Total Eclipse of the Plot: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:HeroesEclipse.jpg|link=Heroes (TV series)|
{{quote|''A Solar Eclipse is when the moon passes in-between the Earth and the Sun. Sometimes it can have a [[Ax Crazy|strange effect on people.]] [[Artistic License Astronomy|It makes them do things they normally wouldn't do.]] [[Dying Like Animals|Gee I hope our pals in Magicland]] [[It Got Worse|are doing okay...]]
|'''[[Mastodon|Brann Dailor]]''', unaware of an incoming [[Sugar Apocalypse]], ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}Xr9_e4ySRYA Deathbound Music Video]''}}
Eclipses are inherently dramatic. That's why they're often used in fiction to punctuate dramatic events, or as a major plot element. They frequently mark something supernatural or magical in nature, even if the eclipse itself is a normal event.
In [[Real Life]], eclipses don't usually last very long, a matter of minutes,
Also, solar eclipses only completely block out the light in one relatively small area and the light reduction gets less pronounced the further away from the center of the eclipse, but in fiction tend to block out the sun completely wherever they happen to be. Lunar eclipses can be seen anywhere on the nightside of the earth.
Has nothing to do with a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Eclipse_of_the_Heart certain song] by [[Bonnie Tyler]], other than the album cover. See also [[Convenient Eclipse]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In the finale of ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', the gate back to Earth from the Digital World took the form of a solar eclipse which lasted only two hours before closing/ending, necessitating that the Chosen Children quickly say their goodbyes to their [[Mons]] and return home lest they risk never being able to return home or potentially being wiped as anomalies in the restoration of the Digital World.
* In the fourth season of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', The Dead Moon Circus arrives on Earth from their nightmare dimension through a solar eclipse. Later, when the Dead Moon's leader Queen Nehelenia, breaks free of magic mirror prison and temporary takes over the world. Her evil magic powers caused a permanent solar eclipse that covers the entire world in darkness and would not disappear until after Nehelenia had been sealed away again.
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* Eclipses happen only once every 216 years in the ''[[Berserk]]'' universe, and they mark the birth of a new member of the Godhand. When it happens in the series, it marks the end of the Golden Age arc of the manga (and the end of the anime) and is the point where things turn from grim and gritty medievalesque [[Low Fantasy]] to straight up demonic horror, as {{spoiler|Griffith, one of the three principal characters, [[Face Heel Turn|goes bad in a big way]] and sacrifices the Band of the Hawk to become the fifth member of the Godhand. [[It Got Worse|Everything goes straight to hell for Guts and his]] [[True Companions]] [[It Got Worse|as a direct result of]] [[Moral Event Horizon|Griffith's actions]]}}.
* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', the God of the Underworld, Hades, aligns all the celestial bodies in the Solar System in order to bring about the Final Eclipse, which will result in [[The Night That Never Ends]].
* The solar eclipse in ''[[Umi Monogatari]]'' takes quite a bit longer than expected, which is even [[
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', there's a solar eclipse during the [[Grand Finale]]. This may have something to do with the alchemical symbolism related to the Sun and Moon (and the Sun being devoured). The fandom has taken to [[Fan Nickname|calling this]] "The Eclipse" in reference to ''[[Berserk]]'', since {{spoiler|it turns out to be critical to Father's plan. And Hoemheim's. Specifically, using the Umbra [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|
* ''[[Pokémon (
** In the 12th ''[[Pokémon (
** The eponymous temple in ''[[
* ''[[Nurse Angel Ririka SOS]]'' aired during a year when a partial solar eclipse occurred in Japan, and eclipses get mentioned in a couple of episodes. The main example is episode 16, where it's used to symbolize the heroine's mental state.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[The DCU]] has the villain Eclipso. At first, a villain who only came out of his host's body during an eclipse, he has far surpassed that. And back in those days, the host quite sensibly tried to avoid being around when there was any kind of eclipse. You'd think that with an almanac and a modest travel budget, that wouldn't be hard, but he seemed to be really bad at it.
* When ''[[Tintin
* Leetah in ''[[Elf Quest]]'' has a phobia of eclipses - and it later turns out that her long-time suitor Rayek was ''born'' during an eclipse, which might explain why they've always had such a troubled relationship. Interestingly enough, the eclipse that surrounded Rayek's birth was considered a ''good'' omen by the elves, who had been experiencing a years-long drought and were glad of the brief respite from the sun's heat. The interpretation was that Rayek would grow up to become a tribal protector, interposing himself between them and danger the way the moon interposed itself between the village and the harsh sun.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Pitch Black]]''. The prolonged eclipse allows the light-fearing monsters free rein to attack the heroes. Possibly justified since the occluding body is not the Earth's moon, but a nearby gas giant several times larger than the planet the protagonists are on.
* The Disney movie ''[[Watcher In The Woods]]'' has an important [[Backstory]] revolving around a solar eclipse, and its
** In this movie, and others such as the Esperanto-language ''Incubus'', everyone is surprised by the eclipse, when in real life the site would be crawling with astronomers and tourists who’d known about it years in advance.
* In ''[[Apocalypto]]'', a solar eclipse occurs while Jaguar Paw is on the sacrificial altar. It saves his life, as the priest interprets the eclipse as a sign that the gods' thirst for blood is sated.
* [[Man-Eating Plant|Audrey II]] appears out of nowhere during a total eclipse of the sun in ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]''.
* ''[[Ladyhawke]]'' got an eclipse that allowed the titular bird/woman and her wolf/man lover to be together rather than for those few moments at dawn and dusk when each was changing shape. It is standing together like this before the evil bishop that cursed them that ultimately breaks their curse. Though this "eclipse" occurs the day after a full moon (which would be impossible since solar eclipses can only take place at New Moon). Either the writers [[Artistic License Astronomy|fail astronomy forever]], or it really was supposed to be a miracle.
* Also happened in another
* The "Rite of Spring" segment of ''[[Fantasia]]'' ends with a devastating earthquake occurring during a solar eclipse.
* ''[[Tomb Raider]]''. The [[Big Bad]]'s plan involves an astronomical conjunction of every planet in the solar system, which also includes a solar eclipse.
* ''[[
* A solar eclipse that was briefly mentioned in the beginning of the film makes a bad situation even worse in ''[[From Dusk
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Nightfall
* An eclipse happens in the second ''[[Nightrunner]]'' book. It was a prophetic event and did indeed last a curiously long time.
* The title character in ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' uses foreknowledge of an eclipse to convince the medieval denizens that he has supernatural abilities.
* The ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' novel ''The White Gryphon'' introduces the Heighlei, an incredibly rule-bound society that only allows large-scale societal changes once every 20 years, during a solar eclipse. It provides the [[Race Against Time]] when the protagonists are framed for murder: they must clear their names before the eclipse to ally with the Heighlei.
* A total eclipse of the moon happens at the climax of [[
* [[Stephen King]]'s novels ''Gerald's Game'' and ''Dolores Claiborne'' are linked via an eclipse (the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963, which happened in real life). They were originally conceived as a single volume.
* The medieval legends of Saint Olaf, as found in, among other versions, [[
* In ''[[Star Trek: Articles of the Federation]]'', it's revealed that to the dominant native religion of Lembatta Prime, a solar eclipse is a sacred event. The planet shuts down entirely during an eclipse, forcing Federation President Bacco to postpone her state visit.
* In ''Sunwing'', the second book in the ''[[Silverwing (
* In ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', the characters' powers were retconned came about after an [[Retcon|eclipse]], and were taken away {{spoiler|temporarily}} during another eclipse, one that lasted hours. The eclipse also covered the entire planet the first time, and did the second time as well. It's strange when Peter in New York saw the eclipse at the same time as Claire in Texas, but it's downright stupid that Hiro, who's in ''Japan'' sees it at the same time as well.
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
▲* In ''[[Heroes (TV)|Heroes]]'', the characters' powers were retconned came about after an [[Retcon|eclipse]], and were taken away {{spoiler|temporarily}} during another eclipse, one that lasted hours. The eclipse also covered the entire planet the first time, and did the second time as well. It's strange when Peter in New York saw the eclipse at the same time as Claire in Texas, but it's downright stupid that Hiro, who's in ''Japan'' sees it at the same time as well.
* In ''[[Eastenders]]'', a couple have their wedding at the moment of the eclipse. Particularly jarring as it was set around the event of a real eclipse (but filmed beforehand) and the one on TV was much better than the real one due to bad weather.
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', the mayor ascends at the moment of eclipse. This allows his vampires to come attack the students as well. Although the eclipse was a magical effect brought on by the mayor's transformation rather than a natural event, which could [[A Wizard Did It|explain some of the oddities.]]
* On ''[[Angel]]'' [[Spell My Name
* In the Japanese Tokusatsu ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series, ''Kamen Rider Black'', the hero and his fated antagonist were both born during a solar eclipse, leading the evil organization Gorgom to groom them into the prophesied Century King. The baddies even refer to Kamen Rider Black as "Black Sun" and his evil counterpart as "Shadow Moon," highlighting this origin.
* During the Green Ranger arc of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', Rita uses her magic to cause a total solar eclipse. This cuts the solar-powered Megazord off from its power source, weakening it to the point where her agents can defeat it (Until it gets repaired in time for the finale). Given that this was fairly early in the first season, [[Idiot Ball|one has to wonder why she never tried to do this again, or send monsters down on new moon nights, when there would be no sun or even moonlight to power the ranger's mecha]]. Still, even weakened like that, it took the combined power of Goldar, Scorpina, and the Green Ranger grown to giant size to defeat the Megazord, and even then they didn't wreck it, they just split it and enabled Rita to trap the Zords. Also of note is that when Master Vile pulled a similar trick later, Alpha and Zordon were able to use the Command Center to break the spell. Rita was only able to get away with it on this occasion because the Green Ranger had cut the Rangers off from Zordon. The real-world reason is that good night-fight scenes were tricky and expensive to shoot at the time.
* In ''[[Tensou Sentai Goseiger]]'', Brajira intends to carry out the final stage of his plan during a solar eclipse since that is when the Earth's defences are at their weakest.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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* In ''[[Scion]]'', an interesting effect can be achieved by combining one of the highest abilities of the Sun and Moon domains (not necessarily from the same person). Both have the ability to pluck a small copy of their respective celestial body out of the sky, and then save it for later - the Sun can be used to create a sun-crown that absorbs energy-based attacks, while the moon creates a rapidly-moving disc that blocks projectile-attacks. If a single person activates both of those effects, they combine to form the awesome-looking 'Eclipse Crown', granting both bonuses with an added boost.
* In ''[[Dark Heresy]]'' The Tyrant star sometimes appears like this(though whether it is just eclipsing the sun, replacing it or if it is all just a hallucination is left up to the GM). Bad things happen when it does.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In the original ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'', the villain performs a ritual when "the Black Moon rises", which turns out to be a lunar eclipse of a full moon.
* In ''[[Diablo II]]'', a sudden unexplained eclipse turns out to have been caused by evil magic, and the heroes undertake a quest to destroy the spell at its source. Once this is done, daylight returns instantly.
* The last act of ''[[Okami]]'' takes place during the Day of
* The backstory and {{spoiler|[[Final Boss]]}} of [[Romancing
* In 1999 [[Castlevania|Dracula]] apparently [[Killed Off for Real|dies for the final time]] due to / during an eclipse. Another eclipse, set in Japan in 2035, sets the plot of Aria of Sorrow in motion.
* At the climax of ''[[The Darkness]]'', a solar eclipse covers the city in darkness, not only allowing you to access your darkness-based powers in the middle of the day, but also apparently supercharging them. The eclipse is unrealistically long, of course, but at least had the good grace to start slow - it actually takes several minutes from the point where it starts to show, and until the eclipse becomes complete.
* The classic platformer ''[[Heart of Darkness (
* ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'' has the Grave Eclipse as a major event in the gameplay. It's [[It Got Worse|worse than it sounds]], [[Mood Whiplash|really]].
* ''[[Total Eclipse]]'', the last-but-one Freescape game, has (as its title suggests) a total solar eclipse as the driver of its plot. It features a pyramid dedicated to sun-god Re, with a curse upon it; if the chamber at the apex is obscured from sunlight during the day, the Moon will
* In ''[[Sonic Riders]]'', a solar eclipse opens a chasm in the sands and creates the Dark Desert racetrack. The eclipse will last however long it takes for the race to finish.
* In ''[[Street Fighter IV
* The climax of ''[[Touhou|Embodiment of Scarlet Devil]]'' has Reimu facing off against [[Our Vampires Are Different|Remilia Scarlet]] on the night of the Scarlet Moon, a lunar eclipse that has turned the full moon blood-red, when Remilia's power is at its peak.
* In the original ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'', when Reptile appears and says, "Look to La Luna", he means you can only unlock him as a [[Bonus Boss]] on The Pit stage when a shadow is moving over the moon, which happens, on average, every sixth game. Of course, [[That One Achievement| that's the ''easy'' part of it]].
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120607082214/http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/4825172/ It was a part of the summoning of Ygrassnoj] in ''[[The
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Grand Finale|"The Ascension"]] in ''[[
* Justified in ''[[Mall Fight]]'', as the eclipse that
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[
* ''[[Darkwing Duck (
* ''[[
** ''[[
* There was a ''[[
* In ''[[The Simpsons (
* ''[[Jonny Quest:
* ''[[Men in Black (
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Sun:''' What is wrong with that guy? }}
* And episode of ''[[Western Animation/Kassai And Leuk|Kassai And Leuk]]'' had an eclipse happen at a moment when the party was relying on Marana's sun-triggered gazelle form.
* In the ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]'' episode "Boogie Frights", the Boogie Man blocks out the sun with a giant disco ball, and the girls have to destroy it [[Star Wars|Death Star style]].
* In ''[[The Owl House]]'', the [[Big Bad]]'s [[Evil Plan]] involves a ritual that must be conducted during a total solar eclipse, the reason he puts so much emphasis on the date he intends to cast it.
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