Magic|Imagine Breaker]] touched it and [[Clothing Damage|it fell apart]].

* Appeared in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S (Anime)|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S]]'' in the form of the Holy Shroud of the Saint King, the figure of worship of the Belkan [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Saint Church]]. While it had no powers of its own, it was used to retrieve blood samples of the Saint King and [[Clone Jesus|create a clone of]] [[She Is the King|her]].

 

* 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 As We Know It|the Apocalypse]].}}

 

* In ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' ([[Trope Overdosed|somewhat unsurprisingly]]) the entirety of ''Death Masks'' is centered on the theft of the Shroud of Turin, in which it's ''heavily'' implied (and occasionally all but outright explicitly stated) that said Shroud has some ''crazy'' mystical strength owing to many years of being an object of faith. Interestingly, the usual assumption that it could [[Healing Hands|heal]] (as is a common assumption with pretty much anything that ever touched so much as Jesus' toenail clippings) is addressed, but the book in question leaves it open as to whether or not it actually ''can'' heal to the level hoped for. It does, however, hold up improbably well despite taking a beating (and a soaking followed by a pulling), and it may or may not have contributed to a fight, if you don't believe in coincidence. Oh, and it was about to be used as part of a mystical doomsday plot at one point, too... need I go on?

** 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]].

 

* There was an episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (TV)|The Outer Limits]]'' revival where a Christian [[The Fundamentalist|fundamentalist]] was using [[Lego Genetics|DNA samples]] from the Shroud of Turin to clone himself a new [[Clone Jesus|baby Jesus]].

 

* In ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', the Shroud is actually an artifact left behind by [[Precursors|the First Civilization]], and is an advanced piece of technology that has miraculous healing abilities.

 

 

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 (Anime)|Evangelion]]'' (although there it had no relation to the mythological lance, and was instead a powerful artifact of extraterrestrial origin) and even the first of those campy flicks from ''[[The Librarian]]'' series (where it was inexplicably in three parts, and became a set of [[Plot Coupon|Plot Coupons]] necessitating a whole lot of traveling and avoiding of Mayan [[Death Trap|Death Traps]]). Also appears as a plot coupon in the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' Movie, which allows the [[Big Bad]] to open a portal between the worlds. Almost any work of fiction dealing with [[Those Wacky Nazis|The Nazis']] [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|top secret paranormal experiments and super-weapons]] will mention the Spear at some point.

 

* Used in DC comics set during WWII. Hitler had it, as the [[Justified Trope|justification]] why [[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]] or others [[Reed Richards Is Useless|didn't just fly over and beat the snot out of him and his army]]. This is a decades-later [[Retcon]], the actual [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] comics didn't bother to explain.

** The Spear has been shown to be one of the few things effective against the otherwise near-omnipotent hero, [[The Spectre]].

* The Top Cow comics heroine Magdelena wields the Spear of Destiny as a weapon. The current Magdelena is the latest in a long line of woman warriors sworn to protect the Catholic Church.

 

* A scarily accurate replica of the German spear (which is actually just the spearhead) made a brief appearance in the ''[[Hellboy (Film)|Hellboy]]'' movie, prominently displayed in a glass case at the BPRD headquarters.

** The replica from ''[[Hellboy]]'' also appears as a major plot device in [[The Movie]] of the comic book ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]],'' ''[[Constantine (Film)|Constantine]]''.

 

* ''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 appears, naturally, in Barry Sadler's "Casca" series, since the main character is the soldier who stabbed Christ with it. The Spear is in the possession of a cult who persecute Casca throughout history and reappears periodically throughout the series.

 

* The short-lived [[Nineties Adventure Show]] ''[[Roar (TV)|Roar]]'' was entirely based around this - the [[Big Bad]] of the show was Longinus himself, who was [[Who Wants to Live Forever|granted immortality as a curse]] after [[Did Not Do the Research|killing Jesus.]] The super power of the Lance was supposedly the ability kill anyone - that's how it killed Jesus, an immortal god. It somehow made its way to Britain, and Longinus was trying to get it back in order to kill himself with it.

* The spear shows up in an episode of, of all things, ''[[The Unit (TV)|The Unit]]''. Normally a show about the All-State guy and a bunch of badasses fighting terrorists, this particular episode has him an injured man stranded behind enemy lines. When they report their location and it turns out to be near a monastery suspected of guarding the spear, an affluent group of men who throw around a lot of money to influence the government call in some favors to have their rescue conveniently delayed until Jonas takes the spear from the monastery. Some [[Lampshade Hanging]] is done at the expense of the "committee;" the character who relays their wishes notes that they may very well be raving mad to think owning the spear will magically expand their influence. Jonas and his injured team member each have a [[Mind Screw]] during the ordeal, though.

 

* The Vienna lance is said to have inspired a vision of destiny in a young [[Adolf Hitler]], and when Austria was annexed he had the lance removed to Berlin -- so at least some of the Nazi connection is actually true.

** Rumor/urban myth states that a team of American commandos took the Lance out of Germany in 1945 and that it's currently stored in the Pentagon.

** In a twofer, if you look closely at [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Heilige_Lanze_02.JPG the tip], it has what is purported to be one of Jesus's nails wired into it.

 

* In the Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game, the "Forbidden Lance" is a spell that temporarily weakens the user for a turn, but makes it immune to all other spells and traps.

 

* Oddly shows up as a combination NPC/weapon, in ''[[Disgaea Hour of Darkness (Video Game)|Disgaea Hour of Darkness]]''. It stands in Laharl's castle and can be asked about the strengths and weaknesses of various weapon types.

* 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

 

 

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 (Video Game)|really good helmet that saps your HP]].

* 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.

 

 

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 ''[[The X-Files (TV)|The X-Files]]'', and the concept was used on ''[[CSI (TV)|CSI]]''. Debunked (alas) by ''[[Myth Busters (TV)|Myth Busters]]''.

 

 

* In ''[[The Librarian]]'': The Judas Chalice, they had been forged into a silver equivalent to [[Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (Film)|the Holy Grail]] for vampires.

 

* Show up in ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]''. Each one contains a [[Sealed Evil in A Can|fallen angel]], the lot of whom are collectively referred to as the Knights of the Blackened Denarius (or as Harry calls them, [[Deadpan Snarker|the Nickelheads]])

* 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.

 

* The 30 Pieces of Silver also show up as items to search for in ''[[Dantes Inferno (Video Game)|Dantes Inferno]]''. Each 5 collected gets the hero a power-up.

 

* In [[Thunderstruck]], Judas Iscariot is the progenitor of all vampires, his condition being the result of a curse put on him due to his traitorous intentions as he drank of the blood of Christ at the Last Supper. The thirty pieces of silver became a talisman holding absolute power over his soul; whoever possesses the silver pieces has total control over Judas (but only if they have all 30).

 

 

* The noose with which Judas Iscariot hung himself ''also'' shows up in ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]''. (It's worn by the bearer of one of the 30 coins mentioned above.)

* {{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.

 

 

From the Old Testament, there's the Ark of the Covenant -- though, as ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film)|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' demonstrated, it is not said to be something many people can safely use. Even if it doesn't possess any supernatural power, the design as laid out in the Bible could produce a monstrous capacitor, and in the right environment and circumstances, could build up a potentially deadly static charge. Which may be why the Bible also specifies (insulating) silk garments for the bearers of the Ark... and might explain the biblical account of the unprotected man who touched the Ark and was struck dead. Oddly enough, the one thing mentioned in [[The Bible]] to actually have supernatural power is at the bottom of this list.

 

* In the Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game, the "Gold Sarcophagus" is a spell that delays, then forces the draw of a card, possibly opening up a box of worms or setting up anything given enough foresight. This card could alternatively be considered a Pandora's Box analogue.

 

 

From Jewish folklore, the seal ring that allowed Solomon to cork up spirits in bottles. May feature only in finding such a bottle with the impress.

 

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prosperos Daughter]]'', this is used on various spirits.

* In [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos]]'', the genie came from such a bottle.

 

 

 

Any weapon ever used or made by a god -- especially the [[Norse Mythology|Norse-mythological]] weapons Gungnir (Odin's spear) and especially Mjollnir (Thor's hammer).

Mjollnir is actually spelled/pronounced "Mjöllnir". The sound ö is usually unpronounceable to native English speakers. It's somewhat similar to the "heu" in French (like heure). "Myol'neer" (with short o) is pretty close, though. Speak the word heard or girl (the 3: sound) and you will be pretty close.

Ragnarok is also a common name for swords in RPGs, and there's also Lævateinn, the [[Flaming Sword]] of Surtr.

 

* ''[[Digimon Tamers (Anime)|Digimon Tamers]]'': Most of Dukemon's arsenal consists of weapons named after legendary weapons of Norse mythology. In his base form he wields a lance called Gram, and as [[Eleventh Hour Superpower|Crimson Mode]] he wields dual [[Energy Weapon|energy weapons]] named Blutgang and Gungnir. In [[All There in the Manual|expanded universe material]], his [[Evil Counterpart]] [[Palette Swap]] ChaosDukemon instead calls his lance Balmung.

* Look at any work by Kosuke Fujishima, ''[[Ah My Goddess (Manga)|Ah My Goddess]]'' being most prevalent.

* Bayloupe of New Light from ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index (Anime)|To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' condenses Thor's weapons into a pair of gloves, allowing her to use all of Thor's weapons.

 

* [[Captain Obvious|It appears]] [[Marvel Comics]]' [[The Mighty Thor]]. This version can only be used by "one who is worthy" though exactly ''what'' makes the user worthy is never explained. [[Captain America]] could lift it, but not [[Superman]] (except with Thor's permission, in [[JLA-Avengers]]).

** Sure it is. The wielder has to be worthy of the power of Thor. It's a dual-purpose enchantment by Odin to both make sure that power doesn't fall into the wrong hands, but also to make sure that there is a Thor who will ''act like Thor'' once Ragnarok comes around. Superman isn't worthy to lift Mjolnir because he's actually a little too heroic. A proper Thor needs to think like a warrior when the situation calls for it, which means being just a little bit more willing to use lethal force when necessary. That's no slight on Superman, it just means that Superman would make a poor viking, which is as it should be.

*** This also happened concerning [[Wonder Woman]] in the DC vs. Marvel/Marvel vs. DC mini-series.

 

* One of the ships in ''[[The Matrix (Film)|The Matrix]]'' was technically called Mjolnir, but everybody called it "The Hammer". Probably because, as the special features on the ''Revolutions'' DVD demonstrate, [[Did Not Do the Research|nobody involved in the production could figure out how to pronounce it]].

* The weapon of the titular hero in [[Thor]]. One of the regular human characters [[The Unpronouncable|refers to it as "Mye-mye"]]

 

* 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 ''[[Prosperos Daughter]]'', one of the swords the Prosperos own comes from Norse mythology.

 

* Mjolnir shows up in ''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]''. Along with the real Thor and Loki. There's also the Spear of Neptune, although Neptune himself is not encountered

** 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..

* Mjolnir showed up on ''[[First Wave (TV)|First Wave]]'' as an alien portal-making thingy.

 

* 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 (Video Game)|Halo]]'' example: the MJOLNIR Mk. V / Mk. VI [[Powered Armor]] worn by the hero and other SPARTAN-II graduates.

* In ''[[Fire Emblem]]'''s [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Jugdral canon]], quite a few of the weapons of the Twelve Crusaders are named for weapons from Norse mythology - the Tyrhung (Tyrfing), Balmunc (Balmung), Gungnir, Mystletainn (Mistleteinn) and Thor Hammer (Mjöllnir).

 

* In ''[[The Specialists (Webcomic)|The Specialists]]'', [http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-57/ Balmung]

 

* In ''Atlantis II: Milo's Return'', Gungnir is the artifact the third leg focuses on. It is in fact of Atlantean origin. A crazed shipwright named Eric Helstrom, under the delusion he was Odin, stole it from Mr. Whitmore's collection and attempts to use it to cause Ragnarok. He is prevented from doing so and the spear is instead used to raise Atlantis back above the surface of the ocean.

 

 

 

[[HP Lovecraft]] invented the ''Necronomicon'', which has since appeared in tons of fictional works, not limited to the [[Cosmic Horror|Cthulhu Mythos]]. Probably the most famous of these are the ''[[Evil Dead (Film)|Evil Dead]]'' movies, which gave a striking visual look to the book. This version of the book has since been visually referenced in many places where there was a need to show an evil book. In a case of [[Defictionalization]] / [[Fan Dumb]], there are many forgeries of the ''Necronomicon''.

 

* The Necronomicon was mentioned in passing as one of the 103, 000 grimoires inside Index's brain in ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index (Anime)|To Aru Majutsu no Index]]''.

 

* The ''Darkhold'' is [[Marvel Comics]] analog of the ''Necronomicon''. The ''Darkhold'' started out as a set of scrolls written in Antedeluvian times, referenced in their ''Conan the Barbarian'' adaptations.

* [[Evil Sorcerer|Felix Faust]] is sometimes seen reading from the Necronomicon. When reading the literature of Tartarus in ''[[Justice League]] Unlimited'' he refers to dark tomes that make the Necronomicon look like a children's book.

 

* The Necronomicon Ex Mortis from the ''[[Evil Dead (Film)|Evil Dead]]'' series, a classic [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]].

 

* 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 [[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]] version is the infamous and feared ''Necrotelicomnicon'', the ''Book of Communicating with the Dead Long Distance''.

* In ''[[The Vampire Files|Lifeblood]]'', Jack meets a bookseller who owns and closely guards one of these forgeries, and doesn't have the heart to tell the guy he's been suckered into buying a worthless knockoff.

 

* This appears in ''[[Golden Sun (Video Game)|Golden Sun]]'', but changed in the English translation to "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Mega_Therion Tomegathericon]".

* The ''Necrotelicomnicon'' also shows up in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]''.

 

* The ''Necrowombicon'' in ''[[Megatokyo]]''.

 

* The ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'' Cthulhu trilogy featured the ''Necronomicon'', of course.

 

* Artist H.R. Giger named two famous collections of artwork and autobiography after the Necronomicon.

 

 

Another more recent artifact; the [[Holy Hand Grenade]] from ''[[Monty Python and The Holy Grail]]'', despite being a literal [[Incredibly Lame Pun|throw away gag]]. Note that this is actually a Copyrighted Artifact, being roughly a century yet (copyright is loooong these days) from falling into the public domain.

 

* The [[Black Templars]] from ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 40000]]'' have a unique piece of wargear called the Holy Orbs of Antioch, which always wounds on a 2+.

 

* Was a piece of cut content in ''[[Fallout 2 (Video Game)|Fallout 2]]''. In ''[[Fallout New Vegas (Video Game)|Fallout New Vegas]]'', you get a slight variation, the Holy Frag Grenade.

* Appears as one of the higher tier weapons in ''[[Worms (Video Game)|Worms]]''. It even lets out an angelic chorus before it explodes.

 

 

* 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 [[Godwins Law|Hitler]].