The Sword and Laser discussion
What are the coolest and most powerful handheld weapons in sci-fi and fantasy
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Nothing beats the original phaser from Star Trek for cool.
I don't know why, but I've always loved the force lance from the Andromeda tv show. It's a blaster! It's a quarterstaff! It's the staff weapon from Stargate! It does everything! Yes, it's a discount lightsaber, completely impossible and impractical, but I don't care. I always wanted one. https://youtu.be/82zW3l8-zPYBut for sheer badassery, I go with the M-920 Cain "Nuke Launcher" from Mass Effect 2: https://youtu.be/MnJ-UCgpjZo
or the shoulder-launched tactical nuke from the Starship Troopers movie: https://youtu.be/2ibnHGWR9pU
Nuke'em Rico!
Judge Dredd's lawgiver is pretty cool. Different types of selectable ammo.
How about the proton pack from Ghostbusters?
I've always been partial to the tools in Niven's Known Space universe.The digging tool which operates as a disintegrator. It makes holes easy to excavate by stripping bits off of atoms. It also happens to atomize everything. The humans supersized the digger and used it to carve the equivalent of the Grand Canyon into a planet during a war with the Kzin. (The humans won.)
The flashlight laser. It's mostly used as a light, but you can also focus the beam so it burns through anything. But anyone looking at it just thinks it's a flashlight. Until someone cuts slices off of your spaceship... and the spacemen inside it.
Mod
No need for fancy names. It's a Big F***ing Gun
Vera from Firefly
Jayne: "Six men came to kill me one time. And the best of 'em carried this. It's a Callahan full-bore auto-lock. Customized trigger, double cartridge thorough gauge. It is my very favorite gun … This is the best gun made by man. It has extreme sentimental value … I call her Vera."
The Glaive from Krull. The Frisbee/boomerang with many blades sticking out of it.Captain America's shield. The indestructible blunt Frisbee/boomerang.
Xena's chakram. The sharp Frisbee/boomerang.
Maybe I just like Frisbee/boomerangs.
Gary wrote: "I'm going to cheat and go with Mjolnir."I can't believe I forgot Mjolnir, of course that counts
Stormbringer & Mournblade from the Elric novels or the Shard Blades from the Stormlight books.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Veronica's Waxing sword, and Tom's waning laser gun. I mean come on.
Mod
and this one
Christos wrote: "Gary wrote: "I'm going to cheat and go with Mjolnir."I can't believe I forgot Mjolnir, of course that counts"
We should probably throw in Excalibur just for its subjective rock penetrating ability and power to determine a system of government based on strange women lying in ponds distributing swords in a farcical aquatic ceremony rather than determine supreme executive power derived from a mandate from the masses.
LOL, Dave I'm not sure if that helps, or defeats my claim. Either way it is cool. Anyone have a pic of Tom with a oversized anime sword?*Edited to not sound so creapy
Tassie Dave wrote: "John (Nevets) wrote: "I can't believe nobody has mentioned Veronica's Waxing sword, and Tom's waning laser gun. I mean come on."and this one
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Looks like Veronica's showing off two guns in that photo.
Sonic Screwdriver... Although I have always been partial to Kim Kinninson's mind blaster that allows him to kill any living being with a thought. Made for him by Worsel. Simply the two most dangerous people in SF,
Not sure why this thread doesn not show up n my Good reads front page.
Larry Niven's The Slaver Weapon on Animated Star Trek or from his short story The Soft Weapon. It has multiple forms. (Yes, that's a Kzinti on the bottom.)
The Invincible comics have a gun (I've forgotten its name) that fires a beam that is not stopped by anything. It just punches a hole through everything in its path to the end of the universe.
How about the Green Lanterns' rings? I suppose not literally hand held as it were... but still. And it probably depends on whether one considers superheros SF/F or some other, third thing.In that context, we should probably throw in the One Ring from tLotR's or its antecedent from the Nibelung, but technically those rings seem to be all about supposed socio-political power and a little invisibility. It's kind of hard to credit them with the actual "power" power. I mean, they have power because in the context of the story/myth they "give" power to the wearer, so it's true within that narrative, but looking at that narrative from the outside, it's hard to see those rings actually doing anything and it could all just be a placebo effect.
Megatron! Sure, he turned into a tiny pistol, but it was sweet.Captain Cave-Man's club.
All the Predator's weapons.
That crazy "Killing Word" weapon from Dune.
The Ultimate Nullifier that the Fantastic Four threatened Galactus with.
The six magical guns of The Sixth Gun series. They are more powerful than an ordinary pistol, never need reloading, and each has a unique power. One strikes with the force of a cannon.
One shoots Hellfire.
One inflicts a flesh-rotting disease on those it wounds.
One can call up those it kills as golem-like servants.
One allows its wielder to survive any wound.
The titular Sixth Gun grants visions of the past and future.
Aaron wrote: "The titular Sixth Gun grants visions of the past and future."Like right before you bleed to death?
"Oh, I can see how I'm going to diieee... argh."
"We could all see that coming, cowpoke."
Spoilers! In the later books of the Heartstriker series (first one is Nice Dragons Finish Last ), Julius' sister has a sword that lets her teleport to any member of the family, which I think is pretty cool. And then Julius himself gets a sword that freezes anyone with intentions of killing or harming.
Trike, I'm also partial to Niven's tools/weapons but the one that I most wanted as a kid was the variable sword/knife - a monofilament held rigid by a stasis field so that it was an impossibly sharp almost invisible cutting tool.
I'm a big fan of Dragnipur from the Malazan books.
At this point, the Infinity Gauntlet should be added to the list.
I like the Presger gun from the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie. A handgun that can take down starships.
The laser whip from Johnny Mnemonic.
The titular weapon of The Misenchanted Sword.
The MP-35 standard infantry weapon from Old Man's War: uses nanotechnology to create whatever ammunition type the CDF trooper needs.
Oh, and the corbomite device, which returns the destructive power of any incoming attack to the attacker. But it only works for skilled fizzbin players.
Oh, I just remembered the particle accelerator rifle from the Sten series can put a spin on the projectile to literally shoot around corners. That’s pretty scary.Based on Avengers: Infinity War, I think we have to include Stormbreaker. It’s a combination of Thor’s Mjolnir and Heimdall’s Hofund in axe form. It does the boomerang thing as well as controlling the Bifrost. Plus lightning. That’s pretty good. As long as you go for the head.
I'm'a go with Samurai Jack's sword.
I would have to go for Ashok Vadal's ancestral black sword "Angruvadal" from Son of the Black Sword. It brings some serious mojo to the fight.
We are of course forgetting perhaps the greatest handheld weapon in fiction, the half-brick in a sock, wielded by the great wizzard Rincewind.
Got a personal story about a lightsaber. Years ago I got a script - I also write scripts - 1 movie made - optioned by Jonathon Green who was once in business and a co-producer with Emile Sherman who did The King's Speech. I went down to Sydney to Fox Studios to where the shot a Star Wars film. People were walking around in full Star Wars rig. My producer mate, great bloke, snuck in and got onto one of the sound stages and went whoosh, whoosh, whoosh with a lightsaber. Me, sadly, wasn't game to attempt such an act.
Shame on me!
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Son of the Black Sword (other topics)Sten (other topics)
The Scar (other topics)
The Misenchanted Sword (other topics)
Old Man's War (other topics)
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Swords-
Lightsaber from Star Wars
Master Sword from Zelda- Can shoot energy beams
Psi-scimitar from DC Comics- fiery blade that can cut anything and creates portals in space and time, when turned off it's just a hilt
Bow and arrows-
Hawkeyes quiver from Avengers
Robin Hoods bow from Once Upon A Time- never misses it's target even if the target teleports away the arrow will chase him
Epirus bow from The Immortals- endless arrows out of thin air, arrows never descend
Guns-
Star-Lords gun from Marvel comics- shoots lightning, ice, fire and rocks
X-ray gun from Deep Space Nine- bullet teleports to target
Plunderer gun from Flash TV show- laser bullets that track target, shield projector, can be fired remotely