History Main / HumongousHeadedHammer

This is very much a case of ArtisticLicenseHistory. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_hammer War hammers are a very real weapon]], but the heads on real ones were usually much more comparable in size to that of a modern carpenter's hammer. The main distinction was that the ''haft'' of a war hammer was usually significantly longer, increasing the striking force by increasing the head's angular momentum, as with KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter.[[labelnote:The physics:]]A larger radius of swing means the head moves faster, and kinetic energy is proportional to the ''square'' of the velocity. In contrast, inertia, which resists changes in velocity, is only directly proportional to mass and velocity, and is ''inversely'' proportional to angular velocity, so a lighter hammer with a longer haft is easier to swing than a heavy hammer, while being just as damaging.[[/labelnote]]

*** For the Astartes, Thunder hammers are usually wielded by Space Marines wearing [[PoweredArmor Terminator armor]] and usually one-handed due to the size and strength of the suit (also used in cnojunction with a Storm shield if they are an Assault Terminator). But after ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' showed how awesome a heavy two-handed warhammers were in the hands of a regular-armored Space Marine, Captains were allowed to use them in the tabletop. More often than not the head of a Space Marine's thunder hammer is larger than their own helmet, but a Space Marine's ''head'' is a lot smaller relative to their body than that of a baseline human. Although lighter versions such as the Lathe Pattern are also popular with Adeptus Ministorum priests, [[VideoGame/Warhammer40000Darktide Zealots]], and Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus.

*** For the members of Deathwatch, they have access to the "Heavy Thunder Hammer a massive'' two-handed and double-headed'' hammer that has each head wreath in a disrupter field that smash the midsection of a Carnifex in twain and turn tanks into crumpled wrecks.

* ''Videogam/{{Bloodborne}}'': The Kirkhammer is a trick weapon consisting in a silver longsword that can be inserted into a massive stone slab to form a gigantic hammer.

* ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'': The eponymous mecha possesses the Goldion Hammer, a hammer with a head as large as the titular HumongousMecha. In addition to the force created by its sheer mass, the hammer creates an artificial gravity well at the point of impact that reduces all matter it strikes into photons. But this power also meant that [=GaoGaiGar=] couldn't wield the hammer without damaging itself until it's incorporated into [=GoldyMarg's=] Marg Arm system.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Tinkatink is a Fairy/Steel-type Pokémon that starts out with a small metal club that gets bigger as they evolve, until their final stage, Tinkaton, has a huge sledgehammer twice the size of their body.

** Thunder hammers are a type of power weapon used by some Imperial combatants: in addition to their enormous size, they will generate energy fields which [[ShockwaveStomp create a concussive shickwave when they make contact with a target]].
** Thunder hammers are ''usually only used by Space Marines wearing [[PoweredArmor Terminator armors]], and usually one-handed and come with a Storm Shield. But after ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' showed how awesome a two-handed huge warhammer was in the hands of a regular-armored Space Marine, Captains were allowed to use them in the tabletop. More often than not he head of a Space Marine's thunder hammer is larger than their own helmet, but a Space Marine's ''head'' is a lot smaller relative to their body than that of a baseline human. Although lighter versions such as the Lathe Pattern are also popular with Adeptus Ministorum priests and Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus.
** Speaking of Ordo Malleus, they also have the Nemesis Daemon Hammer, which is a force weapon that is built to practically smite and smash powerful daemons with the weapon's humungous head but also the wielder's psychic might. The Nemesis Daemon Greathammer meanwhile is what happens if you scale a Daemon hammer to the size of a MiniMecha.

** To continue the Ork's love for over-the-top and downright bizarre weaponry, there's also the Snazzhammer. A one-of-a-kind weapon that is essentially a Shokk Attack Gun/Tellyport Blasta mounted on the head of an enormous power hammer[[note]]The Shokk Attack Gun and Tellyport Blasta use ''Warp travel to send their ammunition to the enemy[''[/note]], basically anything that happens to be struck by this hammer [[LudicrousGibs will end up being teleported to many places at once]].

** Thunder hammers are a type of power weapon used by some Imperial combatants: in addition to their enormous size, they generate an energy field that [[ShockwaveStomp releases a concussive shockwave when they hit something]]. Thunder hammers are ''usually'' used only by Space Marines, who wear PoweredArmor on top of being [[BioAugmentation physically augmented]] {{Super Soldier}}s (typically the head of a Space Marine's thunder hammer is larger than their own helmet, but a Space Marine's ''head'' is a lot smaller relative to their body than that of a baseline human), but lighter versions such as the Lathe Pattern are also popular with Adeptus Ministorum priests and Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus.

This trope sometimes overlaps with BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon, where a big, strong brute carries a big, strong weapon. However, huge warhammers are also associated with ThePaladin, probably as an extension of the ([[ArtisticLicenseHistory apocryphal]]) prohibition on Catholic priests carrying edged weapons.

* ''VideoGame/ConquerorsBlade'': The game's most popular hero weapon is the Maul, a ridiculously large war hammer which is great at knocking down shields.
And the people behind them.

* ''VideoGame/CloneDroneInTheDangerZone'': The human can gain a hammer as an alternate weapon, and upgrade the size of the hammer to ludicrous amounts. The final upgrade of the hammer makes it bigger than their own body and reduce enemies into scrap metal while sending armored and shielded opponents flying.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The game itself is named after the weapon. Specifically, [[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Ghal_Maraz?so=search&file=Warhammer_Ghal_Maraz.jpg the warhammer]] ''Ghal Maraz'', the setting's primary LegendaryWeapon: A symbol of the human god Sigmar, and wielded by the emperors of the empire he left behind. Ghal Maraz is a classic example of the trope, having an impractically large head and a relatively short haft that would make it impossible to use for purpose in real life. This is slightly justified by Ghal Maraz being of dwarf make ([[WeaponsOfTheirTrade dwarfs do not make weapons that cannot also double as a tool]]) and also a magical weapon whose mere touch is damaging (in-game, ''Ghal Maraz'' will automatically wound any target it hits, and it ignores armour).

** In early editions of the game, the titular warhammer was an unnamed hammer wielded by early SeriesMascot "[[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Harald_Hammerstorm?file=Harry_the_Hammer_John_Blanche_1983_1st_Edition_Rulebook_illustration.png Harry the Hammer]]", which downplays the trope. It resembles a sledgehammer more than an actual warhammer.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The game itself is named after the weapon. Specifically, [[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Ghal_Maraz?so=search&file=Warhammer_Ghal_Maraz.jpg the warhammer]] ''Ghal Maraz'', the symbol of the human god Sigmar and a LegacyWeapon wielded by the emperors of the empire he left behind. Ghal Maraz is a classic example of the trope, having an impractically large head and a relatively short haft that would make it impossible to use for purpose in real life. This is slightly justified by Ghal Maraz being of dwarf make ([[WeaponsOfTheirTrade dwarfs do not make weapons that cannot also double as a tool]]) and also a magical weapon whose mere touch is damaging (in-game, ''Ghal Maraz'' will automatically wound any target it hits, and it ignores armour).
** Empire priests of Sigmar wield replicas of Ghal Maraz into battle. Unlike the original, they are not magical weapons, but as they're built to resemble it they're no less impractical in appearance.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The game itself is named after the weapon. Specifically, [[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Ghal_Maraz?so=search&file=Warhammer_Ghal_Maraz.jpg the warhammer]] ''Ghal Maraz'', the symbol of the human god Sigmar and a LegacyWeapon wielded by the emperors of the empire he left behind. Ghal Maraz is a classic example of the trope, having an impractically large head and a relatively short haft that would make it impossible to use for purpose in real life. This is slightly justified by Ghal Maraz being a magical weapon whose mere touch is damaging (in-game, ''Ghal Maraz'' will automatically wound any target it hits, and it ignores armour).

** In early editions of the game, the titual warhammer was an unnamed hammer wielded by early SeriesMascot "[[https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Harald_Hammerstorm?file=Harry_the_Hammer_John_Blanche_1983_1st_Edition_Rulebook_illustration.png Harry the Hammer]]", which downplays the trope. It resembles more of a hand-held maul than an actual warhammer.

** Downplayed in most games. While the warhammers aren't ridiculously large, they are still far larger and bulkier than real life warhammers.

*** Godbert Manderville has the inexplicable ability to make his ordinary goldmsith's hammer grow to enormous proportions, making the haft and the head longer than he is tall. He uses this reach to batter his foes in mid-air before sending them careening down to earth.

* ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'': One of Harley's signature weapons is a large mallet, like one would commonly see at a "test your strength" game in a carnival. The size is justified because most of the time it ''is'' a repurposed carnival mallet and consequently is not made of metal so is lighter than its size suggests.

* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'': Ramona Flowers's primary weapon is a hammer with a head that's at least two feet long and a foot wide. She's only able to carry it around because her bag act as {{Hammerspace}} (no pun intended).

* ''Music/{{Gloryhammer}}'': The Titular Gloryhammer is a mighty weapon given many epithets in song. It is both a "laser power goblin crusher" and powered up by the nuclear fusion of a star and in music videos is shown a very long hafted weapon with massive cubic head on the end.
* ''Music/AngusMcSix'': The band's debut song "Master of The Universe", features one as TakeThat to Music/{{Gloryhammer}}, the lead singer's former band. Angus casts aside his big hammer in favour of a sword, it still creates a massive explosion when it hits a hillside in the background though, showing it's massive nature.

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* Myth/NorseMythology: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mj%C3%B6lnir Thor's hammer Mjolnir]], usually depicted in the form of a pendant worn by devotees, tends to have a handle only slightly longer than the head and about as wide. {{Justified|Trope}} in some versions of the legend of its forging, wherein Loki messed with the dwarf that made it so he couldn't finish the handle in time.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': The warhammer [[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Volendrung Volendrung]], present throughout the series, is an artifact originally made by the Dwemer Rourken clan, though it later became associated with the Daedric Prince Malacath. When it was thrown across Tamriel, it landed in a place that became known as Volenfell, and later Hammerfell. As a weapon, it is often portrayed as a hammer whose blows strike so hard they either weaken or paralyze the target (though it lacks any enchantment in ''VideoGame/{{Morrowind}}''). Its exact look varies between games, but it has always had a long, two-handed haft, connected to a gigantic brick of a head that acquired a spike on either striking face in ''VideoGame/{{Daggerfall}}''.