# Weapons so cool and badass they were virtually characters. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483 "2009-11-30T16:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/1 "2009-11-30T16:30:56Z")
This came to me the other day when I caught an airing of Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot.” I’ve seen a good many movies over the years that featured a weapon so cool or badass that the weapon virtually became a character in its own right. In “The Patriot” it was Mel’s tomahawk. It’s introduced when one of his son’s finds it among Mel’s belongings. Mel puts it to great and bloody use in several battle scenes, then it even gets its own “death scene” in his final confrontation with the Evil English Guy. Deckard’s blaster from “Blade Runner” has been the subject of far more fan obsession than the Deckard character or Harrison Ford’s performance. The S&W Model 29 that Clint Eastwood used in the Dirty Harry movies was more of character than any of the “partners” he went through. There are more but my break is over… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/2 "2009-11-30T16:34:48Z")
Light Sabers could fit into this category. For that matter, \*The Terminator \*is really a weapon that is so animated we find it difficult NOT to think of it as a character. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/3 "2009-11-30T16:36:10Z")
Practically any weapon used by the Predator (including that old pistol that he gives to Danny Glover in the second movie). The gatling gun that Mac used in the first Predator movie. The Highlander’s sword. William Wallace’s sword from Braveheart. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/4 "2009-11-30T16:40:05Z")
Here’s a very good movie built entirely around a single mythic weapon: [Excalibur (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/5 "2009-11-30T16:44:17Z")
You could probably throw in Street Hawk, Airwolf, Knightboat, and all those other super vehicles from the 80’s. And Worf’s Batleth. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/6 "2009-11-30T16:44:56Z")
Umm - Crocodile Dundee’s knife? ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/7 "2009-11-30T17:10:13Z")
The **Last of the Mohicans** (1992) has two memorable weapons: Hawkeye’s especially long [Kentucky Long Rifle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_rifle) and Chingachgook’s espically large [Indian War Club](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunstock_war_club) ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/8 "2009-11-30T17:14:24Z")
Reason, from _Snow Crash_. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/9 "2009-11-30T17:14:39Z")
The Bride’s Hanso sword in **Kill Bill**. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/10 "2009-11-30T17:18:26Z")
**Army of Darkness** This… is… [my BOOM Stick](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMb1XHqlyn4)! ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/11 "2009-11-30T17:21:30Z")
I just remembered an oldie but a goodie: The Bowie Knife that co-starred with Alan Ladd in [The Iron Mistress](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044753/). It wasn’t much of a movie, IMO, but in its day it was sufficiently popular that even Randall Knives started offering knives styled after the one in the movie. The various knives that Sylvester Stallone used in the Rambo series were his true co-stars. I, personally, liked the Jimmy Lile knife from First Blood the best. It gave an understated, yet heartfelt performance, unlike the Shatnerian turns from the knives in the sequels. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/12 "2009-11-30T17:26:51Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I just remembered an oldie but a goodie: The Bowie Knife that co-starred with Alan Ladd in [The Iron Mistress](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044753/). It wasn’t much of a movie, IMO, but in its day it was sufficiently popular that even Randall Knives started offering knives styled after the one in the movie. > > The various knives that Sylvester Stallone used in the Rambo series were his true co-stars. I, personally, liked the Jimmy Lile knife from First Blood the best. It gave an understated, yet heartfelt performance, **unlike the Shatnerian turns from the knives in the sequels.** Did he pause randomly while stabbing people? 😃 I’d say the Desert Eagle has become the “Hey, it’s that guy!” of weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/13 "2009-11-30T17:27:27Z")
The Glaive from Krull. Wasn’t used much in the movie but every boy in my elementary school wanted one. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/14 "2009-11-30T17:38:01Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The S&W Model 29 that Clint Eastwood used in the Dirty Harry movies was more of character than any of the “partners” he went through. I watched one of those movies (I forget which one) in the theater. When Callahan is thrown off a dock into water and presumed drowned, he loses his gun. He goes back to his place, dripping wet, and pulls out a box and opens it to reveal his OTHER gun, the “.44 magnum auto-mag, the most powerful handgun in the world,” as he had previously described it. It’s long and silvery. The audience cheered, whooped, and clapped. Not for Clint – for the _gun._ ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/15 "2009-11-30T17:44:59Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I watched one of those movies (I forget which one) in the theater. When Callahan is thrown off a dock into water and presumed drowned, he loses his gun. He goes back to his place, dripping wet, and pulls out a box and opens it to reveal his OTHER gun, the “.44 magnum auto-mag, the most powerful handgun in the world,” as he had previously described it. It’s long and silvery. > > The audience cheered, whooped, and clapped. Not for Clint – for the _gun._ If you didn’t get a little teary-eyed when the Model 29 drowned, then you have no heart… Now that you mention it, the theater audience also cheered for the Auto-Mag when I saw it in first run. You’d think it would have gone on to have more of a movie career. The Desert Eagle mentioned upthread, by contrast, went virtually unnoticed in its before-they-were-stars performance in “Year of the Dragon;” yet it has gone on to be Hollywood’s go-to gun. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/16 "2009-11-30T17:47:46Z")
There was an exhibition of weapons from Hollywood at the National Firearms Museum a few years back - it included a pair of original lightsabers, the Dirty Harry revolver and the Rifleman Winchester 92. Very cool. To this list I will add the “Winchester '73” - a rifle so iconic the movie was named for it. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/17 "2009-11-30T17:52:03Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I watched one of those movies (I forget which one) in the theater. When Callahan is thrown off a dock into water and presumed drowned, he loses his gun. He goes back to his place, dripping wet, and pulls out a box and opens it to reveal his OTHER gun, the “.44 magnum auto-mag, the most powerful handgun in the world,” as he had previously described it. It’s long and silvery. > > The audience cheered, whooped, and clapped. Not for Clint – for the _gun._ There was an episode of Farscape where Chrichton dove into an ocean to save his pistol Winonna. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/18 "2009-11-30T17:59:55Z")
K’s gun in _Men in Black_, the BFG he dove into the roach’s throat to retrieve. And speaking of the BFG, the original from _Doom_. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/19 "2009-11-30T18:10:13Z")
Dexter’s kit. It’s not a single weapon but generally the kit itself is treated like this. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483/20 "2009-11-30T18:11:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > K’s gun in _Men in Black_, the BFG he dove into the roach’s throat to retrieve. As opposed to J’s “Noisy Cricket”? 😉 A few others: “Vera”, Jayne’s favorite gun from “Firefly”. Vasquez’s big, harness-mounted gun from “Aliens”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weapons-so-cool-and-badass-they-were-virtually-characters/519483.md?page=2)