History Main / AnvilOnHead

* The indicatively named ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'' short "I Am Cliched" has it happen right away, followed by Weasel complaining "getting hit by an anvil is the oldest cliché in cartoons!". After Baboon is targeted by a PianoDrop, a barrage of anvils falls atop the first one! ([[OverlyLongGag not to mention an elephant and a whale]])

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Garfield And Friends}}'', too, has an IllogicalSafe and some other heavy object dropped on him during his Mondaymare. Later in the episode, a piano falls on him while he believes himself safe out in the open.

%% * ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'' once parodied this mercilessly in "I Am Cliched".

* In ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim2'', Jim moves on to the next level by standing on the edge of a seesaw and tossing a heavy weight into the air and onto the other end to launch himself into the air. At points, Jim will miss and hit his own head instead.

These large objects must be made of a heavy, dense material in order to survive hammer blows, and as such they weigh a ton (though not ''quite'' literally, for the smallest ones anyway) and are invariably dropped from great height and are used to crush heads, though hands, feet and rib cages sometimes create soft landing spots. They may drop without warning, or they may be heralded by the ShadowOfImpendingDoom and the BombWhistle. The victim usually just has time to [[DeathByLookingUp look up]] and see the falling object before it lands on him. Thankfully for the victim, as a {{slapstick}} trope, [[HardHead this is rarely ever fatal]].

-->'''Launchpad''': He's heading into Andy's Anvil Factory!\\

-->'''Darkwing''' (ringing a doorbell): Flowers for Negaduck.\\

* Happened twice on ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam!''. They probably didn't want to do it too often, or it'd look like Nick was trying to [[FollowTheLeader make their own]]
''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''/''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has craftable anvils that are mostly used to repair enchanted weapons and tools. As an homage to this trope, anvils are also some of the few blocks that will fall if there's nothing underneath them, and can be used in AwesomeButImpractical traps to crush enemies, dealing damage roughly proportional to the distance the anvil falls. They also sound like a ton of iron hitting the ground even if you're just dropping it down for the repair function. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' would similarly let Steve, Alex, Zombie, and Enderman drop and ride a falling anvil for their Down Air attack.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': After getting [[IdentityAmnesia rejuvenated]], [[spoiler:Ruby]] is nearly shattered when a giant pizza cutter [[spoiler:an equally-rejuvenated [[AmnesiacVillainJoinsTheHeroes Spinel]]]] set loose cuts a rope holding up Bismuth's anvil from a crane. [[spoiler:This proves the catalyst for [[OfficialCouple her and Sapphire]], who ''also'' has amnesia, to re-fuse, as the latter pushes her out of the way.]]

The anvil: A simple, yet essential tool of any metalsmith, which serves as the workbench where metal is pounded into the desired shape for whatever project the smith happens to be working on--and, in many fictional mediums, inexplicably ends up airborne and aimed at some poor chump's cranium.

The anvil: A simple, yet essential tool of any metalsmith, which serves as the workbench where metal is pounded into the desired shape for whatever project the smith happens to be working on.

* In ''Fanfic/MakeAWish'' Harry encounters a member of a group of high school students who decided to create an ''actual'' Acme Inc. Their specialty is, of course, the "Acme" spell, which causes an anvil to drop on the intended victim. He later mentions that they're working on an improved version which includes a ten-ton weight and a grand piano as alternate choices.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11477928/1/Whose-Fault Whose Fault]]'' Lucius is killed by a one-ton block of stone falling out of nowhere.

** In the eighth season episode "Hunteri Heroici", the villain, who is using a senile RealityWarper to inflict cartoon physics on selected portions of the world in order to facilitate burglary, drops a literal anvil on an unfortunate security guard. Dean later tries to drop one on the villain.

These large objects must be made of a heavy, dense material in order to survive hammer blows, and as such they weigh a ton (though not ''quite'' literally) and are invariably dropped from great height and are used to crush heads, though hands, feet and rib cages sometimes create soft landing spots. They may drop without warning, or they may be heralded by the ShadowOfImpendingDoom and the BombWhistle. The victim usually just has time to [[DeathByLookingUp look up]] and see the falling object before it lands on him. Thankfully for the victim, as a {{slapstick}} trope, [[HardHead this is rarely ever fatal]].

%% ** And [[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=451 this strip]], which combines AnvilOnHead with {{Anvilicious}}.

The anvil: A simple, yet essential tool of any metalsmith, which serves as the workbench where metal is pounded into the desired shape for whatever project the smith happens to be working on. But when we said SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped, we didn't mean it ''literally!''

* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': In the ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' parody ''Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler'', one of Watson's maids drops an anvil out the window onto Sheerluck's head.

* Creator/TexAvery's MGM shorts often had these as well. In ''WesternAnimation/BadLuckBlackie'', for instance, an anvil is but one of a series of hilariously improbable objects that Blackie makes fall on the BullyBulldog antagonist from above: flowerpots, a cash register, a piano, a safe, various large and heavy modes of transportation, and [[KitchenSinkIncluded of course, a kitchen sink]].

* The Americaphilic author of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' included a semi-serious version of this in ''Phantom Blood''. Johnathan, during a gritty seinen action/adventure story, drops an anvil on a zombie's head. Of course, the results are realistically gory. And of course, [[MemeticMutation there's also the steamroller]].

* Creator/WaltDisney seems to have originated the trope, with anvils crowning a hapless ape in ''[[Westernanimation/Alicecomedies Alice the Whaler]]'' (1927) and Pegleg Pete in ''WesternAnimation/BuildingABuilding'' (1933).

%% * ''WesternAnimation/IAmWeasel'' once parodied this mercilessly in "I Am Cliched".
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** In "Urban Ed", as Ed and Eddy sit on top of a skyscraper pretending to be pigeons and dropping yogurt on Nazz and Edd below, Ed produces an anvil out of nowhere and drops it on them.
--->'''Ed:''' Quack quack!\\
'''Eddy:''' Ed, you're gonna hurt someone! [[ThisIsReality This ain't a cartoon!]]
** In "Don't Rain on My Ed", Kevin [[PianoDrop drops a piano]] on Eddy's head as DisproportionateRetribution for [[ItMakesSenseInContext accidentally swallowing him in an earlier scene]].
--->'''Kevin:''' That's for gobbin' all over my bike, ''dork!''
* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': In the ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' parody ''Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler'', one of Watson's maids drops an anvil out the window onto Sheerluck's head.
** Also, their adaptation of the Literature/BookOfEsther had the French Peas try to assassinate King Xerxes by dropping a piano on his head.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In "The Safety", Darwin sees a Wile E. Coyote parody on the TV, and calls the character to complain about it. One of the complaints is about the anvils being used to hurt others; when the character points out children can't imitate that, because they can't lift anvils, Darwin says they still can get hurt trying to lift it.
* Shows up in ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'', of all places. In the episode "The Deep End", a giant monster fish is on a rampage and is about to attack some civilians. Orko uses his magic to save them...by dropping an anvil on the monster's head. And while it does no lasting damage, it's enough to distract the monster.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' Referenced in the episode Out, Darn Spotlight, when Hugh gives Jimmy tips on acting. "Now, when you wanna act mad, do this *growls*. When you wanna act happy, which is different than mad, go like this *laughs*. Now if an anvil drops on your head, you go uh, "OW! THERE'S AN ANVIL ON MY HEAD! OW it hurts!."
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "No One Can Hear You", Jake has tied balloons to himself so he'll float, and then tied cinder blocks to his legs so he won't float ''away''. During the climax of the episode, he unties the cinder blocks so they'll fall on the Freak Deer (the episode's antagonist). While the deer has the typical reaction (flattened head, tongue comically sticking out), it's not played for laughs; the impacts kill the deer, and the candy people roll the corpse into the sewer.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had a cutaway gag where Peter attempted to set up such a trap. He ended up hitting himself with it.
* Happened twice on ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam!''. They probably didn't want to do it too often, or it'd look like Nick was trying to [[FollowTheLeader make their own]] ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''/''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.
* Independent animator Patrick Smith did a film called ''Delivery'', which featured two brothers beating each other up over a package. In this case, the beatings were animated realistically, with visible blood, injuries, and subsequent [[spoiler: NeckSnap]]. [[WordOfGod According to Smith]] it was meant to subvert this trope (and slapstick cartoons in general), saying that if an anvil falls on his character, he will die and the person who dropped it will feel remorse.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', [[EnfantTerrible Heloise]] has taken over a show by dropping a safe on the original host, then popping out of it.
* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] ''hideously'' on ''WesternAnimation/MonkeyDust''. An ordinary human being (as in, not a wacky cartoon character) has an anvil dropped on his head by an actual cartoon rabbit. The results are bloody, and the reactions of everyone nearby are harrowing.
* Even ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' isn't safe. While investigating [[CloudCuckooLander Pinkie Pie's]] supposedly premonitory tics in the clear outdoors, Twilight observes the sign linked with something falling, and makes a valiant attempt at [[TemptingFate skeptical defiance]] before being buried under [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfgKb7qjd2Q a flower pot, an anvil, a hay cart, and a piano]] from (literally) out of the blue. The camera pans up to reveal they [[JustifiedTrope fell out of a pegasus delivery truck]]. [[AscendedMeme Derpy]] [[TheKlutz Hooves]] being among the delivery crew may have had something to do with it.

* The skill "Press" in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' drops a weight on an enemy, with the upgraded "Gravity Press" dropping a whole bunch of them.

* "Taxman" is a clone of Pac-Man. It has different cutscenes than the original, and the second one features the 16-ton weight falling on a ghost's head.
* ''VideoGame/StayTooned'' has a few that nudge towards ''Looney Toons'' as much as possible, given the obvious references. There's even a fun shooting gallery-style minigame which has a crossbow with either plunger darts, bombs, or anvils that you can fire at the passing characters.
* Clown Man's stage in ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' has boxes that trigger booby traps if you're standing on them when the bell goes off. One possible effect of them is for an object to fall on Mega Man's head.
%% * This was basically required to beat Juggernaut in ''VideoGame/SpiderManAndTheXMenInArcadesRevenge''.
* In the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing Villager's]] forward Smash has him/her dropping a bowling ball in front, which makes it a good move for edgeguarding.
* ''Pillage the Village'' has a number of spells you can buy, depending on whether you want to be an antagonist, a pacifist or neutral. One of the ones on the antagonist menu is the "Acme Anvil" spell, described thusly:
-->Brought to you by the good people at Acme, this anvil is guaranteed to satisfy your cartoon-fueled fantasies of squishing your victims into pasty, pinkish jelly. Great with toast! (Piano not included.)
* In ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'', [[VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet Sackboy's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPv4mQ3Wf9E&t=1m51s down grab]] has him pull an anvil sticker out of his Popit above whoever he's grabbed. Despite the fact that it is a sticker, it apparently is as heavy as a real anvil.
* ''VideoGame/HauntingStarringPolterguy'': In the GainaxEnding, shortly after Polterguy [[spoiler:transformed into his human form again]], a huge anvil, presumably produced by Vito Sardini's company, [[spoiler: lands on Polterguy's head and makes him a ghost again.]]
* In ''[[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiXk621ru3ZAhWKv1MKHcE7BKAQFggpMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kongregate.com%2Fgames%2FEpicLLama%2Fvampire-scent&usg=AOvVaw1rVYxnJxIFECuesv2CQMAk Vampire Scent]]'', one of the spells that [[CombatMedic Genoveve]] can cast summons an anvil and drops it on an enemy. For certain boss fights, you can get more precise and have Genoveve aim the anvil at the boss's head.
* Detective Orson Bolibar from ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'' can learn an ability which drops on an anvil on an enemy, dealing physical damage to them and any other foe [[AreaOfEffect within a small radius]].
* The safe variant is used to demonstrate how health works in ''VideoGame/SpongebobSquarepantsBattleForBikiniBottom''.
-->'''Tutorial Message:''' Spongebob will lose a pair of underwear every time he gets hit by a robot or touches dangerous objects or surfaces.\\
''[cue safe]'' Like this.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Gex}} Gex: Enter the Gecko]]'' features levels that take place in a [[{{Toontown}} cartoon world]], and there are hazard areas where anvils falls, as well as sinks, weights and fat women. These areas are marked by their green checkerboard floors and signs showing Gex with an anvil falling on his head.
* ''VideoGame/FlamingZombooka'': One of the ways of killing a zombie is making a 100KG anvil fall on its head.

%% * Used brilliantly by Deux Ex Machina Man in this [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20071209 strip.]]

* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Warner Brothers animation]], in its [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 40-year odyssey]] of cartoon violence, not only perfected the anvil drop, but most of the associated reactions and results, including but not limited to:
** Producing and opening a very tiny umbrella
** [[TalkingWithSigns Producing a sign]] reading "Yipe!" or "Eek!" (favored by mute coyotes and hunting dogs)
** Saying a quick, murmuring prayer
** Taking a step to the side out of the path of the falling object (only to have it fall on the victim anyway)
** In ''WesternAnimation/DuckAmuck'', Daffy Duck is falling with a parachute when the cruel animator erases it and replaces it with an anvil. Daffy is then seen pounding with a hammer on the anvil, which the animator proceeds to replace with a bomb.

** In the episode "Lookit the Fuzzy Heads," Elmyra spots Baby Mindy wandering into an anvil factory. [[OffscreenKarma Off screen]], Elmyra saves Mindy from a falling anvil, but gets hit by the anvil herself. After Mindy walks out unharmed, Elmyra walks out with an anvil replacing her head. After recovering, she chases after Mindy only to endure more [[HumiliationConga dangerous accidents]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'':
** They parodied ''Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head'' replacing "Raindrops" with (what else?) anvils, and in another, they had a [[ThreeShorts mini-episode]] of anvils falling on Plucky Duck's head, scored to the ''[[Theatre/IlTrovatore Anvil Chorus]]''. In the sequence, Plucky demands to know [[WhoWritesThisCrap who wrote it]], and when the scene cuts to [[AuthorAppeal a giggling]] [[AnimateInanimateObject anvil]] doing it, Plucky yells, "Rewrite!". After it was over, the audience loved it and demanded more. Plucky, enjoying the spotlight, agrees to do more. Unfortunately for him, the next sequence consisted of Plucky being blasted repeatedly by cannons, scored to the ''[[Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky 1812 Overture]]''.
** Another episode had Buster made a deal with an impish anvil to write a script for Plucky, "Ducklahoma", where all the songs were anvilised showtunes. "Duuuuuucklahoma, where the anvils come screaming from the sky!"
** Also, the episode where characters were dressed in lab coats and running experiments, dropping ever heavier weights on Plucky's head in front of a focus group to gauge which weight was the optimum for comedic effect.
** And in "Thirteensomething", Plucky (facing unemployment as part of the episode's story) holds up a sign citing "Will take falling anvils for laughs." 'Ah ... that actually felt ''good''.'
* WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry pretty much used all of these for random humour. And pretty often used grand pianos and trees/poles in place of falling anvils whenever something different was needed.

* Disney seems to have originated the trope, with anvils crowning a hapless ape in ''Alice the Whaler'' (1927) and Pegleg Pete in ''WesternAnimation/BuildingABuilding'' (1933).
* ''ComicStrip/USAcres'':
** Roy Rooster has safes (complete with [[IllogicalSafe safe illogic]]) and weights dropped on him in the almost-literally {{Anvilicious}} Buddy Bears ShowWithinAShow.
** In another episode, he thwarts Orson's brothers by triggering his new rain-dancing robot's "27 pianos" dance.
* WesternAnimation/{{Garfield And Friends}}, too, has an IllogicalSafe and some other heavy object dropped on him during his Mondaymare. Later in the episode, a piano falls on him while he believes himself safe out in the open.
* There was a ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' episode where they research the optimal heaviness of an x-ton weight by dropping several weights on Bush Rats and gauging the reaction of the audience. The audience is silent for the 5, 10, and even 15.99999999 ton weights (though they "briefly crack smiles, and then fall into a deep depression".), but laugh hysterically when the 16 ton weight drops.

-->'''Launchpad''': He's heading into Andy's Anvil Factory!
-->'''Darkwing''': I've got a bad feeling about this...

--->'''Darkwing''' (ringing a doorbell): Flowers for Negaduck.
--->'''Negaduck''': I hate flowers!
--->'''Darkwing''': Did I say "flowers"? I meant "skulls".
--->(Negaduck answers the door, only to find himself facing a huge slingshot.)
--->'''Darkwing''': Oh, did I say "skulls"? I meant, "ANVILS"!
--->KLANG. '''Darkwing''': Oh dear, I dented my anvil.

* CGI/Live-Action combination show ''Series/AceLightning'' has a [[BigGuy villain]] by the ''name'' of Anvil. Who is basically a giant, mutant rhino, ''with'' an actual anvil in place of one hand. He's usually brought into play when they want to bash the characters about a bit and not much else. It's almost a LampshadeHanging, when you think about it...

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon "Shoein' Hosses", while fighting over a position at Olive Oyl's blacksmith shop, Bluto throws an anvil at Popeye's head. This is perhaps the only time in this trope, ever, that having an anvil around was logical.
* ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' had the falling cow OnceAnEpisode.

* The [[http://www.impsec.org/~jhardin/OADS/anvil_chorus.html Orbital Anvil Delivery System,]] for all your spammer-flattening and clue delivery needs!

* In a commercial for Geico, the Geico gecko is in an unusual place, what appears to be Monument National Park, where he narrowly avoids getting nailed by a dropping Acme anvil and [[PianoDrop a grand piano]]. Cue Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote appearing. When Wile E. stops to ponder having the gecko for a meal, he has an Acme safe drop on him while, once again, narrowly avoiding the gecko.

* In a commercial for Energizer batteries, [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Wile E. Coyote]] is hired by the fictional Supervolt battery company to destroy the Energizer Bunny, and attempts to stop him with a homemade helicopter that carries an anvil. Thanks to the short life of the Supervolt batteries his helicopter runs on, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Wile E. ends up taking a fall and getting hit by his own anvil]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Ignatz Mouse's pastime is dropping bricks on the head of ComicStrip/KrazyKat, who seems to take it as a sign of affection.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'':
** Interestingly, an anvil may be the only stereotypical cartoon flattening device that ''isn't'' dropped on someone during the film.
** The movie opens with a cartoon short that ends with a refrigerator being dropped on Roger. Later, Toon prop magnate Marvin Acme is killed by a safe falling on his head. Halfway through the film, Eddie Valiant reveals that his grudge against Toons stems from his brother Teddy's death, which was caused by a rogue Toon dropping a piano on him; while a Toon would usually survive with only some [[SquashedFlat flattening]] [[AmusingInjuries for comedic effect]], heavy objects tend to inflict much more [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome realistic]], and ''deadly'' injuries to humans such as Teddy and Marvin Acme.
** Related is, in the final confrontation scene, Roger Rabbit's "Come down on you like a ton of bricks" being made literal.

* In ''Film/EasyStreet'', The Bully isn't stopped till The Tramp drops a metal stove on top of him from a second story window.
* ''[[Film/JackFrost1997 Jack Frost 2]]'' has a BloodyHilarious example. When Jack tries to kill a young woman with falling iciclies, he keeps missing, much to his frustration. He eventually resorts to dropping a massive anvil composed of ice on her head, complete with [[StockSoundEffects a comical bong sound effect]].

* ''Literature/TheEyreAffair'' pays homage to the anvil tradition in the subplot involving the Minotaur who has been tagged with a slapstick marker.
* In Edmond Rostand's play ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'', Cyrano is assassinated by someone throwing a log off a tall building on him.

* Invoked in ''Literature/TheAffix''. Matt is pissed at Kilraen for trying to kill him, so he decides he'll make this happen as soon as he figures out how to get the Affix to bend probability to his will instead of its own. Ultimately [[spoiler:subverted by a PianoDrop]].

* ''Series/LazyTown'' - literally. Robbie attempts to knock Sportacus out by putting a small anvil on one side of a seesaw and catapulting it at him, but misjudges it. HilarityEnsues.
* ''Series/TheSlammer'': Gimbert rigs up a 'burglar alarm' that consists of a 10 ton weight that drops on the burglar's head. Naturally it ends up falling on the Governor's head, giving him EasyAmnesia.
* Discussed over a Friday dinner conversation in an episode of ''Series/GilmoreGirls''. Lorelai continues that anvils must have been plentiful in days of old cartoons, enough so that children would instantly recognize them for their tremendous weight and toughness. Which raised the question, if there were so many anvils back then, and they were really so tough, was there some sort of secret storage facility filled with indestructible anvils? Lorelai's mother quickly asks to change the subject.
* [[Series/FargoSeasonThree Season 3]] of ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' has Maurice getting killed by Nikki after she decides to drop an air conditioning unit onto his head.

* ''Series/TheGrandTour'''s very cartoony promo, "James May is Alive," in which James obliviously just misses being hit on the head by an anvil coming out of his workshop.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. The episode "Revenging Angel" plays this entirely straight, as John Crichton is in a coma dreaming he's in a ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''-like cartoon. His first move is getting payback on Harvey!Scorpius by dropping the proverbial weight on his head.

* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', Roger Retinz asks Apollo to come to his filming studio so they can animate cartoon anvils dropping on his head.
* ''Literally'' done with anvils in ''[[VideoGame/TwoWorlds Two Worlds II]]'': the game uses numerous schools of magic, which allow for the creation of hundreds of spells. Among those is a spell that drops tons of iron anvils on the enemies. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vjt4QpJSBIs#t=13s Demonstrated in this Youtube clip.]]

* The skill "Press" in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' drops a weight on an enemy, with the upgraded "Gravity Press" dropping a whole bunch of them.
* In ''VideoGame/DiscworldII'', one of the puzzles requires you to smash in a wall. At a different point in the game, you steal a prop 1 ton weight. If you try to swing this at the wall, it bounces off and clobbers you. Once you add a 0 to make it a 10 ton weight, puzzle solved.
* The SNES game ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari'' got a boss where you need to shoot a flying (wings included) anvil so that it falls on the boss.

* The 16-ton weight version occurs in ''VideoGame/DarkCastle'', [[BoobyTrap should you take the wrong key in the dungeon]].
* In the online flash game, ''Jelly Battle'', the "Random Drop" attack will make an anvil, heavy weights, or a piano fall on an opponent.
* This is often the primary attack method of the Stone copy ability in most ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' games. ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' and its remake in particular allows the user of the ability to transform into various heavy objects, including a heavy weight. The ability to change into a weight is also seen in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games as one of Kirby's special moves.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'''s obligatory end of the game game show segment has massive anvils hovering over the contestants which Gruntilda will drop on the loser of the round. She seems to have little concern for the fact that two of the contestants are her sisters, or the fact that she could just drop the anvil over Banjo and Kazooie without any reason besides the fact that she's evil. In fact, it's not until after she flees the room that she actually considers this. Fortunately Banjo is already gone when the weight drops.

* ''VideoGame/DoodleBobAndTheMagicPencil'': Once [=DoodleBob=] destroys the Penciltron of Power, he then defeats Plankton by drawing a 10-ton weight above him, which then squashes him. Plankton later reappears at the final cutscene of the game swearing his revenge, only to get squashed by a 5-ton weight.
* ''Sid & Al's Incredible Toons'', and its successor, ''The Incredible Toon Machine'', use the traditional cartoon anvils, and also rolling boulders and pianos. Unsurprisingly, when a piano lands on Al E. Cat, he pokes his head out of the rubble with a mouthful of keys.
* In the Wii version of ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'', the Anvil transformation is not only handy as a stepping stone, but, if you push it on to most enemies' heads... They go "splat" ''very'' quickly. The ones which don't can be used for CraniumRide.
* In ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim2'', Jim moves on to the next level by standing on the edge of a seesaw and tossing a heavy weight into the air and onto the other end to launch himself into the air. At points, Jim will miss and hit his own head instead.
* In the 'Polar Push' and 'Crate Crush' subsections of the minigames in ''VideoGame/CrashBash'', one of the hazards that the player can pick up is an icon resembling a weight (as described on top of this page). If picked up, the icon appears over the player's head, who now has a limited time to [[HotPotato pass it onto another player]] by touching them. When this time (roughly 8 seconds) elapses, a weight marked as being 16 tonnes heavy will drop on the head of the poor sap who's left with it, {{O|neHitKill}}HKOing them.
* A whole line of attacks from ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'' focuses on this trope. Starting from a flower pot, to a sandbag, to an anvil, to a big weight, to a safe, then a grand piano, and finally, an [[ColonyDrop ocean liner]]

* Throwing an anvil is possible in the roguelike ''[[VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery ADOM]]''. In case of hitting a small enough monster, it could count as hitting from above...
* Used as one of the sketch items you can use in ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', you can crush [=NPCs=] or enemies with it its also used as something to trigger switches that mostly involve you pressing one switch while the anvil holds the other one down to trigger whatever the switches do. It can also be used as something to help you climb to reach stuff but its not really used for that purpose all that much with the exception of one pin you can get in the very definite final dugeon.
* If you stay too long in the ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' room in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', a giant capsule from ''VideoGame/DrMario'' crushes you. There's also the falling error message box in a dead-end room.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** Liu Kang in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' drops an arcade machine on his opponent as one of his [[FinishingMove Fatalities]].
** One of Shinnok's moves in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' is a falling bone hand. It even invokes the trope even further as it's also his {{Necromancer}} brutality.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Exile}}'' and its remake ''Avernum'', a mage named X is obsessed with researching a spell which would teleport an anvil above somebody's head. [[spoiler: By Avernum 6, he perfects it.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FantasyZone'', Opa-Opa's "Heavy Bomb" is a falling 16-ton weight. One of the humorous illustrations in the Japanese manual for the UsefulNotes/PCEngine version showed Opa-Opa being squashed under one, though this doesn't actually happen in the game. The tonnage was increased to 100 in ''Fantasy Zone II''.
* ''16t'' is a UsefulNotes/MegaDrive game entirely about dropping 16-ton weights on enemies.
* In the ''VideoGame/OfficeJerk'' SpinOff ''Office Zombie'', every so often an anvil will lower from the top of the screen which you can drop on the Zombie's head.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}: VideoGame/RavingRabbids'' has a mini-game where you have to lead a blindfolded Rabbid into painful objects in order to score points. The mini-game ends with a '''huge-ass''' weight landing on him.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has craftable anvils that are mostly used to repair enchanted weapons and tools. As an homage to this trope, anvils are also some of the few blocks that will fall if there's nothing underneath them, and can be used in AwesomeButImpractical traps to crush enemies, dealing damage roughly proportional to the distance the anvil falls. They also sound like a ton of iron hitting the ground even if you're just dropping it down for the repair function. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' would similarly let Steve, Alex, Zombie, and Enderman drop and ride a falling anvil for their Down Air attack.
* In the North American and European releases of ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in the Enchanted Castle'', whoever loses a [[RockPaperScissors Janken]] match will have a giant weight dropped on them. Their eyes and feet pop out of the weight, and they scramble around using their feet. This got a ShoutOut in ''VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Tennis'', in which Alex Kidd's All-Star move involves him playing Janken, then dropping weights on the opponent(s).
* Peacock in ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' has this as one of her special attacks, in which she summons an object to fall on her opponent. These objects range from a flower pot or a teacup to Andy Anvil or Tommy Ten Tons ({{Assist Character}}s who are an anthropomorphic anvil and 10t weight, respectively) to a {{piano|Drop}}, an elephant or [[ShoutOut Dio's]] [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Steam Roller]], among others.

* ''Fanfic/ItGetsWorse'' has a near-miss example: through [[LaserGuidedKarma a series of convoluted events]], nine anvils from an old west art exhibition fall out of a building and land perfectly around a wandering Coil (and played lethally straight if he tries [[SaveScumming save-dodging]] with his power), delivering a [[LiteralMetaphor literally]] {{Anvilicious}} message to him that [[ScareEmStraight scares him into turning himself in]].