History Main / VillainBeatingArtifact

[[caption-width-right:349:Tired of putting up with Ganon's repeated crimes, Link [[ThrowTheBookAtThem threw the book at him]].]]

* Gardner F. Fox's "Niall of the Far Travels" short story "Out of the Eons". Ages ago Adonair, an evil deity from another universe, tried to conquer the world and enslave humanity. The native gods could not destroy him but [[SealedEvilInACan managed to trap him]]. At the beginning of the story Niall accidentally frees him. The only way to destroy Adonair is for Niall to drink a special white liquid (that was created by the gods at the same time as they originally trapped Adonair) and trick Adonair into possessing his body.

** A special Colt gun and bullets, made by Samuel Colt himself, can be used to kill practically anything -- but [[spoiler:not Lucifer.]] The gun goes missing for several seasons, before it is eventually destroyed by the demon Dagon.
** There's a special dagger which is used to kill demons (and the human they possess at the time). Regular daggers don't kill demons, [[FightingAShadow just the host body]]. It's later revealed to be an ancient demon killing weapon made by the Kurds, but that's all the explanation it gets.

** A Leviathan can only be killed with a bone-knife forged through a complex ritual that takes much of season 7 to complete. Morever, ItOnlyWorksOnce, so the Winchesters decide to save it to target their leader and deal with the rest later.

** There's bit of variety in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath Of The Wild]]''; only four weapons can harm Dark Beast Ganon in the final boss fight: the Bow Of Light, beams from the Master Sword, Ancient arrows, and Urbosa's Fury.
* The Three Sacred Treasures in ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' and ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' are needed to defeat Medusa. [[spoiler:Pit later tries to use them to kill Hades in ''[[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Uprising]]'', but Hades blasts them into nothingness. Pit then went to Dyntos to receive the Great Sacred Treasure, which fared much better, but it also got destroyed, but Pit and Palutena manage to kill Hades by using the Great Sacred Treasure's WaveMotionGun on him, powered with Palutena's power.]]

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' the Unseeing Eye is advertised this way, and you're told that you'll require a special rod of destruction to be able to defeat him. In actuality it's much easier (though less profitable) to simply start killing his followers until he appears, as he's a fairly standard mage with a few more hit points than normal, and less dangerous than the beholders you'll need to kill to retrieve the rod.

* In ''VideoGame/LostEden'', right before you face against [[BigBad Moorkus Rex]], you must branch right in order to fuse the six tablets with the mouse cursor you've been using all game. It allows you to defeat him by simply clicking on him.

** The sword Silverlight or its upgraded form Darklight is the only thing that can kill the demons Delrith and Agrith-Naar. Although it is not required, it is highly recommended to use it when fighting tormented demons because it is one of the only two things that can remove their damage reducing fire shield (the other one is holy water). Against regular demons it does much more damage than most weapons of its level. Because it is a silver weapon it is one of the few things that can harm vampyre juvinates, but it cannot kill them, and it doesn't work on higher level vampires.
** Vampire Juvinates initially can only be harmed silver weapons. They cannot be killed however, because of their ability to turn into mist and escape, until the player finds and makes a copy of the Rod of Ivandus, a silver alloy rod that has the power to trap vampyres so that a Guthix Balance Potion can be applied to them, which will either kill them, turn them into an angry vampire (which lose their immunities and ability to turn into mist), or turn them human. However, the Rod of Ivandus doesn't work on higher level vampyres, until the player modifies it into the Ivandus Flail, which due to its unpredictability counters their mind reading abilities, although most higher level vampires lose the ability to turn into mist so the potion isn't required (and if you try to use it, it will only damage them). Later the player gains access to blisterwood weapons, which are even more effective against vampires than the Ivandus Flail.

** Several slayer monster cannot be killed without a special item or weapon. Kurasks and Turoths can only be damaged with broad tipped bolts or arrows, leaf bladed weapons, or the slayer dart spell which can only be cast with certain staves. Some other slayer monsters can damaged with any weapon, but the killing blow must be done with a certain item. For example, Gargoyles require a rock hammer to finish them off, and Corrupted Creatures and Soul Devourers require you use a feather of Ma'at, which is consumed.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': The gang eventually learns that they need to find the Heart of the Jaguar to destroy [[spoiler:the evil Annuaki sealed in the Crystal Sarcophagus.]] In the final episode, [[spoiler:it's subverted in a MagicFeather way. The true "Heart of the Jaguar" isn't the crystal spearhead (which was shattered earlier), it's ThePowerOfFriendship that binds the gang together. The gang work together to defeat the entity, with Scooby using the spearshaft to shatter the [[SoulJar sarcophagus]].]]

** Vampire Juvinates initially can only be harmed silver weapons. They cannot be killed however, because of their ability to turn into mist and escape, until the player finds and makes a copy of the Rod of Ivandus, a silver alloy rod that has the power to trap vampyres so that a Guthix Balance Potion can be applied to them, which will either kill them, turn them into an angry vampire (which lose their immunities and ability to turn into mist), or turn them human. However, the Rod of Ivandus doesn't work on higher level vampyres, until the player modifies it into the Ivandus Flail, which due to it's unpredictability counters their mind reading abilities, although most higher level vampires lose the ability to turn into mist so the potion isn't required (and if you try to use it, it will only damage them). Later the player gains access to blisterwood weapons, which are even more effective against vampires than the Ivandus Flail.

** VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden has its own Falchion, which is the only thing (besides a Cleric's Nosferatu spell, but that may have been a bug in the original game) that can finish off Duma.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Geneology Of The Holy War]]'' has the Naga spell in the same role as the Falchion from Marth's games: it's treated as one in-universe, but gameplay-wise isn't necessary for the FinalBoss. (Good luck beating him without it, though)[[note]] You'll either have to [[CherryTapping cherry tap]] him, or if you are [[OutsideTheBoxTactic big brain]], you can berserk that EliteMook carrying a HPTo1 spell and hope he hits the final boss with ~30% accuracy.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776'' has the Braggi Sword, the only sword able to damage Raydrik through the protection of his Lopt Sword. Unlike past examples, multiple characters can use this one. Giving either Mareeta or Galzus an [[AntiArmor Armorslayer]] works as well, provided they trigger [[ArmorPiercingAttack Luna]], which they have a 20% chance to at max.

* ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict'': Damien Thorne, the Antichrist, can only be killed by one of the Seven Daggers of Megiddo. The two novels that follow emphasize that a single dagger only killed his physical body, but all seven are required to kill him in body and spirit ''and'' must be stabbed into his body in the shape of a cross while on holy ground. [[spoiler: Damien's still-intact body is reduced to a skeleton after his corpse is dealt with in this manner at the end of book 4, and in the climax of book 5, his son Damien Jr. dies when a large crucifix, through which all seven daggers had been impaled, falls on top of him with the protruding daggers stabbing him in the right position.]]

* ''[[Literature/{{Shannara}} The Sword of Shannara]]'' [[spoiler: has the BigBad defeated this way, it turns out he had been dead for some time before the book began, reanimated by magic and collective fear.]]

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has a twist on this trope. The only way to bring down the BigBad is to steal his dagger, [[spoiler: but then you become the villain yourself]], if [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt you kill him.]] You can also ''control'' the Dark One with the dagger, which the Duke chose to do and Rumplestiltskin obviously ''didn't''.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' has Ragnell, the only weapon capable of piercing the Black Knight and Ashnard's Goddess-blessed armor. The sequel reveals that [[spoiler: the goddesses have the power to turn ''any'' weapon into one of these, and Yune ends up powering up your whole party's mundane weapons so they can damage the FinalBoss, although Ragnell must be used to land the last hit.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has the Yato, which when powered up by all 4 royal weapons becomes the Omega Yato, capable of killing a dragon with godlike powers. [[spoiler: In a first for the series, the SwordOfPlotAdvancement ''is'' the Fire Emblem this time.]]

** ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' had the World Rings, which Sonic uses to turn into Darkspine Sonic and defeat [[spoiler: Alf Layla wa-Layla, the OneWingedAngel form of Erazor Djinn]]. In ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', this happens in two forms: first using the Sacred Swords (Lancelot's Arondight, Gawain's Galatine, Percival's Laevatein, and Sonic's own Caliburn) in order to defeat King Arthur, and then [[spoiler:using Excalibur, a sword formed from all four swords combined, to become Excalibur Sonic and defeat the Dark Queen, the OneWingedAngel form of Merlina the Wizard.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', Billy's gauntlet has the power to seal the Lich. [[spoiler: The Lich destroys it before Finn can use it against him, and Finn ends up using the [[PowerOfLove Power Of Liking Someone A Lot]] to destroy his physical form.]]

** ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' had the World Rings, which Sonic uses to turn into Darkspine Sonic and defeat [[spoiler: Alf Layla wa-Layla, the OneWingedAngel form of Erazor Djinn]]. In ''Sonic and the Black Knight'', this happens in two forms: first using the Sacred Swords (Lancelot's Arondight, Gawain's Galatine, Percival's Laevatein, and Sonic's own Caliburn) in order to defeat King Arthur, and then [[spoiler:using Excalibur, a sword formed from all four swords combined, to become Excalibur Sonic and defeat the Dark Queen, the OneWingedAngel form of Merlina the Wizard.]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', the only thing that can stop Unicron is the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. When Optimus Prime passes it down to Ultra Magnus on his deathbed, Unicron converts a nearly-dead Megatron into his pawn Galvatron, ordering him to find and destroy the Matrix. Upon obtaining the Matrix, Galvatron attempts to use it to force Unicron to obey him, which fails when he can't open it. The power of the Matrix is eventually unleashed and destroys Unicron when it falls into the hands of the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime.
* ''WesternAnimation/RonalTheBarbarian'': The Only Way to beat Lord Volcazar is Kron's Sword.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict'': Damien Thorne, the Antichrist, can only be killed by one of the Seven Daggers of Megiddo. The two novels that follow emphasize that a single dagger only killed his physical body, but all seven are required to kill him in body and spirit ''and'' must be stabbed into his body in the shape of a cross while on holy ground. [[spoiler: Damien's still-intact body is reduced to a skeleton after his corpse is dealt with in this manner at the end of book 4, and in the climax of book 5, his son Damien Jr. dies when a large crucifix, through which all seven daggers had been impaled, falls on top of him with the protruding daggers stabbing him in the right position.]]
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': On the hidden island of Themyscira, the Amazons have been guarding an ancient sword known as the [[KillTheGod God-Killer]]. It's the only weapon capable of killing [[WarGod Ares]], the evil deity responsible for spreading death and destruction among humans and the one who wiped out the rest of the Greek pantheon when they wouldn't side with him. [[spoiler:Ares reveals it to simply be [[MagicFeather an ordinary blade]]. [[OnlyICanKillHim The actual God-Killer is Wonder Woman herself]], who is Ares' sister through their father Zeus. Gods can only be killed by other gods.]]

* ''Film/TheOmen'': As with the third film, the book-only sequels ''Omen IV: Armageddon 2000'' and ''Omen V: The Abomination'' emphasize that the seven Daggers of Megiddo are the only thing that can permanently kill Damien and his son in body and spirit, if all seven are stabbed into his body in the shape of a cross while on holy ground (a single dagger, as used in the third film, only killed his physical body). [[spoiler: Damien's still-intact body is reduced to a skeleton after his corpse is dealt with in this manner at the end of book 4, and in the climax of book 5, Damien Jr. dies when a large crucifix, through which all seven daggers had been impaled, falls on top of him with the protruding daggers stabbing him in the right position.]]

** A different type of silver dagger carried by all angels is capable of killing them. Archangels, the most powerful class, require an even rarer gold dagger, but unlike the regular angel blades [[TakesOneToKillOne they only work when wielded by other archangels]]. The Lance of Michael was intended to slay Lucifer, but it works on ordinary angels too--in fact, it purposely [[CruelAndUnusualDeath draws out their deaths]]. In season 14, the Winchesters also discover that a magical spear brought over from another dimension can hurt them.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' has the titular Binding Blade, which can seal away dragons. [[spoiler: In a twist on this trope, it's important because it's the one sword capable of ''not'' killing the FinalBoss, instead giving her a NonLethalKO. As she's a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds who isn't even fully aware of what she's doing, Roy wants to spare her so she can live a normal life.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' the Falchion again (yes, it's the same one from Marth's games). While it's capable of dealing with the Fell Dragon Grima, it can only [[SealedEvilInACan seal him away for 1000 years]], which just turns the conflict into SomeoneElsesProblem. There's one way to kill Grima for good, and it doesn't involve one of these: [[spoiler: the Avatar has to perform a HeroicSacrifice, as they are technically Grima.]] The Fire Emblem (also the same one from Marth's games) serves as a combination of this and an in-story DoubleUnlock: it's required to perform the [[TitleDrop Awakening ritual]] needed to power up the Falchion to become this trope.

** ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'' had the World Rings, which Sonic uses to turn into Darkspine Sonic and defeat [[spoiler: Alf Layla wa-Layla, the OneWingedAngel form of Erazor Djinn]]. In ''Sonic and the Black Knight'', this happens in two forms: first using the Sacred Swords (Lancelot's Arondight, Gawain's Galatine, Percival's Laevatein, and Sonic's own Caliburn) in order to defeat King Arthur, and then [[spoiler:using Excalibur, a sword formed from all four swords combined, to become Excalibur Sonic and defeat the Dark Queen, the OneWingedAngel form of Merlina the Wizard.]]

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games have traditionally ended with Sonic (and sometimes whatever ally he has at the time) using the [[BonusStageCollectables Chaos Emeralds]] to go [[SuperMode super]], since the FinalBoss would be too powerful otherwise, and much of the time, they're out in space or otherwise flying, which Sonic can't do on his own. [[spoiler:Though, he does later prove he can take down Perfect Chaos, the former FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' without the Chaos Emeralds, or at least he has [[TookALevelInBadass grown much in strength]] since then.]]

* ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict''. Damien Thorne, the Antichrist, can only be killed by one of the Seven Daggers of Megiddo.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', the gang eventually learn that they need to find the Heart of the Jaguar to destroy [[spoiler:the evil Annuaki sealed in the Crystal Sarcophagus.]] In the final episode, [[spoiler:it's subverted in a MagicFeather way. The true "Heart of the Jaguar" isn't the crystal spearhead (which was shattered earlier), it's ThePowerOfFriendship that binds the gang together. The gang work together to defeat the entity, with Scooby using the spearshaft to shatter the [[SoulJar sarcophagus]].]]

* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': On the hidden island of Themyscira, the Amazons have been guarding an ancient sword known as the [[KillTheGod God-Killer]]. It's the only weapon capable of killing [[WarGod Ares]], the evil deity responsible for spreading death and destruction among humans and the one who wiped out the rest of the Greek pantheon when they wouldn't side with him. [[spoiler:Ares reveals it to simply be [[MagicFeather an ordinary blade]]. The actual God-Killer is Wonder Woman herself, who is Ares' sister through their father Zeus. Gods can only be killed by other gods.]]

** There's bit of variety in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild]]''; only four things can harm Dark Beast Ganon in the final boss fight: the Bow Of Light, beams from the Master Sword, Ancient arrows, and Urbosa's Fury.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Geneology Of The Holy War]]'' has the Naga spell in the same role as the Falchion from Marth's games: it's treated as one in-universe, but gameplay-wise isn't necessary for the FinalBoss. (Good luck beating him without it, though)[[note]] You'll either have to [[CherryTapping cherry tap]] him, or if you are [[OutsideTheBoxTactic big brain]], you can berserk that EliteMook carrying a HPToOne spell and hope he hits the final boss with ~30% accuracy.[[/note]]

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Geneology Of The Holy War]]'' has the Naga spell in the same role as the Falchion from Marth's games: it's treated as one in-universe, but gameplay-wise isn't necessary for the FinalBoss. (Good luck beating him without it, though)[[note]] You'll either have to [[CherryTapping cherry tap]] him, or if you are [[OutsideTheBoxTactic big brain]], you can berserk that EliteMook carrying a HPToOne spell and hope he hits the final boss with ~30% accuracy.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776'' has the Braggi Sword, the only sword able to damage Raydrik through the protection of his Lopt Sword. Unlike past examples, multiple characters can use this one. Giving either Mareeta or Galzus an [[AntiArmor Armorslayer]] works as well, provided they trigger [[ArmorPiercingAttack Luna]], which they have a 20% chance to at max.

* The original version of ''[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Doom 3]]'' requires that the player use the Soul Cube (which they get early on) to take care of the Cyberdemon, the final boss of the game. The other, smaller demons, however, weren't limited to such a weakness, not to mention the fact that the Soul Cube uses the souls of fallen enemies to power it up enough to take on the Cyberdemon. This is subverted both in later patches of single-player mode and in co-op mode.

* The sword Dragonslayer in ''Videogame/BreathOfFireIV'' is the only means of killing a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] (which are beings akin to gods in the game's setting). It is used in this capacity twice; in a failed attempt to assassinate [[GodEmperor Fou-Lu]] by [[spoiler:Soniel]], and [[spoiler:to MercyKill Elina when the extent of [[BodyHorror Yuna's experiments on her become known]]]].

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' has the... well, guess. They're the one power capable of opposing the Demon King once he breaks out of his [[SealedEvilInACan can]] (which was one of the stones to begin with), but by the time the heroes realize they're that important, three out of five are destroyed. They get one of the remaining two hoping to use it as this trope, but the Demon King's vessel manages to destroy it too. Fortunately, they try again with the last once and succeed this time.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Link: The Faces of Evil]]'', as shown in the page image, Ganon can only be defeated by throwing the Book of Koridai at him.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Geneology Of The Holy War]]'' has the Naga spell in the same role as the Falchion from Marth's games: it's treated as one in-universe, but gameplay-wise isn't necessary for the FinalBoss. (Good luck beating him without it, though)[[note]] You'll either have to [[CherryTapping cyerry tap]] him, or if you are [[OutsideTheBoxTactic big brain]], you can berserk that EliteMook carrying a HPToOne spell and hope he hits the final boss with ~30% accuracy.[[note]]

** [[spoiler:God, aka Chuck]] creates a gun called the "Equalizer", because when fired it has an equal effect on the person firing it, saying it is powerful enough to kill and out-of-control [[spoiler:Jack Kline]]. Sure enough, it works on his grandfather too. Whether it could have killed him is left unanswered, but it did wound him and limited his powers until he was able to heal it.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]'' has the Braggi Sword, the only sword able to damage Raydrik through the protection of his Lopt Sword. Unlike past examples, multiple characters can use this one. [[note]] Giving either Mareeta or Galzus an [[AntiArmor armor]][[BFS slayer]] works as well, provided they trigger [[ArmorPiercingAttack Luna]], which they have a 20% chance to at max.[[note]]

** In most games Link needs the Master Sword to defeat Ganon. This is because it was ForgedByTheGods and has a special evil-destroying attribute.

** The Silver Arrows in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' serve the same purpose.
** The Light Arrows in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', ''Phantom Hourglass'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' are necessary to strike the coup de grace against the Final Boss.

** A different type of silver dagger carried by all angels is capable of killing them. Archangels, the most powerful class, require an even rarer gold dagger, but unlike the regular angel blades [[TakesOneToKillOne they only work when wielded by other archangels]]. In season 14, the Winchesters also discover that a magical spear brought over from another dimension can hurt them.