History Main / TheArmorer

* The Assassin Brotherhood of ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' has had several historical inventors help their cause by building them special equipment. To name a few: Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Graham Bell.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Bulma serves as this for the Z-Fighters, providing them with all their gadgets and technology when ever they can't use their power levels to solve the problem. Notable examples include the Dragon Radar used to locate the Dragon Balls, several space ships to travel between planets, and capsules which allow shrinking large objects for easy storage.

* ''ComicBook/AgentOfTheEmpire'', unsurprisingly since it's James Bond in ''Star Wars''. Jahan's tech guy is Alessia Quon. Not only does he keep Jahan's favorite droid in working order, we learn that they can confide in each other when they step out of bounds, Jahan being one of few Imperials who doesn't have any anti-alien bias.

** In ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'', one of Jacob Kane's roles is making or acquiring hardware for his daughter's war on the Religion of Crime.

* The Mexican version of ''ComicBook/{{Fantomas}}'' had Professor Semo. It's not clear why he gave so many gadgets to a self-professed criminal. Presumably he's just happy as long as his stuff gets a field test.

** As an agent of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}, ComicBook/NickFury relied on Sidney "The Gaffe" Levine (a mechanic who took care of Fury's flying car) and Boothroyd, who mostly gave him personal effects like guns, armor, invisibility pills (comics, everyone)...
** On the villainous side, see the Tinkerer from ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Shocker, Vulture, Rocket Racer, Jester, Diamondback, and too many others to count go to him for their equipment.

* Lucius Fox fills this role in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', providing Bruce with all the Wonderful Toys he needs, while helpfully pretending he has no idea what Bruce is using it for.
-->'''Fox:''' And before you ask, yes, it comes in black.

** Tony gives Peter Parker a high-tech Spidey-Suit in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', but working out all its bells and whistles (which Tony kept restricted for, frankly, Peter's safety) is up to Peter and his pal Ned, sort of a Back Alley Armorer, in later films.

* The TropeCodifier (to the point [[FountainOfExpies many examples on this page are direct parodies of him]]) was Major Boothroyd in Ian Fleming's Literature/JamesBond books, better known to modern audiences as "Q". Originally just the quartermaster who kept track of [=MI6=]'s handguns, the films cemented the popular image of him as a master boffin whose presents for 007 got increasingly elaborate and in some cases downright absurd, and who would always admonish Bond to return what he gave him on a mission in "pristine order" (which wasn't always possible).
* Possibly von Herder, the blind German mechanic mentioned in some Literature/SherlockHolmes stories. According to Holmes himself, von Herder made the air rifle used by Professor Moriarty's henchman, Moran. Some adaptations, like ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheDUrbervilles'', expand on this scant information to make von Herder Moriarty's personal Q-Branch.
* Foaly in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' invents and parcels out tech for LEP agents and is willing to help the main characters off-the-books, since he doesn't like most of his superiors.
* ''Literature/BarryTrotter'' ''and the Unauthorized Parody'' features Zed, a purveyor of magical toys who's a clear parody of Q.

** Another parody of the TropeNamer is Qu, who fills this role for the History Monks, providing neat little toys like the Procrastinators that allow you to speed or slow time.
* The Drood Family in ''Literature/SecretHistories'' has the Armorer, in charge of all the family's magical items.

* Barney Collier in ''Series/MissionImpossible'' built the electronics and mechanical contrivances the IMF used.
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''; Buffy compares Xander and Giles to "her Q" after they build a training course for her.

** Wilson Fisk buys his tailored suits from Potter, all of which have a thin, undetectable layer of knife- and impact resistant material sewn into the lining.
** When Matt offers to protect him from Fisk, Potter agrees to build him a custom suit of body armor -- the classic suit from the comic. During the second season, he provides upgrades and repairs, replacing the horned helmet with an even stronger one -- after the first one already let Matt survive a bullet between the eyes (albeit not without a severe concussion). He also builds Daredevil's iconic, telescoping, multi-functional billy club.

** Cisco is, in his own words, the one who "makes the toys". Almost all of Team Flash's many gadgets come from Cisco, most notably Barry's Flash suit. Occasionally Dr. Wells pitches in to help Cisco out.
** Season Four BigBad, Clifford [=DeVoe=]/The Thinker, has his wife serve as his [[TheEngineer engineer]], constructing all of his [[ImpossibleGenius impossible equipment]] from his Thinking Cap, to his CoolChair, and even their pocket dimension lair.
* ''Series/{{Alias}}'': Whenever Sydney Bristow is going on a mission, Marshall Finkman supplies her with helpful gadgets to aid her.

* The Adeptus Mechanicus in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are ''the'' main supplier and developer of advanced technology in the Imperium of Man. And by "advanced technology", I mean war machines. "Developer" is also a bit of a stretch, since their methods discourage inventiveness.

* ''VideoGame/GoldeneyeRogueAgent'', in keeping with the prevailing EvilCounterpart theme, has Francisco Scaramanga serve as the Q stand-in to the "Evil Bond" main character. Mostly this means adding upgrades to his, ah, Golden Eye.
* Funky Kong in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' takes on the role of arms dealer, and provides the Kongs with various weapons and ammo

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Wade Load doubles as this and MissionControl; in addition to being her VoiceWithAnInternetConnection while on missions, he also provides her with all the gadgets she uses on the field.
* Emil Hamilton filled this role for Superman in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. He invented the Kryptonite-proof suit and helps Supes out with science stuff sometimes [[spoiler: until he turns evil]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': When Grim has equipment malfunctions, he goes to F, in charge of all the Underworld's tech.

-->-- '''Blade''', ''Film/{{Blade}}''

* Franchise/MarvelUniverse:
** As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., ComicBook/NickFury relied on Sidney "The Gaffe" Levine (a mechanic who took care of Fury's flying car) and Boothroyd, who mostly gave him personal effects like guns, armor, invisibility pills (comics, everyone)...
** On the villainous side, see the Tinkerer. Shocker, Vulture, Rocket Racer, Jester, Diamondback, and too many others to count go to him for their equipment.
** Reed Richards and Tony Stark also work as this when they're not doing their usual superheroics. It's stated several times that their tech is crucial for S.H.I.E.L.D., and when Tony is in the hospital for life-threatening injuries, they even post guards outside his door.
** ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': Micro fulfills this role for Frank, both outfitting him with assorted gadgets and vehicles (Frank goes through a lot of battle vans) and helping with electronic warfare and surveillance. At one point he claims Frank's total bodycount would have been a third of what it is without his assistance.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'', one of Jacob Kane's roles is making or acquiring hardware for his daughter's war on the Religion of Crime.
* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': Gyro Gearloose is a BunglingInventor variant. In the Paperinik stories, he creates the titular hero's various super-gadgets.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': While she usually relies on her lasso any time Diana wants new or different armor and weaponry she turns to the Amazon blacksmith Io.

* Q fills this role in the Film/JamesBond films, as in the books. See the entry under Literature for further details.
* In ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', Bond visits Lazar, who takes pride in creating custom weapons and ammunition for the discerning customer, including Scaramanga. As an example of his work, Lazar shows Bond a hunting rifle he made for a customer who lost his trigger finger.
-->'''Lazar:''' Here, you will find only craftsmanship and quality. Mass production -- your Walther PPK, for instance -- I leave to others.

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

** Shuri from ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' is Wakanda's greatest mind, allowing her to give Black Panther the tech he needs to pull off his superheroics. His nano-Vibranium panther suit, sound-proofed sneakers, and car-jacking Kimoyo Beads all come from Shuri and serve him well to the end of the film.

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'': The "Sommelier" provides John Wick with several customized weapons, while the Italian Tailor fits him out for his very nice suits (two, one for day and one for night: Italian, two buttons, tapered trousers...and the tactical lining).

* A villainous (at first) example in ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Melvin Potter (better known to comics fans as Gladiator), who has [[AmbiguousDisorder unspecified psychological issues]] and a savant-like ability to craft sophisticated body armor and unique weapons.

* The Assassin Brotherhood of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' has had several historical inventors help their cause by building them special equipment. To name a few: Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Graham Bell.

->''"We have a good arrangement. He makes the weapons. I use'em."''

** When Matt offers to protect him from Fisk, Potter agrees to build him a custom suit of body armor -- the classic suit from the comic. During the second season, he provides upgrades and repairs, replacing the horned helmet with [[UpToEleven an even stronger one]] -- after the first one already let Matt survive a bullet between the eyes (albeit not without a severe concussion). He also builds Daredevil's iconic, telescoping, multi-functional billy club.

* The TropeCodifier (to the point [[FountainOfExpies many examples on this page are direct parodies of him]]) was Major Boothroyd in Ian Fleming's Literature/JamesBond books, better known to modern audiences as "Q". Originally just the quartermaster who kept track of MI6's handguns, the films cemented the popular image of him as a master boffin whose presents for 007 got increasingly elaborate and in some cases downright absurd, and who would always admonish Bond to return what he gave him on a mission in "pristine order" (which wasn't always possible).

** Shuri from ''Film/BlackPanther'' is Wakanda's greatest mind, allowing her to give Black Panther the tech he needs to pull off his superheroics. His nano-Vibranium panther suit, sound-proofed sneakers, and car-jacking Kimoyo Beads all come from Shuri and serve him well to the end of the film.

* Q fills this role in the Film/JamesBond films.

* A villainous (or at least amoral) example in ''Series/Daredevil2015''; Wilson Fisk gets literal body armor (well-made enough to hide beneath a tailored suit) from a man called Melvin Potter. When Matt learns this, he decides to visit Potter himself to get his own classic costume.

If TheHero, the CaperCrew, or whomever needs a camera that can be cleverly disguised as a cufflink, a wristwatch that conceals a handy garrote wire, or one of those discrete amphibious sports cars, they turn to this guy. The Armorer tends to be strictly non-action; they are not TheSmartGuy. Their usual role in the story is to introduce some fabulous new toys for the main character to use (basically serving as a specific variation of MrExposition), so said toys can save the hero at the last minute, usually after [[ChekhovsGun a strategic absence to allow the audience to forget about them]]. If the Armorer has any presence beyond that, it's probably to help keep any fuming, obstructive superiors off the main characters' backs.

!!Examples

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* As an agent of SHIELD, ComicBook/NickFury relied on Sidney "The Gaffe" Levine (a mechanic who took care of Fury's flying car) and Boothroyd, who mostly gave him personal effects like guns, armor, invisibility pills (comics, everyone)...
* On the villainous side of the MarvelUniverse, see the Tinkerer. Shocker, Vulture, Rocket Racer, Jester, Diamondback, and too many others to count go to him for their equipment.
* Reed Richards and Tony Stark also work as this in the MarvelUniverse, when they're not doing their usual superheroics. It's stated several times that their tech is crucial for SHIELD, and when Tony is in the hospital for life-threatening injuries, they even post guards outside his door.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': Micro fulfills this role for Frank, both outfitting him with assorted gadgets and vehicles (Frank goes through a lot of battle vans) and helping with electronic warfare and surveillance. At one point he claims Frank's total bodycount would have been a third of what it is without his assistance.

[[folder: Film]]

** Eitri the Dwarf becomes this for Thor in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', helping him make Stormbreaker after Mjolnir is destroyed (from the sound of it, he was already this for Asgard well before that, as he is implied to have made Mjolnir too).

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]

* In ''Series/TheFlash''

[[folder: Mythology]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: VideoGames]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* ''WebVideo/ManAtArms'' are a group of real life armorers. They have created realistic weapon props that have been used in feature films.
[[/folder]]

** Howard Stark from ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is an eccentric industrialist who offers Captain America an array of experimental shields to chose from to tackle the Nazi threat. Cap quickly gravitates to a light-weight, invincible shields he takes with him until the end of the war.