History Main / EpicFlail

* ''DevilMayCry'''s Dante owns a three-piece nunchaku made from the collar of a Cerberus.

The [[FightingWithChucks Nunchaku]] are a popular martial arts weapon developed from the rice flail in China, Okinawa, and possibly other places in the Far East, consisting of two hard sticks of wood or metal joined together by a cord or chain. In addition to being used for powerful strikes, the cord can also be used for strangling enemies. A three-stick variant of this weapon exists called the three-sectional staff (''sansetsukon'' in Japan and ''san jie gun'' in China), which is primarily used in Chinese kung fu.

Think of a wrecking ball or something similar, but any bludgeoning-implement-on-a-string probably counts, such as the infamous nunchaku beloved of martial artists and {{ninja}} fans. The [[FightingWithChucks Nunchaku]] are a popular martial arts weapon developed from the rice flail in China, Okinawa, and possibly other places in the Far East, consisting of two hard sticks of wood or metal joined together by a cord or chain. In addition to being used for powerful strikes, the cord can also be used for strangling enemies. A three-stick variant of this weapon exists called the three-sectional staff (''sansetsukon'' in Japan and ''san jie gun'' in China), which is primarily used in Chinese kung fu.

Think of a wrecking ball or something similar, but any bludgeoning-implement-on-a-string probably counts, such as the infamous nunchaku beloved of martial artists and {{ninja}} fans. The Nunchaku are a popular martial arts weapon developed from the rice flail in China, Okinawa, and possibly other places in the Far East, consisting of two hard sticks of wood or metal joined together by a cord or chain. In addition to being used for powerful strikes, the cord can also be used for strangling enemies. A three-stick variant of this weapon exists called the three-sectional staff (''sansetsukon'' in Japan and ''san jie gun'' in China), which is primarily used in Chinese kung fu.

Compare EverythingsBetterWithSpinning, KillerYoYo.

* Mink, of ''{{Darken}}'', [[http://darkencomic.com/?p=289 for whom Epic Flail becomes ''Epic Fail'']].

Can't decide whether to DropTheHammer or WhipItGood? Well, TakeAThirdOption: a large, heavy object on the end of a rope, chain, or cable. The latter part of the Crusaders era was dominated by a number of armor-piercing weapons, including spiked or blunt flails. Two examples are the mace-and-chain and some varieties of morningstar. Sheer momentum made this a superb weapon for unhorsing foes, crushing helmets, smashing shields, and driving bits of armor into your foe's body. Not so hot for defense, though. It should be noted that the heads on these weapons were about the size of a softball. Flail/morningstar heads in fiction, on the other hand, are usually the size of the ''wielder's'' head, if not larger, and realistically would be far too heavy for a normal person to wield in real life (oddly enough, this is rarely the point). It's also a relatively dangerous weapon, because one false move could wind up either getting you tangled up in the chain, or smashing yourself with the business end of it. Either way, it would require [[{{Pun}} massive balls of steel]] to use.

* [[MobileSuitGundam SD Gundam Scad Hammer]] is all about throwing hammers. Appearantly, Tem Ray has been smoking something and has disabled all the other weapons for the Gundam.

Can't decide whether to DropTheHammer or WhipItGood? Well, TakeAThirdOption: a large, heavy object on the end of a rope, chain, or cable. The latter part of the Crusaders era was dominated by a number of armor-piercing weapons, including spiked or blunt flails. Two examples are the mace-and-chain and some varieties of morningstar. Sheer momentum made this a superb weapon for unhorsing foes, crushing helmets, smashing shields, and driving bits of armor into your foe's body. Not so hot for defense, though. It should be noted that the heads on these weapons were about the size of a softball. Flail/morningstar heads in fiction, on the other hand, are usually the size of the ''wielder's'' head, if not larger, and realistically would be far too heavy for a normal person to wield in real life (oddly enough, this is rarely the point). It's also a relatively dangerous weapon, because one false move could wind up either getting you tangled up in the chain, or smashing yourself with the business end of it. Either way, it would require [[IncrediblyLamePun massive balls of steel]] to use.

* In ''{{Change 123}}'', a young [[{{Ninja}} kunoichi]] (not a [[HighlyVisibleNinja Highly Visible Kunoichi]], but a relatively plausible one who actually ''knows'' how to blend into normal environment) uses a very practical and ''disguised'' variation of a rope dart or a kusarigama - a keychain with ''heavy and sharp'' keys attached to the end of a ''retractable'' wire.

* So does Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man (who ''really'' shouldn't be able to wield it while in human form, but manages to.)
** Technically not a wrecking ball - his backstory has him escaping from a chain gang, with a literal ball and chain around his ankle, which becomes ridiculously large and on a ridiculously long chain as time went on. To be fair, he still shouldn't be able to wield it in human form, either, let alone in ONE HAND as he's often shown doing.
** Partly justified in that Creel was wearing the ball-and-chain when he gained his powers, and thus they became "part" of him, meaning he can change the weapon and wield it as he sees fit. Keep in mind that [[AWizardDidIt Loki]] is responsible for both Absorbing Man's and, indirectly, Thunderball's powers, so there's a bit of a HandWave involved.

** The special features even point out how difficult it was to lift; in the scene where the Witch-king first lifts the weapon, there was actually a person lying on the ground underneath and pushing it up from below.
** It actually started off as a relatively normal-sized flail, but PeterJackson kept telling WETA Workshop to "[[BeyondTheImpossible make it bigger]]." They finally made one that they were positive was going to be "too big". That's the one that made it on screen.
*** And PeterJackson ''still'' thought they could go a bit bigger than that.

* In ''[[{{Discworld}} Thud!]]'', a volounteer called Andy Something-or-other had a pair of nunchaku, in this universe called ''numknuts''. Vimes tried swirling one of them, and promptly hit his elbow.

* Present in both ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''{{Warhammer 40000}}''. In the former, it'sd a weapon commonly used by crazed Empire Flagellants and Chaos Marauders, and the Skaven like to mix their flails with a chemical weapon dispenser, while in the latter, they're a standard armament of arco-flaggelants.

** And it single-handedly turned a legion of drooling gamers into teeth-knashing maniacs due to its AwesomeButImpractical tendencies and the ice creatures you couldn't hit.
*** And then it turns out to be the best weapon to use against [[NightmareFuel ReDeads]]. Hands down.

* Although agricultural flails were sometimes used by peasants in war, the classic medieval "spiked ball on a chain attached to a handle" flail, sometimes mistakenly called a morning star, has no historical evidence to suggest that it was used or even existed.
** Oh, there's plenty of evidence, like all the actual flails that still exist in museums and such; they're also featured in period artwork and even serious ''fechtbucher'', medieval European martial arts textbooks. The chain was usually quite short, though, often just a few links, to make it easier to handle and prevent the head from accidentally hitting the user (although there are also some surviving examples with chains much longer than the handle). And a "morningstar" can refer to any impact weapon with a prominently spiked, roughly spherical head, be it a flail or mace.
* Another famous eastern weapon is the Kusari-Gama, a chain with a weight on one end, and a hand-held [[SinisterScythe scythe]] on the other. Like the nunchaku, it was developed from a weaponized tool (that being the sickle itself).

* In SengokuBasara 3, Kanbei Kuroda uses a ball and chain bound to an apparatus which holds his wrists together. As an added bonus, it's possible to hold the normal attack button and keep spinning around, essentially letting inertia take over.

* [[VGCats "Ban...]] [[{{Bleach}} kai!]] ''[[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=225 Rat Morning-Star!"]]''

* ''Diablo'' 2 has Khalim's Flail. It is a quest item that you get to make into a relic/artifact by transmuting/fusing it with its previous owner's brain, eye and heart. All in a day's work.

* Diablo 2 has Khalim's Flail. It is a quest item that you get to make into a relic/artifact by transmuting/fusing it with its previous owner's brain, eye and heart. All in a day's work.

* ''{{Digimon}}'' [=has MirageGaogamon's=] [[SuperMode Burst Mode]] wielding a [[EnergyWeapons huge flail made out of energy]] as his weapon. ''[[CallingYourAttacks Full Moon Meteor Impact!!]]''

** Later in the series (after more gear has been uncovered) Loran uses two of these at once to immobilise three opponents (using Turn A's engines, which appear to gradually upgrade their efficiency over time with the rest of the mecha, to pin the third).

** Makes another comeback in GundamSEED with the Raider Gundam. For a normally straight Real Robot series, it's kind of jarring seeing Clotho spin the cable to deflect ''beam weapons''.
** Double X has one too.

*** One of Whitebeard's Division Commanders is seen with a spiked one that seems to have eaten a Zoan DF of a breed of Dog.

* Haruka Armitage of ''{{Mai-Otome}}'' wields a large flail, in line with her... rather impulsive personality.
* General Yeegar in ''[[DGrayMan D.Gray-Man]]'' used massive chains with spikes on the end as weapons.

* Michaelangelo, one of the ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' , uses the nunchaku as his weapon of choice. In the 1980s series, after it was apparently deemed too violent for him to use them, he switched primarily to a grappling hook.
* Baldorias S. Fanghini, Number VIII of the Chronos Numbers in ''BlackCat'' not only uses a flail to pound his enemies to a pulp, but additionally attaches remote-controlled rockets to it to add to the epicness.

* Go-Go Yubari in ''Kill Bill'' wielded a mean ball-and-chain meteor hammer in her battle against the Bride.

* Bruce Lee made the Nunchaku famous, with such sequences like the big fight in Han's basement from ''EnterTheDragon''. Nunchaku are simple grain flails that had been used in Karate for centuries to block attacks and break weapons or limbs. Lee used [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskrima Eskrima]] techniques to turn them into visually dynamic spinning and striking weapons. Now whenever you see Nunchaku used, you're probably seeing an imitation of Bruce Lee.

* [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Belselk/Berserk]] of ''{{Wild ARMs}}'' wields a massive flail that can one shot your characters or at least leave them with very low health, especially in ''[[VideoGameRemake Alter Code F]]''.

* The Wii Game Gundam SD: Scad Hammers takes advantage of the Wiimote controls and has the player controlling various Gundams armed with a ball and chain.

* The first boss of ''{{Sonic the Hedgehog}}'' is Dr. Robotnik flying a small hovercraft armed with a giant wrecking ball on the bottom.

* Has been an intimidating weapon in ''TheLegendOfZelda'' series since the second game. In ''Twilight Princess'', the hero Link finally got to use one himself.

*** And then it turns out to be the best weapon to use against [[NightmareFuel [=ReDeads=]]]. Hands down.

* The X-Hunter [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Violen]] in ''[[MegaManX Megaman X2]]'' uses this as his primary attack. In the rematch, there are disappearing blocks which can sometimes help block his attack, although the chain doesn't obey the same game physics and can pass through, so you need to exercise cautious judgement. Hilariously, [[WeaksauceWeakness his weakness]] in the rematch is [[KillItWithWater Charged Bubble Splash]] (Not the [[GameBreaker Shoryuken]], which can only be obtained two stages later.)
** Knightman in ''[[MegaMan Megaman 6]]'' also uses a mace, although to far less effectiveness in range and power.

* ''BaldursGate II'' features a magical flail you can reassemble. It's got three heads, with different elemental powers. It's...very handy against trolls. Which is lucky, because the place you find it in is ''swarming'' with the bastards.

* Bowser from ''[[SuperMarioRPG Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'' can equip a spiked mace and a chain that he throws as one of his weapons. Also, he can equip Chomps, which work on a very similar basis.

* ''[[TheZombieHunters The Zombie Hunters]]'': [[http://thezombiehunters.com/index.php?strip_id=63 Brick Flail!]]

* Athrogate of the ForgottenRealms Sellswords trilogy {{DualWield}}s a pair of magical flails.

* In {{GURPS}} the two handed flail is one of the most powerful weapons available. It's damage is exceeded only by the [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw]] and [[LaserBlade Force Sword]], parrying it is difficult and it doesn't take much strength to use.

* Mordos Kull from ''Mace: The Dark Age" uses one of these.

* Subverted in [[WorldofWarcraft World of Warcraft]]. Not a single flail to be seen anywhere in the game, and the Morningstar weapon is just a spiked mace. This is probably due to the limitations of the graphics.
** Though oddly enough, it was a feature weapon in Diablo 2. Not much was more fun than seeing a [[FanNickName Zealadin]] in action.
* Bowser from [[SuperMarioRPG Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]] can equip a spiked mace and a chain that he throws as one of his weapons. Also, he can equip Chomps, which work on a very similar basis.
* The game Whiplash combines this with ChainedHeat, with the two main characters being Spanx, a maniacal weasel and Redmond, a NighInvulnerable rabbit chained together attempting to escape the MegaCorp that have been using them for tests. Spanx swings Redmond around like a weapon and Redmond can occasionally go into an UnstoppableRage where he wantonly smashes thing by himself.
* Selphie from FinalFantasyVIII uses a particularly long set of nunchaku for fighting, although her combat discipline mostly lies in SchrodingerFu. Her use of this weapon marks their first appearance in the game since the [[FinalFantasyI very first game]]. And like in the SoulSeries, she is forced to use a tri-rod in the UK version.

* Grenades in the GearsOfWar series are attached to a stick by a length of chain. Epic Flail indeed.

* The Russian indie game {{Hammerfight}} is ''all'' about this, being a game that focuses entirely on centrifugal force. Aside from the selection of hammers, axes and swords, you have a large selection of flails and flail like weapons, such as the "colossus", a sawblade on a chain laced with spikes. That is, the chain itself has spikes coming off it. It should be pointed out that the head on each of these flail weapons is larger then a human being. Also, if you are so inclined and are skilled enough, you can use two at once.

* [[TheZombieHunters The Zombie Hunters]]: [[http://thezombiehunters.com/index.php?strip_id=63 Brick Flail!]]
* [[EightBitTheater Sword-chucks, yo!]]
* [[DrMcNinja Dr McNinja]]: [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=37&issue=5 Chainsaw nunchucks]]
* EmergencyExit: [[http://eecomics.deviantart.com/art/Hammerchucks-104741965 Hammerchucks.]]
* {{Homestuck}}: [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003953 Segmented cane flail!]]

* [[ActionGirl Chaka's]] meteor hammers in [[WhateleyUniverse ''Ayla and the Great Shoulder Angel Conspiracy'']].