History Main / BladeOnAStick

[[caption-width-right:350:And he [[CarryABigStick speaks softly]], too.]]

-->''Till, bruised and bitten to the bone\\

And poke the long, safe spear.''\\
-- '''RudyardKipling''', "The Benefactors"

-->''We can use my latest invention: a sharp rock tied to a stick''\\
--'''Professor Farnsworth''', ''{{Futurama}}''

Usually, a polearm - such as a [[AnAxeToGrind poleaxe]], spear, halberd, or any other weapon that's a long stick with something sharp and metal on one end - therein lies the difference between this and SimpleStaff, other than the fact that it's steel weaponry instead of blunt weaponry - is the province of hapless {{Mook}}s: city guardsman, honor guard, {{Spear Carrier}}s and so on. Anyone who needs something long to cross over a portal to prevent someone from entering will use a polearm. When not in the hands of mooks, they are the weapon of choice for calm collected individuals.

Polearms are extremely effective weapons - especially the halberd and naginata, both of which require considerable training. Those weapons are extremely effective in massed battles, much more so than the sword. This is due to their reach and the fact that they're more effective at penetrating armor. However, many longer spears -- and especially the pike -- are not terribly suited for single combat. In medieval combat, the sword was more a sidearm, and the polearm used as the main infantry weapon on the battlefield. The characterization of BladeOnAStick being in the hands of collected individuals likely comes from how spears and polearms were historically used in formations on the battlefield - and an effective formation requires disciplined people in it. The reason you may not have heard of the importance of polearms is that [[HeroesPreferSwords our cultural obsession with the greatness of swords]] is at least a thousand years old.

In the hands of a hero, a spear is often swung around as a [[SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship slashing weapon]], in a flashy manner reminiscent of a [[SimpleStaff staff]]. The effectiveness of such a maneuver is largely dependent on the type of spear; a pike isn't good for much other than stabbing, whereas the Chinese Qiang is effectively a knife on a stick, making slashing moves potentially effective. Naturally, the halberd, glaive, naginata and similar weapons are particularly well-suited for this style, due to the use of a sharp and/or heavy blade in place of a spear point. Of course, regardless of actual utility, the RuleOfCool dictates that simply 'poking' the enemy won't do by itself, even if that's the most logical and effective use of a spear. It should be noted that many martial arts do teach staff-like techniques for use with the spear - after all, the whole thing is a weapon, not just the sharp end. Spears may also be thrown, even if the weapon in question [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks isn't exactly built for it]] (unless it returns to the wielder's hand).

* Kan'u Unchou from ''{{Ikkitousen}}'' wields the aforementioned Guan Yu's trademark polearm: the Blue Dragon Saber. She doesn't fight with it during the tournament, though, since it would be against the rules; only in ''Dragon Destiny'' do we get to see her use it.
** And so does his {{Expy}} with the same name (Aisha) in KoihimeMusou.
* It's pretty much routine for any RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms adaptation to hand out polearms to all the major characters. ''BBSenshiSangokuden'' narrowly averts this by arming the action leaders with swords, the tacticians with fans... and that's about it.

* Whitebeard in ''OnePiece'' wields a bisento as sharp as his mustache.

* [[{{Bleach}} Madarame Ikkaku]]'s Houzukimaru, which doubles as a [[strike:three-piece nunchaku]] three section staff.
** [[spoiler: Lisa Yadomaru's Hagurotonbo is one as well and It's [[{{BFS}} HUGE]].]]

* In ''[=~Ranma ½~=]'', the Kinjakan and Gekkaja are matching weapons that can be used as keys to lock and unlock the waters of Jusendo.

* In the first TenchiMuyo movie, when Achika gets the Tenchi sword, it seems to extend to naginata-like lengths.
* The {{Gundam}} multiverse contains a number of HumongousMecha who utilize both mundane and LaserBlade versions of such things as spears and naginatas. To wit:

* [[{{Daitarn 3}} Daitarn Javelin]]
* When wielded by his meister Ox, [[SoulEater Harvar]] ''is'' the blade on a stick, a spear with the head shaped like a lightening bolt. Naturally, this grants him [[ShockAndAwe lightening-related abilities]].
* While the original ''GetterRobo'' & its successor ''GetterRoboG'' use a pair of hand-axes, most subsequent incarnations use some variety of poleaxe.
* The Beast Spear in UshioAndTora is actually a sword blade grafted onto a spear shaft. It's the least strange thing about the weapon considering it is also [[spoiler:[[HumanSacrifice made of people]] and [[EmergencyTransformation decorated with monsters]]]].

* In SinCity, an assassin named Mariah has a collapsable staff with twin prongs.

* One of the many weapons that Hit-Girl is shown to be proficient with in {{Kick-Ass}} is what appears to be a double-ended glaive.

* In ''{{Musa}}: The Warrior'', the reticent slave Yeo-sol turns out to be a master with a polearm, which he tends to swing in whirling arcs to hack off limbs and heads.

* Long Sky uses a spear with a rather flexible metal pole in ''{{Film/Hero}}'' in his duel with [[NoNameGiven Nameless]].
* Most of the Spartans in [[ThreeHundred 300]] would qualify. Those that didn't use swords about halfway through, that is.

* Just about everyone in ''The Iliad'' uses a spear, so it's ''really'' one of the OldestOnesInTheBook.

* Mat Cauthon of Robert Jordan's TheWheelOfTime series, as part of his role as the inspiration for our tales of Odin, has his [[TheManTheyCouldntHang interestingly acquired]] [[http://bp3.blogger.com/_tAGiUyc7Zrs/R5exIWodT3I/AAAAAAAAAqU/8q2JpKYU8m8/s1600-h/mywnat.jpg ''ashandarei'']] which he naturally uses to [[BadassNormal kick ass and take names.]] Also, the Aiel from the same book wield spears with deadly skill.

* A pike is the favoured weapon of Sergeant Colon in the ''{{Discworld}}'' novels. "The thing about a pike, the ''important'' thing, was that everything happened at the other end of it, i.e. a long way off."

** In William King's SpaceWolf novels, the Spear of Russ, the ancient weapon of the Space Wolves' primarch. Prophecy says that when he returns, he will take it up to fight. [[spoiler:Which causes real problems when Ragnor loses it, fighting against a [[BackFromTheDead revived]] Magnus the Red, their ancient enemy.]]

* In the {{Dragonlance}} novel Sellsword, the [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnome]] Theodenes has a [[SwissArmyWeapon multi-purpose polearm]]...[[AwesomeButImpractical that can switch from one polearm to another and another and another]].

* Take one AbsurdlySharpBlade, put it on a stick. What do you get? The boma blade, used as a secondary weapon by the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Posleen]], in JohnRingo's PosleenWarSeries.

* The spear is the standard weapon of common darkeyed soldiers in TheStormlightArchive (swords are reserved for the lighteyed upper class.) Particularly of note is Kaladin, who kicks so much ass with a spear that he managed to kill a guy who had one of the settings resident [[{{BFS}} big]] [[AbsurdlySharpBlade insanely sharp]] instant death blades, and {{Magitech}} PoweredArmor.

* In TheBible, a plague began (during the 40 years of wandering, still) when people of the children of Israel were lured away to Moabite gods. One man, Zimri, even brought one of the women back to show her off. Phineas, however, took a javelin, went after them, and thrust it through both of them, killing them and stopping the plague.

*** Even more. Dain and Noba were a BrotherAndSisterTeam, [[spoiler: whose destinies took a turn for the worse in what's known as [[http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_2.html "Tragedy of the Gaebolg"]]. Cuan's wife Ethlin is thus very scared of handing Cuan the Bolg... and they're horribly killed by Trabant few after she does.]]

* [[{{Halo}} Covenant]] [[PraetorianGuard Honor Guards]] usually wield huge ornamental spears ('huge' as in, longer than the 8+ -foot alien wielders are tall); the Honor Guards seen in ''HaloWars'' cutscenes can be seen wielding versions that more closely resemble Lochaber Axes ([[spoiler:Of course, thanks to the trio of Spartans, these weapons end up killing more Elites than they do humans]]).

* The Chinese had a large variety of polearms. The most eponymous are the usual longspear (fixed with a tassel behind the blade which, in expert hands, can help distract the opponent and interfere with his/her ability to judge where the point is going), and the Guan Dao, a large blade fixed to the business end a long pole. Halberds are also commonly used in war, and they range from a simple addition of a blade fixed on a right angle to the main blade to as many as 4 crescent-shaped blades fixed just below the main blade. Double-ended weapons are also commonly taught in martial arts schools, like a double-ended spear, double volgues, and a unique wapon sometimes called the Monk's Spade. The last weapon has a spade-like or axe-like blade fixed to one end and a crescent-shaped blade on the other. There's also a weapon known as Bandit Sword which is like a Guan Dao with a much shorter pole. Students of Chinese martial arts are generally encouraged to start with the staff and spear when learning weapons as they are considered to be the best for training body coordination since a practitioner must utilize all parts of their body in equal amounts of complexity in order to properly wield the weapon. Some schools may go as far as making them compulsary before learning other weapons.

* In the ''Touhou'' series, the character Shanghai wields a razor blade tied to a stick.

[[NorseMythology http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Odin_3013.jpg]]
[[caption-width:378:And he [[CarryABigStick speaks softly]], too.]]

** [[spoiler: Lisa Yadomaru's Hagurotonbo is one well and It's [[{{BFS}} HUGE]].]]

* Most of the Spartans in 300 would qualify. Those that didn't use swords about halfway through, that is.

* One of the weapon types in ''FireEmblem'', the other being Swords, Axes, Bows, and Magic Books. They receive bonuses when used against sword-wielding opponents (and penalties against axes), and are the main weapons of several fighting classes (Pegasus Knights, Knights, [[strike:Dragon]], [[strike:Wyvern]], uh Draco Riders) and secondary weapons for others (Cavaliers and Falcoknights, who can use both swords and lances; Generals and Great Knights, who use both lances and axes). Prince Ephraim of Renais (''The Sacred Stones'') is a Lord that [[HeroesPreferSwords specializes in this]].

* Kel, from TamoraPierce's ''Protector of the Small'', uses a glaive as one of her main weapons. I think people's acceptance of it represented their acceptance of her. (the bigoted training master wouldn't let her use it, her more liberal training master did, the children who looked up to her asked her to train them to use one.)

* In TheBible, a plague began (during the 40 years of wandering, still) when people of the children of Israel were lured away to Moabite gods. One man, Zimri, even brought one of the women back to show her off. Phineas, however, took a javelin, went after them, and thrust it through both of them, killing them and stopping the plague.
** Joshua used a spear in his attack on Ai (the attack that worked).
** Goliath had a spear whose staff part was like a weaver's beam, and the iron spearhead weighed 600 shekels (possibly 15 pounds).
** Once, while Saul was looking for David, he and his men made camp. While they slept, David and Abishai snuck into camp. Abishai offered to kill Saul, but David said no, just take his spear and water jug from beside his head, and let's go. So that's what they did, and they took it and called to the camp, and let the king know that he could have killed Saul, but did not.
** After Abner anointed Saul's son Ishbosheth king rather than acknowledge David's kingship, there was a battle at Gibeon. Abner ran off, but Asahel ran after him. When Asahel wouldn't stop following, Abner struck him with the ''blunt'' end of the spear, so that it came out the back.
** One of the giant's sons, Ishbi-Benob, thought he could kill David with a 7-1/2 lb. bronze spear. And David was faint at the time, so maybe he could've had not Abishai intervened and killed Ishbi-Benob first.
** Among other things, Benaiah wrested a spear out of the hands of an Egyptian and killed him with it.
** Perhaps the most famous spear in the New Testament, if not the whole Bible, is the Spear of Destiny. This was thrust into Jesus's side after He died, causing blood and water to come out. It left a mark which, after He came back to life, he showed to the disciples. According to tradition, the blood running down the spear touched the partially-sighted eyes of its wielder, the legionary Longinus, and cured his sight; he became a Christian as a result of this, and the spear is also called the Lance of Longinus.

[[folder:Mythology]]

* The {{Fallout}} games feature a small assortment of spears that can be useful in the early to middle parts of the game, before getting completely eclipsed by various quality melee weapons, guns, and grenades. Still, dropping a fleeing [[{{Mook}} mook]] by hurling a spear through his back is far more [[BadAss badass]] then just shooting him.

* In [[{{LegendofDragoon}} The Legend of Dragoon]], Lavitz and later [[spoiler: Albert]], combine this, and EverythingsBetterWithSpinning to be two of the most powerful characters for a long while. The latter is almost too fast to control though.
* [[{{Halo}} Covenant]] [[PraetorianGuard Honor Guards]] usually wield huge ornamental spears ('huge' as in, longer than the 8+ -foot alien wielders are tall); the Honor Guards seen in ''Halo Wars'' cutscenes can be seen wielding versions that more closely resemble Lochaber Axes ([[spoiler:Of course, thanks to the trio of Spartans, these weapons end up killing more Elites than they do humans]]).
* DwarfFortress has a representative selection of spears, pikes, halberds and 'Great Axes' (presumably glaives). Most of them are too large to be wielded by dwarves, but a steel pike in skilled hands can comfortably OneHitKill a ''dragon''. Spears are distinguished for being simultaneously lethal and clean by damaging enemy internal organs rather than lopping off limbs, which add to on-screen clutter and can mess up a player's precious FPS.
** On the other hand, it makes them rather less useful against enemies who don't have internal organs, like the undead.
* [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Undines]] and knights wield them in YggdraUnion and it's spinoff YggdraUnison. The former use [[ProngsOfPoseidon tridents]], and the latter fights with a [[{{BFS}} humongous lance]].

* In {{Majesty}}, City Guards and Royal Guards get halberds while heroes will wield bows, hammers, or [[HeroesPreferSwords swords]].
* In GodOfWar series, Kratos had two BladeOnAStick type weapons, including the Spear of Destiny (which is partly made of purple crystal, can stretch and fire explosives shards) and the Arms of Sparta (Spear and Shield combination).[[spoiler: it gives the latter to his brother Deimos in order to fight Thanatos]].

* Spearmen and pikemen are common early-game units in the {{Civilization}} series, traditionally with bonuses against cavalry.

* In Warlords Battlecry 2, the Human faction has the pikeman which can get upgrades twice, making them as effective endgame as in the early minutes of play.

* Terranigma, wherein the hero Ark builds up a whole arsenal of weapons during the course of the game, most of which are variants of a blade on a stick. Or just a really sharp stick, in some cases. In fact, he doesn't use a proper sword at all (the closest he gets is a few spears).

* Shizuru Fujino's Element in the ''{{Mai-HiME}}'' anime (she doesn't fight in the manga) is a large naginata whose blade doubles as a WhipSword.

** Averted ''hard'' with the Irish mythic hero Cuchulainn, the identity of Lancer in FateStayNight, who wielded the ([[PublicDomainArtifact Gae Bolg]]) spear and was a prime example of TheBerserker. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades it]] in the beginning of the series.

* Of course, ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' had the [[FauxSymbolism Lance of Longinus]]. Which is apparently capable of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxrplMC0pKs&fmt=18 altering it's own weight]].

*** The funny thing is that, according to the Thirteenth Company, whom "modern" Wolves encountered during the recent Dark Crusade, Russ (who is, apparently, still alive and kicking ass in the Eye of Terror) doesn't put any real significance to the spear in question, and is greatly amused by the reverence Wolves gives to this ordinary (to him, at least) weapon.

* William Wallace of ''{{Braveheart}}'' makes pikes, though he doesn't call them that, to counter King Edward's cavalry.

* [[http://www.samuraiprincess.com Princess Raeka]] from Samurai Princess uses a Naginata. A notable weapon for a female samurai.