History Main / WeaponsBreakingWeapons

* ''VideoGame/PhoenixPoint'': A viable tactic is to attack the enemy's weapon rather than the enemy itself. If an enemy's weapon is destroyed, they react by [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running full tilt off the map]].

* ''VideoGame/VermintideII'': {{Shield Bearing Mook}}s usually need to be attacked until they drop their guard, but some powerful weapons, like the [[DropTheHammer two-handed hammer]] and glaive, can destroy their shields completely. It's a minor benefit; the mook typically only outlives their shield by a second or two.

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': Captain America's shield is almost indestructible, but there have been instances where it's been broken. In one instance, ComicBook/{{Thor}} (who was temporarily an antagonist) struck Cap's shield so hard with Mjolnir that the shield dented and nearly split in two.

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': In the finale, which takes place in Japan, Xena's sword gets sliced in half by a katana, prompting her to acquire one of her own.

* ''Manga/{{X1999}}'': TheMovie ends with a SingleStrokeBattle between Kamui and Fuuma, where Kamui cleaves through Fuuma's sword with his and [[OffWithHisHead lops off Fuuma's head]] in the same stroke.

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': In "Divine Opposition, Part 1", [[spoiler:the Avatar]] wields a sword powered by divine power of protection, allowing it to easily shattered other weapons.

* ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung'': In ''Siegfried'', the third opera of the cycle, Siegfried uses his reforged CoolSword Notung to break Wotan's spear apart (as he attacks Wotan in revenge for his father's death), foreshadowing the doom of the gods in the following opera.

* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', during Guts and Griffith's sword fight where Guts is fighting for his freedom from Griffith, Guts comes out the winner as his massive sword very easily cuts Griffith's sword in half.
* This occurs frequently in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. It's justified in that the swords are physical manifestations of their owner's power, meaning someone's blade being broken shows that they've been defeated.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', during Sasuke's Team Hawk vs Killer Bee fight, when the latter is about to strike the downed Sasuke with his lightning-covered sword, Suigetsu jumps in to block it with his {{BFS}}. Killer Bee's blade nearly cut Suigetsu's before Jugo uses this moment to punch Killer Bee away.
* In TheMovie of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'', Nausicaa shatters Kurotowa's sword with a swing of hers during their first encounter at her father's castle.

* During the season 1 finale of ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', [[spoiler:Fakir broke Mytho's magical sword to keep him from shattering the heart shard of love. Season 2 revealed that this was an incredibly bad idea since said heart shard was tainted with the Raven's blood, and the sword was the only thing that could get it out of Mytho.]]

* At least twice in the anime adaptation of ''Literature/TheSacredBlacksmith''.

* TheMovie of ''Manga/{{X1999}}'' ends with a SingleStrokeBattle between Kamui and Fuuma, where Kamui cleaves through Fuuma's sword with his and [[OffWithHisHead lops off Fuuma's head]] in the same stroke.

* The shield wielded by ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is almost indestructible, but there have been instances where it's been broken. In one instance, ComicBook/{{Thor}} (who was temporarily an antagonist) struck Cap's shield so hard with Mjolnir that the shield dented and nearly split in two.
* Somewhat justified in ''ComicBook/{{Papyrus}}'', where Papyrus' sword was given to him by gods but more importantly, it's made of steel in the Bronze Age.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s adamantium claws can easily slice through any weapon that's not also made of adamantium or a similarly hard material. Any time he fails to be able to cut through an enemy's weapon it's always an indication that he's facing a dangerous foe.

-->The minion on the left had clearly been trained in full-length broom use, not short-broom-plus-broken-piece-of-handle (a glaring hole in his education, in my opinion) and I used the opening to disarm him of the larger piece, then tripped him with it.
* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': From "Divine Opposition, Part 1": [[spoiler:The Avatar]] wields a sword powered by divine power of protection, making all other weapons easily broken.
-->"Your sword does not look as if it will take the stress much longer," [[spoiler:the Avatar]] pointed out, dispassionate as if he was talking about the weather. He wasn't even breathing heavily. To Cathy's growing alarm, he was right, too. The battered, notched remains of what was once a proud blade looked as if they would break apart at any moment now. How could she- "Yargh!? The blonde's world went upside down as a flick of [[spoiler:the Avatar]]'s own sword - still unmarred, the cheating bastard

* In the ''Anime/MyHime'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WindowsOfTheSoul'', which was written as a sequel to the original series, survivors of District One stage a takeover of a courtroom to get revenge on Shizuru. In the final battle, Shizuru is given her katana and charges the head of the District One survivors. He shoots her katana, point-blank, breaking the blade and driving shards into Shizuru's body. She still has sufficient strength, though, to carve him up with the remaining stub of her sword.

* In WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}}, the climax of a fight between Leonardo and Raphael involves Raph breaking Leo's katana with his sai.

* In ''Film/CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon'', Shu Lien fights Jen in a duel, but since Jen is wielding the legendary sword Green Destiny, she cuts through each of Shu Lien's weapons even though Shu Lien is the more skilled combatant.
* In ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', Storm Shadow does this to one of his swords to prove his innocence regarding a past crime he is accused of:

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', one of the Nazis' porters is sent into the traps guarding the Holy Grail. The first trap, the Breath of God, slices off his sword blade and [[OffWithHisHead his head]] almost simultaneously. [[spoiler:Indy finds that the Breath of God is a set of high-speed circular saw blades.]]
* In ''Film/KillBill'' Vol. 1, The Bride easily cuts down a yakuza member's katana blade ''piece by piece'' with quick little swipes.
* In ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'', the Black Knight Ghost attacks Mystery Inc armed with a sword. Fred holds it off with a polearm, but the sword is sharp enough to first slice it in half, and then to methodically begin slicing the halves into pieces. Fortunately, Velma is able to work out and [[GroinAttack exploit]] the Black Knight's weak point in time to prevent Fred from being sliced up as well.
* Ultra-common in the various {{wuxia}} flicks made by Creator/ShawBrothers... they ''love'' having an AbsurdlySharpBlade as magical artifacts.
** The Green Frost Sword from ''Film/RapeOfTheSword'', a priceless Jade Weapon who in the ActionPrologue breaks a challenger's sword in one swoop.
** The titular Golden Blade from ''Film/VengeanceIsAGoldenBlade'', upon being imbued with the ''chi'' of wielders, glows with a powerful golden aura as it destroys normal swords in a single blow. In the opening scene, Chief Li defeats a horde of bandits by using the Golden Blade to destroy all their swords.
** In ''Film/TheSwordOfSwords'', Fang Shih-Hsiung, a martial arts traitor, manages to steal the titular sword and attempts to hold his mentor hostage, but hero Lin Jen-shiau battles Fang in a SwordFight and shatters the Sword of Swords in one blow -- because that is a fake weapon made of normal bronze.
** ''Film/TheDevilsMirror'' has the long-coveted Fish Intestines Sword, being sought by the villainous Jiuxian Witch; in her hands, the Sword can destroy all weapons effortlessly, which she uses to break apart the heroes Bai Xiaofeng, Wen Jianfeng, and Master Bai's swords ''all at once'' with a single blow. Necessitating [[spoiler: Master Bai to perform a HeroicSacrifice to finally defeat the witch]].

** Early in Anakin's duel with Count Dooku in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', he [[DualWielding dual-wields]] his and Obi-wan's borrowed lightsabers. Dooku, a noted MasterSwordsman, is quickly able to chop the green one Anakin started with at the hilt, destroying it (and narrowly missing Anakin's hand...[[AnArmAndALeg that time]]).
** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Boba Fett sees that Luke Skywalker isn't going into the sarlacc pit as planned, rather he's dispatching Jabba's mooks with a lightsaber aboard a sand skiff. Fett rocket-packs over to the skiff to straight-up shoot Luke. Luke instead makes one deft swipe that severs Fett's blaster pistol in two. Fett doesn't fare much better after that.
* Happens a couple of times in ''Film/TheSwordAndTheSorcerer''. The hero smashes through ''three'' raised swords using his own magic triple-bladed one in one scene. Downplayed in the climactic duel where the hero and the villain have an extensive fight with their magic swords (the hero having deliberately removed his extra blades to make it fair) and eventually the villain's sword severs his after many cuts and parries.

* Played with in ''Film/TheWolverine'' when a super-heated special blade cuts through [[spoiler:Logan's claws]].

* The confrontation between the two Wizards in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', where Gandalf, holding his own Staff, calmly says "Saruman, your staff is broken." Saruman's staff shatters and he screams with agony and loss.

* Multiple wielders of the Sword of Martin the Warrior in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' series use it to break enemies' weapons, such as when Triss cut Kurda's sabre in half and she turned and ran and fell on her own broken blade.
* Happens a lot in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' when Merlin gets into swordfights, justified as he's a RidiculouslyHumanRobot with SuperStrength wielding an AbsurdlySharpBlade made of a hi-tech alloy against swords made with renaissance-level tech.

** Sandor Clegane cuts Beric Dondarrion's FlamingSword--which is powered by divine magic courtesy of his god, the Lord of Light--in half during a TrialByCombat. This convinces Beric and his companions to let Clegane go free; they don't seem so much convinced of his ''innocence'' as their god just doesn't want him to die yet, for whatever ineffable reason.

* Reference books in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' say that red lightsabers are produced with synthetically grown crystals. The Sith prefer them because they have a slight chance of cutting through an opposing lightsaber blade.
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', non-magical weapons or armour don't slow a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade shardblade]] down at all. A shardbearer on the battlefield is a MookHorrorShow, cutting down hundreds of regular soldiers amid the ruins of their equipment.
* The titular weapon of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' series can do it to any weapon without a similar enchantment. Notably, the first time Richard uses it to kill a man, it is described in detail how it shatters the enemy's sword... and then his skull.

* At one point in ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'', Derfel (TheHero and a lieutenant of Myth/KingArthur) is forced to fight Liofa, the personal champion of King Cerdic of the Saxons. Derfel is used to fighting on the battlefield rather than one-on-one, and while he's a very capable fighter he soon realizes he's at a major disadvantage against the much quicker Liofa, who specializes in duels. Realizing that he's going to lose, Derfel switches tactics to try to attack Liofa's weapon, as it's a much thinner blade than his own big broadsword. After a couple of hits, Liofa's blade does in fact snap.

* [[Myth/CelticMythology Irish mythology]]: During Fionn mac Cumhaill's duel against Daire Donn, [[TheEmperor The King of the World]], he manages to destroy both the tyrant's sword and shield before ultimately [[AnArmAndALeg delimbing]] and [[OffWithHisHead slaying him]].

* "Sunder" attacks in some editions of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' damage and possibly destroy equipment. In 3rd edition, attempting to sunder weapons wielded by an enemy provokes attacks of opportunity without the "Improved Sunder" feat and objects have "hardness" that reduces all damage, but [[ThunderboltIron adamantine]] weapons ignore hardness up to a certain point.

* In ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'', the flavor text for [[InfinityPlusOneSword Pale Justice]] says that when Edan, the priest who prayed to his god for the weapon to be enchanted, realized it already was, a visiting priest of another god laughed out loud (there was no physical change to the sword, nor any expression of the god doing the job), and held out his guard's sword, to show what an enchanted and blessed blade really looks like. In response, Edan took Pale Justice and swatted at the other blade. With only the hilt in his hand, the visitor was much less inclined to laugh.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', when the Exile first encounters Darth Nihilus' apprentice Visas Marr, Marr attacks her. According to the post-battle cutscene, the Exile disarms her with a cut to her lightsaber's hilt, destroying it. The Exile later scavenges parts from it to construct a lightsaber of her own.
* In ''VideoGame/PhoenixPoint'', a viable tactic is to attack the enemy's weapon rather than the enemy itself. If an enemy's weapon is destroyed, they react by [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running full tilt off the map]].

* During the Duel between Minmax and Dellyn in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', [[https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/03162010/ Dellyn sunders Minmax's metal sword with a wooden one.]]

* In ''WebAnimation/TheFedoraChronicles's'' fourth episode, ''The RED, The BLU, and The Ugly'', at one point, the Spy prepares to duel a Sniper robot using a Half-Zatoichi. The Sniper robot extends blades from its arms and [[SpinAttack starts spinning]], cutting Spy's katana apart and forcing him to simply shoot it instead.

* At the end of the first season of Netflix's ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}'' series, Trevor Belmont's short sword has its blade chopped off by [[spoiler:Alucard]], leaving him with only his iconic whip.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': In the episode that introduced Stickybeard, he and Numbah 5 get into a duel with swords made of candy canes, which ends when both blades shatter. The two take a moment to lament the waste of candy before resuming the fight.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'', the protagonists witness a man with a dagger defeat an opponent with a ''huge'' {{BFS}} and chop the sword to pieces in the process. Rayla explains that his dagger was forged by [[OurElvesAreDifferent the Sunfire Elves]], and as such the dagger [[HotBlade is enchanted to remain the same temperature it was when it was forged]] for centuries after, explaining why it cuts through steel like butter.
* ''WesternAnimation/IvanhoeTheKingsKnight'': OnceAnEpisode Ivanhoe would get a HeroicSecondWind thanks to his psychic link to Richard, which was usually followed by him cutting his enemies' swords with his own. In slow motion.

** In the short "Choose Your Weppins", Popeye, after taking his spinach, duels with the villain and cuts his sword to pieces (and then some).
** In "Parles Vous Woo", Popeye duels a disguised Bluto for Olive's hand. Eventually, Bluto manages to split Popeye's blade with the tip of his sword, but it regains its original shape after Popeye eats his spinach.

* While battling Moltar's mooks, WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost uses the heat ray setting on his power bands to melt the barrels of the mooks' laser rifles.
* During ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' 's crossover with ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' Usagi cut Leonardo's swords with his 300-year-old blades, and diced up Donatello's staff. Neither of which he's done in his home universe.

* ''Series/TheBlackAdder'': Played for laughs in "[[Recap/BlackadderS1E2BornToBeKing Born to Be King]]". Edmund challenges [=McAngus=] to a DuelToTheDeath, drawing an anachronistic rapier and {{Flynning}} with it a bit to intimidate his opponent. [=McAngus=], being a stereotypical Scotsman, pulls out a claymore and snaps Edmund's blade off his hilt with a single blow.

* In ''Film/ScoobyDoo2MonstersUnleashed'', the Black Knight Ghost attacks Mystery Inc armed with a sword. Fred holds it off with a polearm, but the sword is sharp enough to first slice it in half, and then to methodically begin slicing the halves into pieces. Fortunately, Velma is able to work out and [[GroinAttack exploit]] the Black Knight's weak point in time to prevent Fred from being sliced up as well.

* Occurs in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' (but not the anime adaptation). Assassin has a reality-warping Noble Phantasm where he can make three different sword strikes simultaneously, which is usually only avoidable by being out of the sword's range. In Saber's rematch with him, she weakens the Noble Phantasm by striking his sword hard enough to deform it before he uses the Noble Phantasm on her. This allows her to dodge and counter-strike now that part of the blade's path has been changed.

* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': Happens regularly whenever Goemon disarms enemies with [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Ryusei/Zantetsuken]], ranging from other swords to guns to ''tanks''.

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': From "Divine Opposition, Part 1": [[spoiler:The Avatar]], wielding a sword powered by divine power of protection, making all other weapons easily broken.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Jack's sword, forged by celestial forces, can cut through lesser blades if enough force is applied. Jack refers to this move as the "tremendous horsecutter" technique. He gets quite the surprise when the [[BoisterousBruiser Scotsman]] proceeds to NoSell it with his greatsword, revealing that his weapon is enchanted with magic runes and thus making it a near equal to Jack's blade.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Jack's sword, forged by celestial forces, can cut through lesser blades if enough force is applied. Jack refers to this move as the "tremendous horsecutter" technique.