History Main / BladeBelowTheShoulder

* ''ComicBook/XFactor'': The sword wielding Shatterstar makes a reappearance after a lengthy stay in ComicBookLimbo, sporting an updated look in an attempt to drag him out of UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}. This new costume includes a leather jacket which covers a mechanism that houses blades on either side of his forearms. So he's actually got FOUR of these.

* ''VideoGame/SlayThePrincess'': During one route, the princess repeatedly insists she's unarmed, only for her to suddenly peel the skin (and hand) off her left arm, revealing a long sword, which she kills you with. In the next chapter, she one-ups herself by having one in ''each'' arm - and during the following fight, they split into several each. In the chapter after that, she takes things to its logical extreme and [[spoiler:bursts out of her skin, revealing herself as a giant, vaguely humanoid creature made of swords]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Of course, [[WolverinePublicity we all know]] about [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} the short guy]] with [[WolverineClaws three in each forearm.]]
** ''ComicBook/{{X 23}}'': Laura, by virtue of being Wolverine's genetically engineered daughter (she has two in each arm and one in each foot).
** Daken by virtue of being Wolverine's son (he has three on each arm, but one of them juts out through the front of his wrist).
** Gabby, Laura's clone, has one claw in each hand (though not yet coated with adamantium).
* Also from Creator/MarvelComics, we have ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'' and her knuckle spikes.
* The weaponized [[UnwillingRoboticization Mecha Sally]] in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' is equipped with retractable wrist-mounted blades.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' monstrosity Doomsday has razor sharp bony protrusions all over his body, most notably on his knuckles, elbows, shoulders and knees.

* ''ComicBook/ShangChi'' minor villain Razorfist, as the name implies, has two foot blades replacing each hand. The difficulty of, for example, eating are frequently lampshaded; Razorfist shirks all responsibility onto others to care for him (and they do because oh crap he is a crazy muscular martial artist with freaking swords for hands). This Razorfist is actually the second or third, depending on how you count it - he originally shared the name with his brother, each having only one blade-hand. He's so used to them that, whenever someone decides to replace them for prosthetic hands, he gets completely lost on how to use them.
* Razorsharp of Franchise/TheDCU team books ''Psyba-Rats'' and ''Blood Pack'' was a PlayfulHacker (with [[TheCracker Cracker]] tendencies) whose superpower was that her arms could morph into swords. In ''Psyba-Rats'' she mainly used them to climb walls and break into buildings (in a good cause, usually); in ''Blood Pack'' she was reluctantly put in a position where she'd have to use them in combat.
* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' villain The Grim Reaper has a [[SinisterScythe scythe]] blade on his right hand. Originally it was a Type One "techno-scythe" [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys supplied by the Tinkerer]]. Later, his right hand got amputated and replaced by a magical scythe when he was empowered by the demon Lloigoroth.
* Amokk, from ''ComicBook/{{Hyperkind}}'', has his hands replaced with foot-long blades. In the second issue, he laments that he'll never play the guitar again, until he and the rest of the team discover that they can shapeshift back to their human forms.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'': The Outsiders once fought a villain named Nunchuku, who instead of hands, had, well... what do you expect? He was arguably one of the ''less'' silly opponents The Outsiders faced.

* The Gladiator, an adversary of ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, uses wrist blades as a weapon of choice.
* Another Creator/{{Marvel}} villain, Whirlwind, supplements [[SpectacularSpinning superfast spinning with wrist mounted sawblades.]]
* This is part of the equipment of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s dog-riders in ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'': two long blades attached to the back of each gauntlet. During a fight Batman "borrows" a pair of bladed gauntlets.
* In the ''Sword of Azrael'' arc of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' the titular character's new outfit includes a retractable FlamingSword attached to one arm and a shootable one to the other.

* [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] villain Friedrich von Hassell has a retractable blade hidden in his sleeve in ''Franchise/IndianaJones and the Tomb of the Gods''.
* ComicBook/NikolaiDante can turn his hands into swords thanks to his [[{{Cyborg}} Weapons Crest]].
* In ''ComicBook/XFactor'', sword wielding Shatterstar made a reappearance after a lengthy stay in ComicBookLimbo, sporting an updated look in an attempt to drag him out of UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}. This new costume includes a leather jacket which covers a mechanism that houses blades on either side of his forearms. So he's actually got FOUR of these.
* Étienne Cazenac, the protagonist of the French comic ''La Croix de Cazenac'', fights with knives (or, in one arc, shards of bone) tied to his wrists.
* ''ComicBook/{{Azrael}}'' ([[LegacyCharacter Jean-Paul Valley]]) has a version of this: [[DualWielding Two]] [[FlamingSword flaming]] [[WolverineClaws retractable]] Katar-like blades in his gloves. Said gloves look like giant gold fists, [[RuleOfCool but]]...
* Debatable which category this would fit under, exactly, but in the X-Men comics mutant Marrow can and frequently does grow her bones out of her skin, break them off, and use them as blades.
* Post-[[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' wears a pair of bracelets called Ring-Blades that can project {{Laser Blade}}s. They look a lot like the ones she had as Mecha Sally (see below).
* In ''ComicBook/RedRobin'' the member of the Covenant of Ka in the grey PoweredArmor has a blade at her left wrist that is charged with electricity.

* William Gibson's recurring razorgirl Molly Millions (from ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'' and ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'') has retractable scalpel blades implanted in her fingertips.

* The Yevetha, the antagonists of the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Black Fleet Crisis]]'' trilogy, have retractable blades in their wrists. Depending on the artist, it's either a single blade out of the inside of the wrist or two blades out the sides.

* Shinkuro from ''Anime/{{Kurenai}}'', as a child, had a sword-like blade placed ''inside his arm'' while he was training with a family of ex-assassins after the death of his own family. It pops out through his elbow when he gets overly agitated in combat, and [[spoiler:in the final episode he proves to be frighteningly efficient with it.]] He now regrets having it put into him, though, and is trying to be strong enough not to ever need it.

** ComicBook/{{Daken}} by virtue of being Wolverine's son (he has three on each arm, but one of them juts out through the front of his wrist).

* Also from Creator/MarvelComics, we have ComicBook/SquirrelGirl and her knuckle spikes.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} monstrosity Doomsday has razor sharp bony protrusions all over his body, most notably on his knuckles, elbows, shoulders and knees.

* Model 0005 Cylons on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' have retractable wrist-mounted blades for melee fighting. The newer Centurions instead have fingers that fold out into powerful claws.

* Creator/MarvelComics minor villain Razorfist, as the name implies, has two foot blades replacing each hand. The difficulty of, for example, eating are frequently lampshaded; Razorfist shirks all responsibility onto others to care for him (and they do because oh crap he is a crazy muscular martial artist with freaking swords for hands). This Razorfist is actually the second or third, depending on how you count it - he originally shared the name with his brother, each having only one blade-hand. He's so used to them that, whenever someone decides to replace them for prosthetic hands, he gets completely lost on how to use them.

* [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders The Outsiders]] once fought a villain named Nunchuku, who instead of hands, had, well... what do you expect? He was arguably one of the ''less'' silly opponents The Outsiders faced.

* In the fourth season of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', 21 equipped himself with these, as well as [[TookALevelInBadass developing some muscles]].

* ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'': Voldo's weapons include wrist-mounted motorized meat grinders, guillotine blades, pairs of antlers and regular katars.

* ''VideoGame/ShadeWrathOfAngels'' have your demonic form, where upon activation your arms then turns into scythe-like blades capable of ripping enemies apart. You lose them after a while however. There are also gigantic demon enemies whose arms are blades and spikes.

* ''VideoGame/Tekken6'': [[RobotGirl Alisa]] can deploy [[ChainsawGood chainsaws]] from her arms while fighting.

* Both Protoman and Colonel in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''. [[spoiler:This lets them engage in LoopholeAbuse in the [[VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar sixth installment]] - [=CopyBots=] can't use Battlechips, but that is not an issue for them since both of them have a sword in place of one their arms.]]
** ANY Sword Chip in the ''Battle Network'' (and ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'') series.

* One of [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS's]] many, many abilities.
* Blade Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'' has swords instead of hands. AND his head.
** What a ''tour guide'' would do with all those swords though, [[SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids we will never know]].
** Sword Man also has a sword fitted to his right arm in ''VideoGame/MegaMan8''.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalArmsGlitchInTheSystem'', the Troopers not only DualWield these in replacement-for-the-hand form, but they [[ArmCannon do the same]] with plasma blasters and combine them with the blades ''[[GunsAkimbo on the same arms]]''.

* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games, the Sword chip and its many variants temporarily turns the [=NetNavi=]'s hand into a sword.

* ''Film/ShangChi'' features an EliteMook who has had one forearm replaced with a retractable, apparently red-hot-at-the-edges blade; his license plate is RZRFST and his car has a giant, graffiti-tag RAZOR FIST on the side, so he's pretty definitely the MCU version of Razor Fist (See comics, above), albeit one with fewer limb-blades, but more brains.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': The Protoss Zealots have [[LaserBlade Energy Blades]] mounted in their armor. Dark Templar wield a single Warp Blade on their right wrist, though in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' they've switched to a two-headed "warp scythe".

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'':
** The Zerg Hydralisk has arms that end in huge scythe-blades that it cannot use in combat ([[CutscenePowerToTheMax although it does in cutscenes]]), because somebody was unable to incorporate meele and projectile attacks in one unit. In ''Starcraft II'' it's able to finally use those blades, even if the difference between a blade swipe and its regular ranged attack is minor at best.

* In the miniseries ''Series/TheStand'', Dayna Jurgens tries to use a retractable blade tied to her arm and hidden in the sleeve of her nightgown against Flagg. He turns it into a banana.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Mortasheen}}'' has a few creatures with these, most notably [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/skoffix.htm Skoffix]], a flightless avian whose arms each bear a finger whose claw is modified into a long, curving blade.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': The signature weapon of the Assassins is the Hidden Blade, an extendable knife attached to an arm-brace used to silently kill enemies. In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', the ring finger of Altaïr's left hand is ''cut off'' in order to make this usable. His sequel successor (and descendant) Ezio on the other hand seems to have pulled this off (on [[DualWielding both hands]], even) without the nasty "cutting off fingers" catch.
** In game this is justified by having the base of Ezio's blade (inherited from his father) modified so it's raised further from the wrist, compared to the original design in Altaïr's day. This was actually Altaïr's idea -- the first "Codex" page that's decrypted is his design for this blade, which another page implies that it's because hiding in plain sight ("social" stealth) is difficult with a missing ring finger -- but Leonardo da Vinci would implicitly take credit for it. It doesn't stop him, however, from taking a moment to freak Ezio out by pinning his hand and raising a meat cleaver before saying "Just kidding."

The last type is AwesomeButImpractical, as the blades prevent their wielders from performing mundane tasks when not in combat. They are also especially prone to [[FakeArmDisarm Fake Arm Disarms]], as they can be destroyed without gravely injuring the characters. Crafty opponents can also maneuver the wielder into [[LeftStuckAfterAttack getting them stuck in a wall or something else]]; and because the weapon is attached to the wielder entirely, letting it go isn't exactly an option. While these drawbacks mitigate many of the practical benefits of having swords attached to your body as opposed to carried, few will have the guts to question your [[RuleOfCool coolness]] or badassery.

** In one scene, Optimus Prime from the [[Film/{{Transformers|2007}} 2007 live-action]] movie uses a concealed sword in his right arm to attack Bonecrusher. [[MemeticMutation He hated that.]]
** In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', he gets to use [[DualWielding both arms]], and Sideswipe also dual-wields swords.

* In one scene, Optimus Prime from [[Film/{{Transformers}} the live-action]] ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' movie uses a concealed sword in his right arm to attack Bonecrusher. [[MemeticMutation He hated that. ]]
** In the sequel, he gets to use [[DualWielding both arms]].
** Also, Sideswipe in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''. Damn, he's good.

** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'':\\\
Weapon XI has full length retractable katana blades ''in'' each arm. At least Wolverine's blades might've slid into his forearm allowing him to bend his wrist. This guy has no excuse. The blades are in fact so long that he shouldn't even be able to bend his ''elbow''.\\\
Sabretooth in the same film has WolverineClaws, what with him being Wolverine's brother. They grow out of his fingernails and are shorter than Wolverine's, but clearly operate on the same principle.

* Shinkuro from the anime ''Lightnovel/KureNai'', as a child, had a sword-like blade placed ''inside his arm'' while he was training with a family of ex-assassins after the death of his own family. It pops out through his elbow when he gets overly agitated in combat, and [[spoiler:in the final episode he proves to be frighteningly efficient with it.]] He now regrets having it put into him, though, and is trying to be strong enough not to ever need it.

** Franchise/MonsterVerse: In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', the [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandKaijuAndOtherCreatures Mother Longlegs]]' spidery legs end in sharpened spikes, and are used for impaling, poisoning and then sucking the life from ground-based prey[[note]]Further elaborated on in the Monarch profile in ''Skull Island: The Birth of Kong''[[/note]]. In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', the [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju MonsterVerse incarnation of Mothra]] in her imago form has scythe-like raptorial appendages on her first two sets of limbs.

* In ''LightNovel/CoffinPrincessChaika'', Toru and Akari's [[CynicalMentor old mentor]] Shin fights with a pair of blades attached to his forearms.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'', when ArchangelMichael gifts Issei with the Dragon-slaying sword Ascalon, it attaches to his Boosted Gear gauntlet in this fashion, and he's able to make it appear and disappear at will. He can also separate it to lend it to someone else (usually he does it to Xenovia).

* It's a pretty common vampire power in ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.

* Both Protoman and Colonel in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''.

* Kars from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' has blades on his fore arms that he can retract into his arms at will. They're sharpness is due to the fact that they double as ''[[ChainsawGood chainsaws]]''. He can also sprout blades from his legs. These are all also apparently a biological part of his body.