Sword Cane: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"He had thrown those thoughts as far to the side of his mind as he could manage, because '''holy shit sword-cane'''. '''[[Large Ham|Swooooooooooooooord-caaaaaaaaaaaaane!]]"'''''|About Jeremy Franco, '''[http://s10.zetaboards.com/SOTF_V2/topic/7286544/1/?x=10 The Only Way Is Up]''', ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''}}
|About Jeremy Franco, '''[http://s10.zetaboards.com/SOTF_V2/topic/7286544/1/?x{{=}}10 The Only Way Is Up]''', ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''}}
 
A '''Sword Cane''' is a short sword or other bladed weapon that is concealed inside of a [[Cane Fu|cane]]. The cane is opened by twisting the top or pressing a release button, then pulling on the handle to reveal a blade, [[Audible Sharpness|often with a "Tzing" sound]]. This weapon is typically used by [[Cultured Badass]] characters or as a weapon of advantage by a character who walks with a limp. Also popular amongst blind swordsmen. Occasionally, this will be altered by the character having a gun or stun baton disguised as a cane, which are also real weapons (and arguably [[Sword Cane/Analysis|more practical]]), but relatively rare in fiction.
 
Connected to, and sometimes overlaps with, [[Parasol of Pain]]. Compare [[Combat Haircomb]].
 
'''Sword Cane''' is a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Arsenal Attire]].
 
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] &and [[Manga ]] ==
 
== Anime & Manga ==
* ''[[Bleach]]'': Kisuke Urahara's Zanpaku-to, Benihime.
** Ryūjin Jakka, Captain Commander Yamamoto's Zanpaku-to/wooden staff, which literally dissolves to reveal a normal katana rather than being a fancy blade.
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* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' has Tuxedo Mask's cane, which can function as both a sword or a staff depending on the type of ass-kicking he's in the mood for.
 
== [[Comic Books ]] ==
 
== Comic Books ==
* In one of the older [[Mickey Mouse]] comic books, among the items Mickey inherits from a deceased uncle is a cane that supposedly "will help you in your time of need." The context makes it sound like it's in case he hurts himself, but in a critical moment he figures out that it can be bent and reconfigured into a long-barrelled rifle. (He uses it to shoot a coconut and knock it out of a tree so it lands on the villain's head. This is Disney, after all.)
* ''[[The Sandman]]'': Fiddler's Green has one which he carries with him when wandering around in human form. He uses it during ''The Doll's House'' arc.
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* [[Daredevil|Matt Murdock's]] cane conceals a variety of weapons and tools, including a billy club, grappling hook and (originally) a small-caliber rifle.
 
== [[Film ]] ==
 
== Film ==
* R'as Al-Ghul has one in ''[[Batman Begins]]''.
* Watson carries one in ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''. The villain swipes it in a deleted scene to duel with Holmes.
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* One of the first scenes in ''The Assassination Bureau'' is of a man pretending to be blind—and then he uses his white cane to shoot a dignitary who's standing on a balcony, watching the fireworks that drown out the sound of the gunshot. The victim falling off the balcony is reflected in the "blind man's" dark glasses.
 
== [[Literature ]] ==
 
== Literature ==
* In a flashback in ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]'', it was mentioned that [[Badass Grandpa]] Monsieur Noirtier carried one and was even able to defeat a seasoned military officer armed with a full-sized rapier with it.
* More or less subverted in the book ''[[A Dirty Job]]''. Charlie Asher has one. Then, being an antique, it jams when he tries to draw it. He gets a newer one, then turns out to leave it at home when he just gets a friend to lend him a gun.
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* In Barthe DeClements's ''Double Trouble'', villainous teacher Mr. Gessert has a gun version.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** [[Secret Police]] leader Captain Swing in ''[[Discworld/Night Watch (Discworld)|Night Watch]]'' carries a sword cane, which like other "covert weapons" (i.e. flick knives and palm daggers) is looked upon with disgust by Vimes. Swing surprises him by not [[Flynning]] but actually being a fairly competent swordsman
** In both ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'' and ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'', rumour has it that Vetinari's walking stick is a sword cane, possibly forged from the blood of his enemies. Vetinari's own view is that if people think your stick might be a sword, they forget that it's [[Simple Staff|definitely a stick]].
* [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]: An older Lando Calrissian, as of the ''[[Legacy of the Force]]'' series, carries a cane with a small blaster and a voice-activated stunner. (Which stuns anyone ''touching'' the cane - in case it's taken from him. Lando's [[Crazy Prepared|like that]].)
* In one of [[Agatha Christie]]'s [[Tommy and Tuppence]] stories, Tommy (who is pretending to be blind to win a bet with his wife) has one concealed in his fake "white stick" in one of the tales in ''Partners in Crime''.
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* The narrator in [[Umberto Eco]]'s ''The Prague Cemetery'' carries one so nobody will notice he's armed. The first person he meets immediately congratulates him on carrying such a fine [[Cane Sword]].
* [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s [[Occult Detective]] Judge Pursuivant has a silver version of one of these, with the words "Sic pereant omnes inimici tui" (thus perish all your enemies) engraved on it. When he becomes too old to wield it, the Judge passes it on to his colleague John Thunstone.
* One apparent adversary in a ''[[The Three Investigators]]'' book carried a sword cane. He revealed this as part of an attempt to intimidate them, unsheathing it and then frowning, remarking he hadn't cleaned it properly, and adding that blood was bad for fine steel. [[Exact Words|He never actually said]] that the red, sticky substance he then wiped from the blade '''was''' blood....
 
== [[Live -Action TV ]] ==
 
== Live Action TV ==
* In ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' TV series, Steed had a sword concealed within his umbrella.
* Adam's trademark weapon in ''[[Adam Adamant Lives]]''.
* The private rail car in ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'' included (during the first season) a sword concealed in a pool cue.
* [[House (TV series)|House]] carried not a sword, but an axe and a shotgun within his cane during a dream sequence.
{{quote|'''House:''' *Slice* Good thing I brought my Ax Cane.}}
** In one episode, House has a cane confiscated by airport security- it was an antique cane made for a vintner that had a corkscrew concealed in the handle.
 
== [[Music ]] ==
 
== Music ==
* Bob Dylan's ''On The Road Again'' from ''Bringing it all Back Home'':
{{quote|Your grandpa's cane, it turns into a sword
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* The titular character in [[Lou Reed]]'s "My Friend George" carries one.
 
== [[Tabletop Games ]] ==
 
== Tabletop Games ==
* Sword canes show up in ''[[GURPS]]: High-Tech''. They're expensive, low quality and bad for parrying. On the up side beating people with the cane is still a viable option. There's also a ''rifle'' cane.
* ''[[Seventh7th Sea]]'' includes a swordsman's school based around the use of a sword cane.
* ''[[Dark Heresy]]'' has a [[Laser Blade|power sword cane]].
* The ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' [[Sourcebook]] ''Armory'' has these listed. They deal bashing damage with the cane on and lethal with the blade out.
* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' adventure DA1 ''Adventures in Blackmoor''. In the Comeback Inn, the Master Closet has five walking sticks, one of which is a sword cane.
* ''[[Pathfinder]]'' has stats for them in ''Ultimate Equipment''. It's pretty useless since it's worse in almost every way compared to a club (which can be an actual, non-bladed, cane). Its only advantage is that it can be used with weapon finesse and benefits from light blade specialization.
 
== [[Theatre ]] ==
 
== Theatre ==
* In ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'', [[Villain Protagonist]] Macheath carries a sword cane.
* Rupert in ''[[Rope]]'' has one and uses it to defend himself against the killers while they wait for the police.
* Edward Hyde uses {{spoiler|and is killed by}} one in ''[[Jekyll and Hyde (theatre)|Jekyll and Hyde]]''.
 
== [[Video Games ]] ==
 
== Video Games ==
* Master Rishu from ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]]'' is a proud owner of one of these.
* Not quite this trope, but clearly influenced by it: [[Melty Blood|Kohaku]] conceals a sword in her [[Flying Broomstick]].
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* Special maces in ''[[Romancing SaGa 3]]'' allow you to draw out a sword from within them through a special skill. Afterwards, it is treated like a short sword.
 
== [[Web Comics ]] ==
 
== Web Comics ==
* {{spoiler|Adrian Raven}} in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' has this, but carries it only when expecting serious trouble.
* [[Badass Grandpa|Thaco]] from ''[[Goblins]]'' has a variant. There's no element of concealment; his [[Dual-Wielding|two swords]] lock together so he can ''[[Mundane Utility|use]]''[[Mundane Utility|them as a cane]].
* [[Handicapped Badass|Blind]] Terezi Pyrope from ''[[Homestuck]]'' turned her walking cane into one at some point during her session.
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130624095659/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue3/ib059.html Caspian has one, but doesn't always have to draw the blade].
* ''[[Bug (webcomic)Martini|Bug]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20130513184454/http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/the-handicapable-swordfighter/ wanted one, but sees a few problems on the way].
 
== [[Web Original ]] ==
 
== Web Original ==
* Jeremy Franco of ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' was given this as his assigned weapon. As seen by the page quote, he enjoyed it.
* Roman Torchwick of ''[[RWBY]]'' carries a cane that doubles as a gun, complete with a crosshairs sight on the end that flips up for aiming.
** His partner/minion Neo has a more traditional sword blade built into her [[Parasol of Pain]].
 
== [[Western Animation ]] ==
* Elderly Jedi Master Tera Sinube has a Lightsaber built into his cane in ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]''.
* Sherlock Holmes carries one in ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]''.
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* Martin has one in ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'' 2.
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
* The: [[wikipedia:Swordstick|Swordstick]], [[wikipedia:Cane gun|Cane gun]], [[wikipedia:Japanese sword mountings#Shikomizue|Shikomizue]].
* In Israel, pre-1948, many of the elderly Jews of Jerusalem were armed with one-shot canes.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Sword Cane{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Index On a Stick]]
[[Category:Sword Tropes]]
[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]
[[Category:Sword Cane]]