History Main / NemesisWeapon

** The members of Bosou Sentai Zokuranger from, GekisouSentaiCarranger each have two different personal weapons, with one being similar to the person weapon of their Carranger counterpart. They also have their own team bazooka like the Carrangers, although theirs isn't formed by combining their personal weapons.

** Due to the HeroesPreferSwords trope, {{BigBad}}s and other important villains with a strong rivalry with one or all of the rangers will often be a swordsman with an evil-looking sword contrasting with the rangers' swords. {{Mooks}} and the MonsterOfTheWeek will almost never get to use swords.

* The happens rather literally in ''AvataroSentaiDonbrothers'' with the Ninjarksword, a sentient sword that can manifest a body called Don Murasame that resembles an evil version of Don Momotaro, who uses the Zanglassword. The two swords have a similar design but are colored differently and the Ninjarksword is a SerratedBladeOfPain.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Whether its the original continuity or the ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' continuity, Dante's sword Rebellion and Vergil's katana Yamato were handed down by their father, Sparda. The two twins are bitter enemies.

** Due to the HeroesPreferSwords trope, [[BigBad]]s and other important villains with a strong rivalry with one or all of the rangers will often be a swordsman with an evil-looking sword contrasting with the rangers' swords. {{Mooks}} and the MonsterOfTheWeek will almost never get to use swords.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': The Star Saber and the Dark Star Saber, used by [[BigGood Optimus Prime]] and [[BigBad Megatron]] respectively. The Star Saber is a legendary weapon made and wielded by godlike beings, while the Dark Star Saber is a EvilKnockoff made by Megatron using the blood of the local SatanicArchetype and an artifact forge, specifically to counter the [[StoryBreakerPower overwhelming power]] of the Star Saber. When the two clash, [[spoiler:the Dark Star Saber shatters its counterpart.]]

** In ''Series/ResshaSentaiToQger'', both the rangers and the villains use trains that transform into giant robots. The ones used by the rangers are brightly colored and more toy-like while the villains use scary-looking black or white ones.

* This trope pops up in several seasons of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. In ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'' the core five rangers transform using guns called Geartlingers that are modeled after the team mascot Setchan. Evil ranger Stacy transforms using a gun called the Geartozinger which is modeled after the BigBad's pet Gege. They also have contrasting abilities. The Geartlingers can use Sentai gears to call upon the spirits of rangers from previous seasons to borrow their abilities, while the Geartozinger uses dark Sentai gears to summon copies of past rangers.

** The renegade Lantern SelfDemonstrating/{{Sinestro}} originally wielded a ring that was composed entirely of the "yellow impurity" in the standard-issue GL rings. In more modern continuity, Sinestro and his Sinestro Corps wield rings that tap into fear, the antithesis of the willpower the modern Green Lantern rings tap into. Further, under Creator/GeoffJohns's tenure, this was expanded into six other Lantern corps that tapped into other emotions, some of which were Nemesis Weapons to one another, including Black Hand and the Black Lantern Corps, whose rings drive them to ''consume'' emotion on the grounds that the blackness of death is the absence of emotion.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': The Star Saber and the Dark Star Saber, used by [[BigGood Optimus Prime]] and [[BigBad Megatron]] respectively. The Star Saber is a legendary weapon while the Dark Star Saber is a EvilKnockoff made by Megatron using an artifact forge.

* ''Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury'': At the outset Van had an white organoid named Zeke who would power up his abilities, and was coveted by many thieves. Later in season one his rival Raven showed up with black organoid named Shadow who could do the same for him. In season two, two more antagonists showed up with red and blue organoids. One of them pulled a HeelFaceTurn but the other was the final BigBad of the show.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', both [[MagicKnight the heroic Jedi and the evil Sith]] wield the iconic [[LaserBlade lightsaber]]. A lightsaber can only be constructed precisely enough to function with the aid of TheForce, and in the hands of a Force-user it's the ultimate personal weapon. The core element is the [[PowerCrystal focusing crystal]]; Jedi usually use natural crystals of various kinds, producing a variety of different colors and blade forms. Sith, depending on which version you're reading, use a synthetic crystal made using TheDarkSide, or take a normal crystal and then pour all their negative emotions into it until it "bleeds".

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Dante's sword Rebellion and Vergil's katana Yamato used to belong to their father, Sparda. The two twins are bitter enemies.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': Seifer, the rival to our protagonist Squall, also wields a gunblade like him. The weapon is said to be hard to master with only 2 have been shown as its practitioners, and there's also a prophecy that a hero wielding a gunblade will save the day; Seifer jumps at the opportunity while Squall takes it in stride.

[[caption-width-right:350:You can tell who's good or bad because the bad guy's weapon is scarier looking that the good guy's.]]

* Creator/{{Filmation}}'s 1981 cartoon series ''WesternAnimation/{{Blackstar}}'' has TheHero John Blackstar wield the Star Sword in the cause of liberty, while TheVillain the Overlord wields the Power Sword, bent on conquest and tyranny. The two swords were once one whole weapon called the Power-Star, which was split in two during a revolt against the Overlord's iron rule.

It's common for TheHero to have an ArchEnemy; moreover, if the hero has a suitably powerful weapon or IconicItem, it may be that said weapon or tool will also have an antithesis, which is similar in appearance and powers but is used to opposite ends.

The weapon may signify its wielder as an EvilCounterpart to the hero, or otherwise hint that they are {{Foil}}s in some regard. It also serves to amplify the hero's challenge, by negating the advantage their weapon gives and forcing them to rely on their inherent skills, virtues, or [[TrueCompanions greater number of allies]] to win. Because of this, the nemesis weapon is more likely to appear near the end of the story.

[[caption-width-right:300:You can tell who's good or bad because the bad guy's weapon is scarier looking that the good guy's.]]

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[[quoteright:300:[[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imgres_6_4.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:The red blade belongs to the villain.]]

** ''VideoGame/KingdomheartsI'' has Sora's Kingdom Key contrasting with the Keyblade of People's Hearts wielded by [[RivalTurnedEvil Riku while under Ansem's control]]. Sora's Keyblade has the power to unlock doors and seal the worlds to protect them from the darkness. Riku's has the power to remove a heart form a person, creating a Heartless, which Sora later uses to free Kairi's heart form his own.

** Averted with Two Become One, the Keyblade that Sora earns in the Final Mix version of II (and that Roxas himself can wield in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''). While it's clearly associated with Roxas (it's obtained in ''II'' after fighting Roxas, and it has a Nobody motif like the other Organization member's weapons, complete with a Nobody symbol on the hilt), Roxas himself never wields it canonically.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. The player and the rival will take starters from the same lab who are usually their most powerful and reliable Pokemon. Starters are not found in the wild, have above average abilities overall, as well as access to a few unique powerful moves. Some adaptations make a plot point that both TheHero and TheRival's [[WeaponOfChoice 'mon of choice]] were raised together as friends before the two kids pit them against each other. That and the rival always takes the one that has a natural advantage over yours.

* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': Ryuko Matoi's weapon and Kamui both have an counterpart.
** Her WeaponOfChoice is one half of a giant pair of scissors [[spoiler: created by her father to cut life fibers]]. The other half is wielded by the insane Nui Harime, [[spoiler: the woman who murdered her father while stealing said weapon. Eventually, Ryuko steals it back, and it's alternately used [[DualWielding by Ryuko]] [[GoodAllAlong or Satsuki]].]]
** Her Kamui (clothing made completely of life fibers and capable of unparalleled power) is a black school uniform named Senketsu. Her main rival, student council president Satsuki Kiryuin, wears a Kamui named Junketsu, which is a white school uniform. These two are the only ones capable of wearing Kamui [[spoiler: apart from their mother Ragyo]]. Toward the end of the series, [[spoiler: Ryuko and Satsuki are forced to battle while wearing the other's Kamui. Because Junketsu was created with pure Life Fibers, it tries to take over whoever wears it unless the wearer is in line with Junketsu's goals (Ragyo) or sufficiently strong-willed to bend it to her will (Satsuki). Senketsu, conversely, was created by Ryuko's father with modified Life Fibers that do not have this tendency]].

*** Sasuke's signature move Chidori is a hand thrust charged with electricity. Naruto's Rasengan is a similarly used hand-held ball of pure energy. It turns out that Chidori was failed attempt at a Lightning Release Rasengan . After learning this, Naruto is able to create a proper Wind Release Rasengan.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': The fluidity of Wonder Woman's RoguesGallery and continuity ensures that she's never had a concrete ArchEnemey, however Diana's Golden Lasso has been directly contrasted by the weapons of many of her foes, with whips being a very common weapon of choice for her opponents (Eviless, Paula von Gunther, Emperor Sangtee with Zara using a flaming length of chain) instead of a length meant to capture without harm like her own weapon. Two of her villains use twisted evil lassos (Superwoman and Genocide).

** Averted with Two Become One, the Keyblade that Sora earns in the Final Mix version of II (and that Roxas himself can wield in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsThreeFiveEightDaysOverTwo 358/2 Days]]''). While it's clearly associated with Roxas (it's obtained in ''II'' after fighting Roxas, and it has a Nobody motif like the other Organization member's weapons, complete with a Nobody symbol on the hilt), Roxas himself never wields it canonically.
*** This is the motif of Roxas's alternate keychains in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]''. While all of Sora's Keyblades throughout the series are modeled and named after the worlds he visits, Roxas's weapons have Nobody motifs and [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast ominous-sounding names referencing pain and loss and/or light and darkness]]. The only two exceptions to this are the [[WeaponOfChoice Zero Gear]] (which turns Roxas's Keyblade into Oathkeeper, Oathkeeper & Oblivion, or the aforementioned Two Become One) and the [[JokeWeapon Casual Gear]] (an umbrella).
** ''[[Videogame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]'' has another example. Ventus's Keyblade, Wayward Wind, and Vanitas' keyblade the Void Gear, Ventus is part of an elemental theme with his peers and friends, Terra and Aqua, while Vanitas' Keyblade represents emptiness. Given that [[spoiler: they both were once the same being]] and Ventus' belief in ThePowerOfFriendship, there is a definite connection there.