History Main / MidfightWeaponExchange

* Per the JustForFun/ZerothLawOfTropeExamples, none other than Creator/WilliamShakespeare uses this device in the climactic scene of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', when Hamlet forces a sword swap with his opponent, Laertes. This is important, as [[PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo Laertes is using]] a {{Poisoned Weapon|s}}.

* Per the ZerothLawOfTropeExamples, none other than Creator/WilliamShakespeare uses this device in the climactic scene of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', when Hamlet forces a sword swap with his opponent, Laertes. This is important, as [[PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo Laertes is using]] a {{Poisoned Weapon|s}}.

* In ''Videogame/Overgrowth'', successfully countering an attack will give you your opponent's weapon. Enemies can do this as well, which can quickly change who has the upper hand if you aren't careful. It's sometimes a good idea to holster your weapon before attacking an unarmed enemy for this reason.

* In ''VideoGame/Overgrowth'', successfully countering an attack will give you your opponent's weapon. Enemies can do this as well, which can quickly change who has the upper hand if you aren't careful. It's sometimes a good idea to holster your weapon before attacking an unarmed enemy for this reason.

* Happens twice early on in ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/109581/1/i-did-not-want-to-die/i-did-not-want-to-die I Did Not Want To Die]]'', after the protagonist is shot the first time and he drops his M4a1. He is first handed an FN Minimi to suppress the enemy while he is evacuated, and then receives an AKMS once he is behind cover.

* WW2 saw lot of examples of this. Equipment captured by one side was frequently reconditioned and used against its original owners. After the shattering Italian defeat in North Africa, for instance, two full regiments of Australian armour were equipped with captured Italian tanks. On the Axis side, Rommel employed captured British tanks to make up his own shortages. Things could get confusing in the desert. The Russians captured so many German Pnz III tanks that they considered it worthwhile to rebuild the booty German chassis to carry a far more potent anti-tank gun. Bizarrely, several of these were recaptured by the Germans and things came full circle - a German tank equipped with a Russian gun now fighting again for its original owners. The British Guards Armoured Division employed at least one captured Panther as a main battle tank. The Japanese captured so many M3 Stuarts in the Phillipines that they fitted a tank regiment with them. These American tanks fought against their original owners during the 1945 reconquest. Second echelon German units employed tanks and armoured cars captured from a dozen different countries...

* The episode "Jack and the Spartans" of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' has Jack throw his sword to an ally after the ally's weapon breaks. The ally gives his shield in return and they finish off their opponent, Jack with [[ShieldBash two shields]] and the Spartan with Jack's sword.

* WW2 saw lot of examples of this. Equipment captured by one side was frequently reconditioned and used against its original owners. After the shattering Italian defeat in North Africa, for instance, two full regiments of Australian armour were equipped with captured Italian tanks. The Russians captured so many German Pnz III tanks that they considered it worthwhile to rebuild the booty German chassis to carry a far more potent anti-tank gun. Bizarrely, several of these were recaptured by the Germans and things came full circle - a German tank equipped with a Russian gun now fighting again for its original owners. The British Guards Armoured Division employed at least one captured Panther as a main battle tank. The Japanese captured so many M3 Stuarts in the Phillipines that they fitted a tank regiment with them. These American tanks fought against their original owners during the 1945 reconquest. Second echelon German units employed tanks and armoured cars captured from a dozen different countries...

* WW2 saw lot of examples of this. Equipment captured by one side was frequently reconditioned and used against its original owners. After the shattering Italian defeat in North Africa, for instance, two full regiments of Australian armour were equipped with captured Italian tanks. The Russians captured so many German Pnz III tanks that they considered it worthwhile to rebuild the booty German chassis to carry a far more potent anti-tank gun. bizarrely, Several of these were recaptured by the Germans and things came full circle - a German tank equipped with a Russian gun now fighting again for its original owners. The British Guards Armoured Division employed at least one captured Panther as a main battle tank. The Japanese captured so many M3 Stuarts in the Phillipines that they fitted a tank regiment with them. These American tanks fought against their original owners during the 1945 reconquest. Second echelon German units employed tanks and armoured cars captured from a dozen different countries...

* The episode ''Jack and the Spartans'' of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' has Jack throw his sword to an ally after the ally's weapon breaks. The ally gives his shield in return and they finish off their opponent, Jack with [[ShieldBash two shields]] and the Spartan with Jack's sword.

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* In an issue of FrankMiller's ''{{ComicBook/Daredevil}}'', the hero and his ArchEnemy Bullseye end up switching weapons briefly, with Bullseye using the hero's billy club to good effect while Daredevil quickly discards the villain's gun.

* After being lured into a death-trap by some villains, CaptainAmerica briefly ended up wielding Hawkeye's bow and arrow while Hawkeye tossed around Cap's shield. Luckily, those villains were the Death-Throws, a troupe of criminal jugglers.

Two characters are fighting against or with each other in a battle, and occasionally they find themselves swapping their weapons with each other. The reasons for this are:

* If enemies, the battle is so fierce they knock each other's weapons off their hands and have to use the other's weapon to continue fighting.
* If enemies, it is to make a challenge of using each other's weapons, especially if they're not familiar with each other's weapons.
* If allies, it's because one is in a situation which the other's weapon is better suited for.
** May be part of ConfusionFu, especially if they're not particularly skilled with each other's weapons, their opponents aren't skilled at fighting against a different weapon type, or their opponents completely don't expect them to use such a weapon. This is especially important against enemies that NoSell against a character's signature weapon fighting style.
* If allies, it may be part of their fighting style.
* If allies, there are more people than available weapons, so they pass what they have back and forth as needed.

* When Mireille in ''{{Anime/Noir}}'' fights Silvana, aka Intoccabile, Kirika [[ImprobableAimingSkills shoots off the tip of Silvana's knife]] just as she's about to stab Mireille, who drops her own gun in shock before either realize what actually happened, at which point they then both scramble to pick up something and wind up with the broken blade of the knife and the gun respectively. Notably, while Silvana has Mireille dead to rights she hesitates (either out of genuine surprise at how quickly the situation reversed on her, inexperience since she usually uses knives, or some combination) just long enough that Mireille is able to close in for the kill and stab her.

* Used in ''{{Goblins}}'' when the protagonists are doing battle with the Yellow Musk Creeper and the Thornback Orc clan it has enslaved. Big Ears ends up holding off the orcs with Complains' magical shortsword and Thaco's SwordCane after [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throwing his handaxe]], while Thaco takes Complains' katana and attacks the creeper's heart.

* Happens in some of the sword fights in ''TheMaskOfZorro''.

* Jet Li's character and his samurai opponent in ''{{Film/Fearless}}'' end up swapping their weapons, a [[ExoticWeaponSupremacy three section staff]] and a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] respectively, in the last fight of the movie. They pause the fight to switch back when it becomes clear that neither is nearly as proficient with their opponent's weapon as with their own.

* The final battle in ''CowboyBebop'' ends when [[spoiler: Spike]] and [[spoiler: Vicious]] end up dropping their signature weapons -- [[spoiler: Spike's pistol]] and [[spoiler: Vicious's katana]] -- and end up with their opponents' favorite sidearm. They hand them back just before deliberately launching final, suicidal strikes against one another.

* During the climactic battle of ''Film/ABetterTomorrow II'', Ken Gor and his opponent do this at the very end of their duel, which may have inspired the ''CowboyBebop'' example.

* Used in a cutscene in ''DevilMayCry 3'', when Dante and Vergil are forced into an EnemyMine battle against Arkham. Usually Vergil's weapon of choice is a [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana]], and Dante fights with a Zweihander, but they switch weapons briefly during the fight and are just as capable of fighting with the other's sword as their own.

* When Mireille in ''{{Anime/Noir}}'' fights Silvana, aka Intoccabile, Kirika [[ImprobableAimingSkills shoots off the tip of Silvana's knife]] just as she's about to stab Mireille, who drops her own gun in shock before either realize what actually happened, at which point they then both scramble to pick up something and wind up with the broken blade of the knife and the gun respectively. Notably, while Silvana has Mireille dead to rights she hesitates (either out of genuine shock at how quickly the situation reversed on her, inexperience since she usually uses knives, or some combination) just long enough that Mireille is able to close in for the kill and stab her.

* When Mireille in ''{{Anime/Noir}}'' fights Silvana, aka Intoccabile, Kirika [[ImprobableAimingSkills shoots off the tip of Silvana's knife]] just as she's about to stab Mireille, who drops her own gun in shock before either realize what actually happened, at which point they then both scramble to pick up something and wind up with the broken blade of the knife and the gun respectively. Notably, while Silvana has Mireille dead to rights she hesitates just long enough that Mireille is able to close in for the kill and stab her.

* When Mireille in ''{{Anime/Noir}}'' fights Silvana, aka Intoccabile, Kirika shoots off the tip of Silvana's knife just as she's about to stab Mireille, who drops her own gun in shock before either realize what actually happened, at which point they then both scramble to pick up something and wind up with the broken blade of the knife and the gun respectively. Notably, while Silvana has Mireille dead to rights she hesitates just long enough that Mireille is able to close in for the kill and stab her.

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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I70FbloQ4k this]] stick fight animation, Hyun (blue) and FLLFFL ("Alfa", green) knock away and catch each other's weapons. They both just hurt themselves trying to use each other's weapons, so they quickly switch them back.

* This happens to Hyun and FLLFFL ("Alfa") in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I70FbloQ4k this]] stick fight animation.

* If enemies, the battle is so fierce they knock each others' weapons off their hands and have to use the others' weapon to continue fighting.
* If enemies, it is to make a challenge of using each others' weapons, especially if they're not familiar with each others' weapons.
* If allies, it's because the other is in a situation where their weapon is better suited for.
** May be part of ConfusionFu, especially if they're not particularly skilled with each others' weapons, their opponents aren't skilled at fighting against a different weapon type, or their opponents completely not expect them to use such a weapon. This is especially important against enemies that NoSell against a character's signature weapon fighting style.

* Jet Li's character and his samurai opponent in ''{{Film/Fearless}}'' end up swapping their weapons, a [[ExoticWeaponSupremacy three section staff]] and a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] respectively, in the last fight of the movie. They pause the fight to switch back when it becomes clear that neither is nearly as proficient with their opponent's weapon as their own.
* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' Elizabeth and the two comic relief pirates, Pintel and Ragetti, are fleeing a gang of Davy Jones's henchmen with the chest and two swords between them. They end up [[GiveMeASword throwing the swords back and forth to each other as needed]] to defeat the mooks, [[RuleOfCool despite none of them having shown that level of swordsmanship or coordination before]]. [[note]]The commentary track says that Liz and Will have been working out their sexual tension since the first movie - since they certainly wouldn't be allowed to sleep together - by close dancing and practicing swordfighting. Lots and lots of swordfighting. Pintel and Ragetti never had a chance to really show off their swordsmanship or coordination in the first film, and they ''are'' pirates with at least ten years' experience each. [[/note]]

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Xena once fought a one-on-one fight against a giant barbarian with an axe and most of the way through the fight, they switch weapons. Xena adapts much better than the barbarian who's never held a sword in his life.