Follow TV Tropes

Following

Iconic Item

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iconic_items_remake.png
Clockwise from upper left: Captain America's shield, Indiana Jones's fedora and whip, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, Freddy Krueger's glove, the 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver, and Mario's hat. Not that you didn't recognize them all on sight.

Aang: Sorry about your boomerang, Sokka.
Sokka: I feel like I've lost part of my identity. Imagine if you lost your arrow, or if Katara lost her.... hair... loopies.
Merchant: Here's your produce, ponytail guy.
Sokka: [dejectedly] I used to be 'boomerang guy'...

An Iconic Item is an object or Prop carried or used only by one specific character, which also serves to define the character. Seeing it immediately brings that character to mind. Seeing the object abandoned (e.g., on a battlefield or in a ditch) would cause the character's friends to worry about their safety. Usually concludes with the character in question casually walking up shaken and asking if anyone has seen their Iconic Item.

Such safety worries are on a sliding scale of realism; Cap's shield is one-of-a-kind, but there may be many Spidey outfits or beat-up brown fedoras out there. Provenance would have to be established before a search party is called.

If the Iconic Item just so happens to correlate with the character's personality or traits, which it's going to 90% of the time, it's probably also a weapon of choice.

Often produced as Official Cosplay Gear. Compare Clothes Make the Legend, Iconic Outfit, Iconic Starter Equipment, Signature Move, Signature Instrument, Iconic Attribute Adoption Moment, and Signature Headgear. Also compare National Weapon for a type of cultural Iconic Item.

Compare and contrast Signature Device, which is used to mark groups.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Advertising 
  • Otter Pops: Almost every character, including retired ones, is associated with an item. The exceptions are Little Orphan Orange, who is associated with her dog, Melon Collie, instead, and Rip Van Lemon and Major Mango, who have no special items.
    • Strawberry Short Kook has her apple crate.
    • Louie-Bloo Raspberry is associated with a flower he holds.
    • Poncho Punch is associated with his guitar.
    • Alexander the Grape is associated with his laurel wreath.
    • Sir Isaac Lime is associated with his telescope.
    • DJ Tropicool is associated with his headphones.
    • Anita Fruit Punch is associated with her volleyball.
    • Cosmic Coconut is associated with her space helmet and flag.
    • Scarlett O'Cherry is associated with her parasol.

    Anime & Manga 
  • AKIRA has Kaneda's signature custom power bike and Tetsuo's mechanical arm.
  • Many of the Angels in Angelic Layer would count; more than tools to their users, who even talk to the robotic dolls on more than one occasion, an abandoned Angel is a sign that something is deeply wrong with its operator.
  • Berserk:
    • Guts actually has three one-of-a-kind items, any one of which would identify him to somebody who had only heard about him. The single most famous is his BFS The Dragonslayer made by the blacksmith Godo, which is so huge and heavy that only someone of his superhuman strength could wield it effectively. The second, which was actually presented to him shortly before the Dragonslayer, is a prosthetic iron hand equipped with an Arm Cannon which replaces the one he lost in the Eclipse. The third is the Berserker Armor, a cursed armor made by dwarves which lets him unleash the fighting frenzy of his inner beast at great cost to his body and his sanity.
    • Before the Eclipse, at least, Griffith’s special item was the crimson Behelit. It's a strange pendant shaped like a blood-red egg with the scrambled-up features of a human face.
  • Black Cat: Train's orichalcum custom-made gun with the distinct number XIII etched on the sides.
  • Fuuko of CLANNAD's "Starfish" sculptures.
  • Cowboy Bebop: Faye Valentine's red hoodie around her waist, since any two-bit Fanservice character can pull off the bright yellow halter top and short-shorts.
  • Played with in an episode of Digimon Adventure. Mimi runs ahead, and gets carried off. When Taichi and Koushirou find her pink cowboy hat lying on the floor, they barge in to rescue her, only to find her enjoying a bath. Needless to say, Mimi starts throwing things.
    • Taichi's goggles themselves are an example of this trope, as is Yamato's harmonica (which becomes a minor plot point late in the series), Koushirou's computer and Sora's hat/helmet thing.
    • The goggles are not exclusive to Taichi; all Digimon lead heroes (save for Marcus and Hiro) have one as part of their outfit with it even extending to the video games. It's even lampshaded by Takato in the Meta Sequel Digimon Tamers when he puts his on to demonstrate that he's a Tamer when meeting his partner Guilmon.
    • Many Digimon have iconic items — Tailmon's tail ring, Wizardmon's staff, etc. There's probably many to count.
    • Across the entire franchise, everyone's specifically coloured variant of the Digivice is also this, being possibly the most personally-associated belonging any character has. Adventure also gives this treatment to their Crests, Digimon Adventure 02 doing the same for their Digimentals.
  • Dragon Ball: The Nyoibou (Power Pole) and the Kinto'un (Nimbus Cloud) were two of Son Goku's three iconic items throughout the pre-Z era. The third one, the Si Xing Qiu (Four-Star Ball) is the Dragon Ball which is associated with Goku the most, even though Goku is not always possessing it. Along with the Qi Xing Qiu (One-Star Ball), the Si Xing Qiu and the former are also the two most iconic Dragon Balls of the franchise.
    • Future Trunks' sword.
  • Dr. STONE has Suika's watermelon mask, to the point that she's only known by the nickname she got from wearing it. Although spoiler:she stops wearing it as a mask after the second petrification, keeping only a section of it to wear like a necklace.
  • Ditto for certain cards in Duel Masters, most recognizably Shobu's Bolshack Dragon.
  • Natsu's scarf in Fairy Tail is ever-present, even while he's sleeping. When Lucy accidentally yanked it off him (trying to pull it up) and he didn't seem to notice, she knew something was wrong. His scarf is a gift from his dragon-foster-father Igneel. It's probably made of dragon skin. It's also a Chekhov's Gun, as it later protects Natsu from Zeref's death magic.
  • Kenshiro's jacket in Fist of the North Star. It's so iconic that it inexplicably reappears on him after every fight where he rips it beforehand. When he tears his shirt, it's usually a surefire sign that someone is going to die.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • All state alchemists have silver pocket watches - but only Edward has one with a significant date carved inside. More obviously, Ed wears a bright red coat emblazoned with the Flamel insignia; he casts it off for a time while hiding from the enemy, and makes himself a new one when he's preparing for the final showdown. Probably his most iconic item, however, is his automail arm, which makes him instantly recognizable to anyone who sees it.
    • Roy Mustang's iconic item would be his embroidered gloves, which allow him to perform flame alchemy in (literally) a snap.
    • Winry is almost always seen with a bandanna for most of the series. She outgrows it when she becomes an adult though. In the Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) she begins dressing more professionally while in the manga continuity she lets her hair down.
    • Bradly has his eyepatch and later his swords, Major Armstrong has his gauntlets, Buccaneer has his Automail arm, and Miles has his glasses.
  • Okita's not-fooling-anyone red sleep mask in Gintama.
  • From Hellsing, Alucard's gun Jackal, or his outfit, with red longcoat, wide-brimmed red hat, and round sunglasses.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers:
    • Russia's scarf.
    • America's bomber jacket, to the point that fans depict it as a sort of security blanket for him. If he dates someone, expect them to wear the jacket at one point or the other.
    • The Italy curls as well. Most fanworks (written or drawn) identify it's content by describing the curls. Ex) The young boy laughed; his auburn hair shaking into his face, except for one obstinate curl on the side of his head.
    • England's distinctive eyebrows.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Joestar family birthmark, Will A. Zeppeli's top hat, Jotaro's student cap, Josuke's pompadour, Giorno's ladybug brooches, Jolyne's butterfly tattoo, Johnny's horseshoe jockey cap, Josuke's sailor uniform. The list could go on forever, but these are just a few of the big ones.
  • Kaguya-sama: Love Is War:
    • Fujiwara's "Super black" hair bow. It's so intrinsic to her character design that she even keeps it on while wearing a bald cap, and a Flash Forward near the end of the series shows that she continues to wear it as an adult despite it clashing with the rest of her outfit.
    • The second season's ending lampshades this by showing geometric versions of all the major character's most important items (Iino's Public Moral's Committee armband, Ishigami's headphones, the pendant from Hayasaka's maid uniform, Fujiwara's bow, and Shirogane's Student Council President Aiguilette). The only one that doesn't get an item is Kaguya, who (rather than showing her hair ribbon) is represented by the full moon.
  • The titular character of Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is known for the Pointless Band-Aid he wears on his nose to cover up a scar.
  • Maryberry from Lapis Re:LiGHTs has her Berry Board, a magical signboard that can transmit her thoughts and feelings despite her severe social anxiety. She's actually mass-produced it but hasn't been able to sell a single one.
  • Raising Heart from Lyrical Nanoha. Its broken body in the snow was our first indication that something really bad happened to Nanoha during the flashback.
  • Chiyo Sakura of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is identified primarily by her bows, and by extension their polka dot pattern, both in-universe and with the fandom.
  • Haruko's engine-powered Rickenbacker bass guitar/multi-purpose weapon from FLCL.
  • Naruto:
    • Asuma's cigs and trench knives. So much so that Shikamaru's salvages them and gives them a significant part in his plan to take revenge after Asuma's death.
    • The ninja headband is probably the most iconic item in the franchise; Sasuke's headband is especially notable due to it being slashed partway through Part I.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi carries a small few of these, most notably Asuna's bells given to her by Takahata.
  • While all the pilots in Neon Genesis Evangelion wear a headset to help them link with their Eva units, Asuka wears hers with her civilian clothes as well (wearing them like barrettes). This helps to establish certain things about Asuka. On a personal level, she is proud to be a pilot, and doesn't want anyone to forget it. The shape of this gear also gives her "horns" like a female Oni (ogre) like another character we could mention. It's worth noting that oni musume (ogre's daughter) is roughly the Japanese equivalent of "bitch" — which definitely fits her Jerkass personality.
  • Ojarumaru features an odd variation on the trope. Yes, Ojarumaru is always seen with a pink scepter, but it's not actually his; he stole it from Great King Enma, who sent out his children to go get it back for him.
  • Luffy's straw hat in One Piece. Zoro's haramaki, and Chopper's hat before the Time Skip also counts too.
  • In Pokémon Adventures, most of the Dex Holders wear an extra accessory (or have a slightly different physical feature) to differentiate them from the characters they were based on. Gold has his goggles and cue, Crystal her star-shaped earrings, Silver his black gloves, etc.
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • Ash Ketchum's hat, to the point where he will yell at and pursue any Pokémon that steals it in early episodes (except on one occasion). He always wears a baseball cap, even when the male protagonists of the games don't.
    • Ash's Squirtle from the Squirtle Squad has pretty awesome sunglasses reminiscent of Kamina's. Yeaaah...
    • Ash's Butterfree's yellow ribbon given by Brock. It symbolizes the bond between Butterfree and Ash as well as Butterfree's departure.
    • Ash's Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile has a twig he likes to put in his mouth. Each time he evolves, he gets another twig to replace the previous one.
    • Ash's Krookodile has his pair of sunglasses, like Squirtle. For Krookodile, they serve to boost his confidence, otherwise he would become too timid. Just like Squirtle, Krookodile used to be a leader of a pack of Sandile.
  • Ahiru's pendant in Princess Tutu. If you see it laying around, she IS in trouble—she can't be a girl without it.
  • Ryouga's trademark bandanna from Ranma ½, and he went as far as wearing dozens of them, one over the other, to use as weapons in his first match with Ranma.
    • Mousse's glasses, Ukyou's giant battle spatula, Nodoka's family sword, Cologne's staff, Kodachi's ribbon, and Ryouga's umbrella also qualify as personality-defining items. On the "worrying about their safety" angle, Ranma once found Akane's schoolbag, recognizable by the doll hanging off it, and deduced she was kidnapped (although that was the item's only purpose in that story and was never seen before or after.)
  • Kenshin's backward-edged katana from Rurouni Kenshin.
  • Sailor Moon:
    • Makoto Kino never takes off her pink rose-shaped earrings, even after transforming into Sailor Jupiter. Sometimes she uses them as projectile weapons, and more than once the sight of them has snapped Usagi back into remembering.
    • Sailor Moon's variety of pendants and weapons. Even though she routinely receives upgrades of them throughout the series, her crescent moon wand that she had from almost the beginning until the end of Sailor Moon R is the most popular and easily recognized.
    • Her tiara as well. Long after she stopped using it as a weapon, it has remained one of the few consistent pieces of her outfit.
  • School-Live!:
    • Action Girl Kurumi has the shovel she uses to kill zombies.
    • Yuki has her winged backpack and her cat eared hat. In the anime she buries her hat with Team Pet Taromaru, though in the manga he was a Posthumous Character and she never gives up the hat.
    • Rii's teddy bear is a dark example later in the manga. She believes it to be her kid sister.
  • Soul Eater:
    • Played With when it comes to the Meisters' weapons as they're also characters.
    • Witches (and Blair) have hats aside from Medusa and Arachne (Blair also has her bauble).
    • Free has his shackles, Mosquito has his hat, Justin Law has his ear buds, Death has his mask, Mifune has his sword and straw, Maka has her Badass Longcoat, Marie has her eyepatch, and Stein has the bolt in his head.
  • Kamina's glasses and Simon's drill pendant from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Kamina even gives Gurren the glasses by melting down the swords it originally had. Kamina's glasses are so associated with him that the particular style of angular sunglasses he wears are now near-universally called "Kamina shades", even by non-Gurren Lagann fans.
  • Vash The Stampede's very distinctive revolver, and Wolfwood's massive cross (both from Trigun). Also Vash's distinctive sunglasses with the W-shaped earpieces, which he puts on whenever it's time to get dangerous.
  • Loran of ∀ Gundam has a bathtub toy fish that he brings with him from the Moon and carries with him most everywhere, especially early on. In the final episode, he leaves it behind at the Heim mansion after he goes to live in seclusion with Dianna and Sochie throws it into the river in a fit of anger and hurt. A piece of promo art shows that Loran finding it again; the same river apparently runs past his new home.
  • In Wasteful Days of High School Girls, Kanade "Majime" Ninomae and her headphones. She wears them almost anywhere at any time, even during class and in the rain. The only times she's shown without them are when she's at home and during the Pool Scene, and even then they're still usually visible somewhere in the background.
  • Most of the main characters' cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Somewhat believable in the case of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons, since there were only four in the world, and he has three (he ripped up the fourth as soon he got his hands on it to prevent anyone else from using it, because only three copies of any given card may be used in the same deck). Yugi's Dark Magician is a bit of a stretch, but has been established as a rare card, maybe not the same rarity league as a Blue-Eyes, but enough so that only one other duelist is ever shown using one. However, Mai's Harpie Ladies or Asuka's Etoile Cyber are common cards that could have been dropped by anyone, which raises a few questions as to iconic status.
    • Also the Millennium Items - Yugi/Atem's puzzle being the most famous one.

    Asian Animation 
  • Happy Heroes: Smart S., being a narcissist, is often seen holding a handheld mirror with a similar green, red, and blue color to him.
  • In Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, Wolffy's wife Wolnie carries around a frying pan which she uses to punish her husband whenever he fails to catch the goats. She's used that frying pan so much that it's become associated with her.

    Comic Books 
  • Adèle Blanc-Sec's green jacket and, um, interesting hats.
  • Undead CEO Jack Fortune from Afterlife Inc is defined by his trademark white suit and six-foot, prehensile red tie, which floats through the air of its own accord.
  • Jughead Jones from Archie Comics has his crown-shaped beanie.
  • Asterix' winged helmet, Obelix' small helmet and menhir, Vitalstatistix' feathered helmet and shield.
  • Bat Lash can always be identified by the flower he wears tucked into the band of his hat.
  • Batman:
    • Of all the Bat-gadgets, the Batarang is probably the only one notable enough to count, along with the concept of the "utility belt" in general.
    • Robins I-III each have items which bring them to mind instantly even if they aren't pictured themselves: Dick (Nightwing) has his electric escrima sticks, Jason (Red Hood) has his polished red helmet with stark white eyes rather than goggles or a visor like a normal motorcycle helmet, and Tim (Robin/Red Robin) has his EMP enabled Telescoping Staff.
    • Huntress has her crossbow.
    • Many of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Two-Face has his Two-Headed Coin, with one side badly scarred; the Penguin has his top hat, monocle, and cigarette holder (as well as his gimmick umbrellas); the Mad Hatter his top hat; Ra's al Ghul's high-collared cape; the Riddler's Dastardly Dapper Derby and question-mark cane; The Joker's namesake playing card and electrocuting joybuzzer; Harley Quinn's hammer or bat; Catwoman's whip; et cetera.
  • Captain America's shield. As the theme song reminds us, all those who chose to oppose the shield must yield. Indeed, when Cap was "dead," the question of who would carry the shield was a major plot point.
  • Doctor Strange's red Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto, which were later retconned to be icons of the office of Sorcerer Supreme and not of Strange himself.
  • Donald Duck:
  • The Flash: Less well known, but many versions of Wally and Barry always have the ring that contains their suits somewhere on their person.
  • Forever Evil (2013): To prove that the Justice Leagues are gone, the Crime Syndicate presents their audience with Aquaman's trident, Superman's cape, and Wonder Woman's lasso of truth.
  • Green Arrow has his arrows, particularly the boxing-glove one.
  • Even though there are 7200 Green Lantern rings they are keyed to specific people who all live in different parts of the galaxy and if one is lying around the owner is usually in grave danger.
  • Judge Dredd's Lawgiver gun.
    • There are those who would argue that it's his helmet more than his weapon.
      • Oooh err!
    • Or his badge.
  • The Mighty Thor's Hammer Mjölnir (carried over from Norse Mythology).
    • Likewise, Beta Ray Bill's hammer Stormbreaker.
    • And Eric Masterson's Thunderstrike.
    • To a lesser extent, Thor's helmet well.
    • Loki's helmet, with the long golden horns sticking out of the front.
  • Wesley Dodds, the Sandman, has his gasmask, a perfect complement for his sleeping gas gun. Neil Gaiman gives Morpheus, king of dreams, a similar looking helm, but he wears it far less often.
  • Sonic the Comic:
    • Sonic has his shoes, which were given to him by Dr. Kintobor.
    • Amy has her main weapon, a crossbow.
    • Knuckles wears a metal ring around his neck. He's the only echidna who wears one.
  • Tintin: His quiff and golf pants.
  • Spider Jerusalem's oddly impractical sunglasses from Transmetropolitan. They're shaped like that because they're a combination of shades and a digital camera, specially designed for his journalist work. Also because the machine that made them was on drugs. No, seriously.
  • The Guy Fawkes mask worn by the title character from V for Vendetta.
  • Rorschach's mask and the Comedian's badge from Watchmen, the latter of which even serves as the series symbol.
  • Wolverine: The Wolverine Claws, which are even part of his body, and especially when combined with his costumes' gloves that have the metal chutes the claws extend through.
  • Wonder Woman:
    • Wonder Woman (1942): In universe Paula von Gunther's dragon cigarette holder, it even gets her caught when spotted during an escape attempt when her disguise had otherwise fooled everyone.
    • Wonder Woman's lasso, bracelets and tiara.
    • Ares' blue spiked and horned helmet. While design elements are subject to change—mostly the crest and shape of the horns—it overall stays the same across all incarnations.
    • Wonder Girl Donna's black bullet reflecting bracelets.
    • Hera's gold and emerald diadem with a peacock centerpiece framed by two horn-like points in Wonder Woman (1987), which helps identify her quickly in large panels of Olympus with gods hanging about everywhere.
    • Hercules Unbound almost always wears the skin of the Nemean Lion slung about his shoulders, and in any continuity where he eventually stops doing so he'll incorporate at least three lion emblems into his armor, one at his girdle and one for each of his greaves.
  • X-Men:
    • Cyclops has his visor when in his superhero costume, or his ruby-red glasses when not.
    • Until the 90's, Banshee had his striped cape, which he wore even when the X-Men wore matching outfits. For awhile it seemed like it helped him fly, but he can fly just fine without it.
    • Gambit and Jubilee have their trench coats.
    • Prodigy is never without a pair of yellow-tinted glasses. But unlike Cyclops this is purely a stylistic choice.

    Comic Strips 
  • In political cartoons, it's common for a memorial strip for a recently deceased person to consist only of a drawing of the iconic item by itself.
  • Dick Tracy's yellow fedora and wrist-radio.
  • Garfield's square bed.
  • Peanuts:
    • Linus's Security Blanket.
    • Snoopy's dog house. Snoopy's leather helmet and goggles.
    • Peppermint Patty's sandals.
    • Charlie Brown's (usually) yellow, short-sleeved shirts with the giant, zigzagged stripe across them.

    Fan Works 
  • Chloe Cerise in Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail has her signature weapon, a rusty L-bend steel pipe that the seller calls a donut holer (because he was duped into seeing it used to punch holes into items and turn them into "donuts"). So iconic that One-One allows her to bring it back home to the real world — when in canon, a passenger can't carry items on the train back home. Almost every story in the Infinity Train: Blossomverse that has her on the Train will usually depict her using it as her go-to weapon.
  • Hago's staff in The Lion King Adventures. Without it, he's powerless, too.
  • Phantastical Boundaries: Friday Night Funkin's Boyfriend is identified in canon by his red backwards ballcap, which is made all the more relevant in this Game Mod when the same cap, just worn and torn, is also held and owned by a mysterious "Kiki Setsuko," an oni who appears to be an older and taller Girlfriend, going by what little we see/described of her.
  • Vow of Nudity: Pretty much every good, bad, or character-defining event in Spectra's life can be traced back to the cursed necklace of forced nudity she can't take off. It's why she works in the circus, why everyone knows she's a changeling, and (later) the source of her magical spellcasting abilities granted by a celestial one-night stand.

    Films — Animation 
  • Disney has quite a few of these for their characters, often used in merchandising:
    • Most if not all of the princesses have an iconic Pimped-Out Dress or other outfit associated with them; some, like Belle and Cinderella, also have a more casual dress.
      • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Snow White's apple (yes, the one used to poison her).
      • Cinderella's glass slippers.
      • Aurora from Sleeping Beauty has the spinning wheel and her crown. She's also sometimes depicted with a rose (as her identity when she was in hiding from Maleficient was Briar Rose), although the flower is now mostly associated with Belle instead.
      • Ariel from The Little Mermaid has forks/"dinglehoppers", shells, and sea flowers.
      • Belle from Beauty and the Beast has the enchanted rose and her books.
      • Jasmine from Aladdin has the Genie's lamp and the Magic Carpet.
      • Pocahontas has her mother's necklace and John Smith's compass.
      • Mulan has her flower comb, her father's sword, Shan Yu's sword, and the crest of the Emperor.
      • Downplayed in comparison to the rest of the princesses, but Tiana from The Princess and the Frog has her "man-catching" beignets. She's also depicted with water lillies on occasion.
      • Tangled: Rapunzel has her long golden hair, which she is almost always depicted with in merchandise despite it being gone at the end of the movie. They even brought it back for the TV show and made it a plot point. She's also associated with the floating lanterns and, occasionally, her tiara.
      • Brave: Merida has her bow and arrows, and sometimes the bear pendant given to her by her mother.
      • Moana has her grandmother's necklace, the heart of Te Fiti, and her paddle.
    • On the villains' side, we have Jafar from Aladdin and his snake-headed staff, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and her horns, Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians and her fur coat, Captain Hook from Peter Pan and his hook, etc.
    • Peter Pan's green hat with a red feather on it.
  • In Aladdin, Genie's shackles. When he's freed and they disappear it looks kind of weird. The makers of the TV series apparently agreed and he got them back.
  • In Hoodwinked!, Red Puckett brilliantly lampshades it:
    Red Puckett: They call me "Red" because of this red hood I wear.
    Nicky Flippers: What about when you're not wearing it?
    Red Puckett: (quietly) I usually wear it.
  • For Mei of Turning Red, her green hairclip and glasses can be used to identify her even in a work where she is a pony.note 

    Films — Live-Action 
  • The Blues Brothers: Black suits and fedoras. And their sunglasses, of course.
  • Buster Keaton: His porkpie hat.
  • Carrie:In the 1976 film version, Norma is never seen without her red baseball cap. She wears it in gym class, during detention, and even at the prom. The only two times when she's not wearing it are when she's getting her hair styled (and even then, it's perched atop the giant hair dryer), and when Carrie knocks her flat on her ass with the fire hose and kills her, blowing her cap off in the process. The cap was reportedly the idea of her actress, P. J. Soles.
  • Delusions of Grandeur: In-universe, Don Salluste seems to be well-known for wearing a pair of green gloves. To the point that the baby he has allegedly fathered is wearing a pair of identical small gloves as "family ressemblance".
  • Dirty Harry: Harry's .44 Magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world, that would blow your head clean off." Also his dark sunglasses.
  • El Dorado: People keep commenting about Mississippi's odd-looking hat, but he refuses to stop wearing it because it belonged to his dead mentor.
  • Evil Dead: Ash's chainsaw hand and sawed-off, back-holstered shotgun.
  • Forrest Gump:
    • Forrest's blue & white plaid shirts. Mirrored by Little Forrest at the end.
    • Lt Dan's dog tags on a necklace made from rosary beads. The items actually belonged to Gary Sinise's brother-in-law, Mc Canna Harris, a Vietnam War hero. Sinise opted to wear them as a tribute, rather than the dog tags issued to him by the prop department.
  • Friday the 13th: Jason's hockey mask, despite the fact that he doesn't acquire it until partway through the third film in the series.
  • Ghostbusters: The proton packs and jump-suits.
  • Halloween: Michael Myers' mask, to the point there's an effort to avoid showing his bare face.
  • Highlander: Connor's katana and The Kurgan's take-apart sword.
  • Indiana Jones: In addition to his Iconic Outfit, he also has his bullwhip.
  • Jacques Tati as M. Hulot: small hat, beige rain coat, long pants, pipe.
  • James Bond:
    • Bond's Walther PPK, 7.65 millimetre. He uses a newer Walther from Tomorrow Never Dies up until Casino Royale (2006). When promotional pictures from Quantum of Solace showed him having gone back to the PPK, the fandom rejoiced.
    • Bond's car is almost always a member of the Aston Martin DB family of grand tourers, starting with the DB5 in Dr. No.
  • Jurassic Park (1993): John Hammond's Classy Cane topped with a ball of amber with a prehistoric mosquito inside.
  • Laurel and Hardy: Their bowler hats.
  • Marx Brothers: Groucho's cigar and Harpo's carhorn and harp.
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy Krueger's clawed-glove.
  • No Country for Old Men: Anton Chigurh's coin, captive bolt pistol and sound-suppressed Remington 11-87 semiautomatic shotgun.
  • Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau: Beige raincoat, detective hat, looking glass. (Note that he doesn't start wearing this outfit until the second film, A Shot in the Dark. He does briefly don a raincoat and hat in The Pink Panther (1963) but they look slightly different) Its iconic nature was helped by it serving as his animated counterpart's default outfit.
  • Phantasm:
    • The Sentinel Spheres of The Tall Man, flying silvery orbs that can painfully drill into your body.
    • Reggie Bannister's four-barreled shotgun, from the second movie onwards.
  • The Phantom of the Opera - The Phantom's white half mask.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack's compass - which always points to what the holder desires most - is arguably his most treasured possession and the focus of several plots through the films.
  • Rambo: John's M60, bow and Bowie knife. And the headband, usually red.
  • Sherlock Holmes: In the 1940s Universal Studios pictures with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce: Holmes' Irish tweed wool hat. Rathbone insisted on this as fitting the modern, updated version of Holmes in these films.
  • Star Wars: Mace Windu's purple lightsaber and Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber are unique weapons (all lightsabers are different, but Windu and Maul's are the only and the first ones of their kind seen, respectively). Notably, the purple lightsaber was Samuel L. Jackson's only demand for accepting the role.
  • Zorro's black mask and Andalusian hat (in the novel he originally wore a sombrero). To a lesser degree, his sword and bullwhip.

    Literature 
  • Around the World in Eighty Days: Phileas Fogg's top hat and pocket watch (used as an icon for him in the closing titles of the film adaptation starring David Niven).
  • Rocky Garcia of Bad News Ballet—unless she's performing, and always on the covers—is not seen without her red satin jacket that says Rocky on the front and back.
  • Beautiful Creatures: Lena's Junk necklace. She never took it off, and when she had abandoned it, it lead the other characters to know something was wrong with Lena.
  • The Black Company: It's not really a book until One-Eye's hat has been brought up. The Annals serve as this for the entire Company.
  • The Caine Mutiny: Captain Queeg's steel balls.
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
    • Willy Wonka has his nice hat and walking stick — especially the former, which he very, very rarely takes off — in the novel and ALL adaptations.
    • Violet Beauregarde, champion gum chewer, has her world record-breaking piece of chewing gum, which she is still chewing on at every opportunity after three months. When she's asleep, she puts it on her bedpost for safe keeping; when she's awake and not chewing on it (namely at mealtimes), she sticks it behind her ear.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia:
    • Lucy Pevensie's healing cordial. A gift from Father Christmas, she uses it on all her Narnian adventures, and it later years it is considered a treasure of the realm.
    • Susan Pevenise's enchanted ivory horn. Also a gift from Father Christmas, it largely sets off the plot of Prince Caspian and features as an epithet towards the end of that story, where she is called "Queen Susan of the Horn".
    • Eustace Scrubb's notebook. He keeps track of his school marks in it, and once he's swept into Narnia he uses it to chronicle the journey and vent his frustration at the whole situation, as well as everyone around him.
  • The Cinderella Murder: This becomes a plot point. Susan Dempsey became permanently linked to her silver high heels in the public consciousness, especially because one shoe had slipped off as she ran for her life, leading to her being nicknamed "Cinderella". However, her mother points out "the irony" that Susan hardly ever wore things like that; she'd merely bought the shoes for a seventies-themed party and only wore them to her audition because her agent suggested it. Rosemary explains that Susan was far more attached to her favourite necklace, which had a gold horseshoe pendant and was also found with her body, but this was overlooked in favour of the shoes. Rosemary says the moment the police described the necklace, she and her husband knew for certain the body was their daughter's before even seeing her. In a further stroke of irony, the necklace is revealed to be far more important to solving Susan's murder than the shoes, which are barely relevant at all.
  • The Dark Tower: Roland's guns.
  • Discworld: Rincewind's hat. Of course, all wizards and witches wear a pointy hat, but Rincewind is the only one who finds it necessary to write "WIZZARD" upon it in sequins. And he always comes back for his hat. (Although at the start of Interesting Times, he's been separated from it for some time while on a Deserted Island, and found it necessary to construct a replacement ("a Cargo Cult wizard's hat") out of grass and bamboo. With "WIZZARD" spelt out in cowrie shells).
  • The Dresden Files: Harry Dresden's black leather duster. If that isn't present, his battered silver pentacle is.
  • Florimell's golden girdle is so essential to her image that when someone else in The Faerie Queene finds it without her, they believe she must be dead.
  • The Garden of Sinners: Shiki has her red bomber jacket worn over a traditional kimono.
  • Harry Potter:
    • Mad-Eye Moody's mad eye. After he dies in Deathly Hallows, Harry sees it stuck on Umbridge's office door in the Ministry of Magic and is so infuriated that he steals it back, tipping her off that there are intruders in the building.
    • Hagrid's umbrella.
    • Pretty much any wizard's wand. Remembering them, on the other hand...
    • Um, Harry's glasses. And his scar.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya's yellow hair ribbons, Yuki Nagato's glasses, and Mikuru Asahina's cosplay costumes, especially her maid costume.
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy: Arthur's bathrobe, Ford's satchel (and, of course, his copy of the Guide itself), Zaphod's Presidential sash, and towels in general.
  • Hoshi and the Red City Circuit: Hoshi wears a bolero jacket made of impervious nanocloth with every outfit. When she has to wear a sweater as part of a disguise, she wears her bolero under it.
  • Journey to the West: The Monkey King's expanding staff.
  • James Bond
    • Bond started out with a Beretta 418 chambered in .25, but from his sixth novel onward adopted the Walther PPK. This directly influenced the films, mentioned above.
    • Likewise, Bond first drives around in an Aston Martin DB Mark III. For the film adaptation, it was upgraded to the company's latest and greatest, the DB 5.
  • J.T. Edson:
    • The Ysabel Kid carries the rare 'One in One Thousand' Winchester 1873 repeating rifle.
    • Calamity Jane has her bullwhip and cavalry kepi.
    • Red Blaze wears a garish rainbow coloured silk neckerchief.
  • Kagerou Daze:
    • Ayano's red scarf.
    • On a lesser note, Ayano's red hair-pins, which she inherited from her mother. And are worn on her father's shirt after her suicide.
    • Each member of the Mekakushi-dan's hoodie serves as one, special mention to Kido's iPod-decal hoodie.
    • Haruka's sketch pad.
    • Takane's/Ene's headphones.
    • Shion's red rose which becomes a Tragic Keepsake for Mary after her death.
  • Les Misérables: Jean Valjean is rarely ever seen with them — in fact we only learn he has not sold them at the end of the book — but the silver candlesticks he received from Bishop Myriel are quite iconic to him. Film adaptions enlarged this.
  • Little Red Riding Hood: Her red hood
  • The Machineries of Empire: Has an in-universe example with Jedao's fingerless gloves and Patterner 95 pistol.
  • Masks of Aygrima: Most characters have masks which can be used to identify them, The Autarch's gold mask is the most notable example.
  • Nero Wolfe: Not strictly speaking an Iconic Item in the singular sense, but he has the orchids that he grows in the rooftop greenhouse of his New York brownstone. The brownstone itself might also count, depending on how far we're willing to stretch the definition of 'item', since it's so lovingly and consistently detailed in each novel.
  • Psmith's monocle.
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Zhuge Liang's feather fan. Also Wu Yong's but he's usually forgotten.
  • Rumpole of the Bailey: Rumpole's dilapidated old hat.
  • Septimus Heap: Septimus's Dragon Ring and Marcia's shoes.
  • Sherlock Holmes's pipe. The deerstalker in adaptations, though not the original books.
  • The Ship Who... Searched: Tia has the blue stuffed bear wearing a red shirt with the Courier Service logo on it. It appears on the back cover of the book. She names it Theodore Edward Bear. Conveniently, it can take decontamination procedures, so when Tia gets sick and is taken to a space hospital she can still keep, cuddle, and confess her fear and loneliness to it. Tia becomes a shellperson and then a brainship and is much happier. She installs Teddy in a glass cabinet in her main cabin. In a moment of high emotion with her brawn Alex she pops the cabinet open and asks if he'd like to hug Teddy, which he understands is the closest substitute she has for intimacy. When she has a Remote Body made and shipped to her, the first thing she does with it is pop the cabinet again to cuddle the bear.
  • Sunday Without God: The gravekeepers Ai and Scar are easily identified by the shovels they always carry, and in Ai's case, her shovel is a keepsake from her deceased mother.
  • Takashi Yanase: Fancy top hats (usually worn by angels) has become a Signature Style for Yanase. which become a recurring element in some of his books (such as White Horse, and Su Ginoki To No Giku) and works (such as The Rose Flower and Joe by Sanrio). To the point that a top hat and an angel would be used in Yanase's logos for some of his books and a Japanese exhibit that highlighted his books.
  • Winnetou's gun, the Silberbüchse (silver rifle).
  • Wuxia: In the series' they appear in, the leader of the Beggars' Sect is known to wield a weapon known as the "Dog-Beating Staff" as a badge of office, and has to know the requisite techniques to use it.

    Live-Action TV 

Individuals:

  • Newsanchor Wendy Rieger's leopard print blouse and leopard print dress.
  • British museum curator and TV presenter Lucy Worsley is known for wearing a hair slide. She claims that when she was trying a different hair style, one of her TV producers told her "People won't know it's you without the hair slide."

By Series:

  • Caroline's pearl necklace on 2 Broke Girls.
  • GOB Bluth's Segway in Arrested Development.
  • The A-Team has two: Hannibal's cigars and B.A.'s van. The cigar is so iconic that in the film, it immediately identified him.
  • Booth's "Cocky" belt buckle in Bones. Brennan actually worries about him when he takes to wearing normal belts after his brain tumor.
  • Breaking Bad: Walter White's pork pie hat that he wears when in his Heisenberg persona.
  • Buffyverse:
    • Buffy had her stakes, but they really tried last minute to give her a more defined one in a slayer scythe.
    • Also, Spike's leather coat. The original one gets burned to tatters but Wolfram & Hart immediately supplies him with eleven exact duplicates of the coat.
    • Doyle's brown (or black) leather jacket.
    • The fleur-de-lis bracelet that Lindsey wears throughout the show. It's a keepsake that Christian Kane wears to remind him of his mother, who is from New Orleans.
  • El Chapulín Colorado and El Chavo del ocho are Chespirito's two most famous characters. The former has his Chipote Chillón (a red and yellow hammer), and the latter has the green cap he always wears.
  • The Closer: Brenda's purse, a huge black thing that she would be completely lost without. Lampshaded in the finale, when Brenda is forced to shoot Philip Stroh through the bottom of it, and the rest of the Major Crimes unit all get together and buy her a new one exactly like the old one because she doesn't look right without it.
  • CSI: Grissom's pig fetus (which Hodges placed in his old office when he left the show).
    "It belongs in here."
  • CSI: Miami: Horatio's ... sunglasses. YEEAAAAAAAAHH.
  • CSI: NY:
    • Mac has the Detective Bureau lapel pin he always wears. Gary Sinise asked for a pin based on those worn by actual NYPD detectives.
    • Danny is almost always wearing his grandfather's dog tags.
    • Sid has the iconic glasses that come apart in the front. (These are called ClicReaders, and can be purchased online, along with several other styles; the store even used a picture of Sid on their website.)
  • Dark (2017): Jonas' yellow raincoat, which is also featured prominently on the posters.
  • Doctor Who:
    • In general (and especially in the new series), the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The sonic, carried by most Doctors, reflects the Time Lord's dislike of firearms.
    • The Second Doctor's recorder.
    • The Fourth Doctor's scarf and bag of jelly babies. Early in his run the production team had intended his yo-yo to be his signature item (note its prominent use in "The Ark in Space"), but it didn't stick. This one also has also become one for the show as a whole — even today, following the massive success of the post-2005 series, a good way to instantly identify someone as "mad-keen Doctor Who fan" is to wrap them in a very long multi-coloured scarf.
    • The Master's laser screwdriver kills people. As does the Tissue Compression Eliminator.
    • Then there's the Fifth Doctor's celery-on-the-lapel, Purely Aesthetic Glasses, and occasional hat.
    • The Sixth Doctor's cat badge.
    • The Seventh Doctor carried around a crazy umbrella with a question mark for a handle.
    • The Eighth Doctor's Wild Bill Hickok costume.
    • The War Doctor's costume was a mix of 8's Victorian waistcoat and the Ninth Doctor's leather jacket, with a Badass Bandolier that also serves as a Tragic Keepsake.
    • The Ninth Doctor's leather jacket.
    • The Tenth Doctor had a pair of "brainy specs" like Fifth, and he also wore a brown overcoat near constantly. Along with his trainers, another feature from 5.
    • The Eleventh Doctor really liked bowties and fezzes.
    • The Twelfth Doctor's electric guitar and sonic sunglasses. Overlaps with The Cast Showoff, as Peter Capaldi is a former musician.
    • Some of the Doctor's companions also had an iconic item associated with them. Examples include:
      • Jamie McCrimmon's kilt.
      • Adric's badge for mathematical excellence (the shattered remnants of which were shown in place of the usual closing titles after Adric died at the end of "Earthshock").
      • Ace's badge-covered black jacket.
      • Captain Jack Harkness' World War II greatcoat, more prominent on his spinoff Torchwood.
    • In Real Life, the show in general has the iconic police box outer form used by the TARDIS. Even before advances in communications technology saw the police box retired from its original function, it was heavily associated with the show to the point where the BBC won the rights for it off the police.
  • Both Rays in Due South had signature cars: Ray V's boat tail '72 Buick Riveria and Ray K's Plymouth GTO.
  • The Dukes of Hazzard has the unforgettable General Lee, although in this case it defines both of the Duke brothers.
  • Ellery Queen was always wearing or carrying a Bear Bryant fedora.
  • Forever: Henry's pocket watch. Henry carries it all the time, and it's a recurring motif throughout the series. It has a habit of slipping out of his pocket at critical moments.
    • A family heirloom, it was the only gift he would accept from his father, since it didn't come from the profits of slavery.
    • It was lost at sea when Henry had his first death, the watch and Henry's body slowly sinking together into the depths.
    • After it was rediscovered, Abigail bought it at auction for him, making it a gift from a loved one twice over.
    • When Jo finds it in the wrecked subway car in the first episode it leads to Henry becoming involved in investigations and reconnecting with other people for the first time in decades.
    • When Jo finds it on the sidewalk in "The Ecstasy of Agony" this is what convinces her something has happened to Henry and leads to his being rescued from Molly's stalker.
    • When Henry drowns in the back of the taxi in "Skinny Dipper" the watch slips out of his pocket, for Jo to find when they search the car later. At that point they brush it off, but it's a prelude to Adam framing Henry for the killings.
    • When Jo finds it in the abandoned subway station in "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" it lets her know that Henry had been there. It's likely why Jo searched the area further, leading to her discovering the photo of Henry, Abigail, and baby Abe, which leads to her giving Henry one last chance to explain things to her; he appears to (finally!) be starting to when the episode ends. Jo returning it to Henry in the last scene Bookends the pilot episode's similar scene.
  • On Forever Knight, Nick's signature item is pretty much his classic Cadillac convertible.
  • Generation Kill: Rudy Reyes' battle outfit; Sgt. Colbert calls it a "chicken suit and J-Lo glasses", and says that Rudy dresses like a "pimp queen".
  • Gossip Girl: Chuck Bass' scarf.
  • Hannah Montana's blonde wig. And her pink, sparkly jacket. And in the last two seasons, the single glove.
  • Happy Days: Fonzie's jacket.
  • In Heroes, Noah Bennet's horn-rimmed glasses.
  • Most Highlander immortals had a signature weapon, like Duncan's katana and Methos's broadsword.
  • House's cane counts, though he goes through a few in differing styles (the one with the flames is the most distinctive).
  • House of Anubis. Nina's locket and Victor's pin.
  • Kamen Rider:
    • A 35 mm Blackbird camera with black and magenta (not pink!) body is characteristic for Tsukasa Kadoya/Kamen Rider Decade. It's usually hanging around his neck on a strap when not in use.
    • Shotaro Hidari, left half of Kamen Rider Double, is extremely protective of his nigh indestructible, 1920's detective style fedora (playing into the fact that he aspires to be that style of Hardboiled Detective, even if he only gets halfway there).
    • The Goofy Print Underwear of Eiji Hino/Kamen Rider OOO. His clothes in general are a visual assault and complete ridiculousness, fitting The Drifter with little money or possessions; but he places special importance on having clean underwear for tomorrow.
    • The beige trenchcoat of Sento Kiryu/Kamen Rider Build. Given his love for threatics, it's not wonder he needs his clothes to billow in the wind dramatically, but that happens relatively rarely so he usually has to flap his hands to achieve that effect.
  • In Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Goren uses his pocket knife a lot (not as a weapon mind you, just to pick up stuff he doesn't want to touch, dig stuff out of walls, etc).
  • Lost had Eko's staff, and John Locke's knife and backpack.
  • In M*A*S*H Henry Blake is always wearing his fishing hat and Radar always wears his brown hat and is rarely without his teddybear at night. Continuing the hat trend, Father Mulcahy's sweet Panama hat.
  • Merlin's red scarf or neckerchief.
  • Done (very, very badly) in an episode of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, where a kid who was banned from the science fair is abducted by the Monster of the Week, but not before dropping his hat. The Rangers find the hat, and immediately blame Rita, which makes no sense at all. They ended up being right, but they had no right or reason to assume that at all.
  • Monty Python's Flying Circus: The glasses, headscarves and gumboots of the Gumbies.
  • Emma Swan's red coat in Once Upon a Time.
  • Pie in the Sky: Crabbe's favourite pepper mill, which he carries with him everywhere.
  • Psych: Gus' "Blueberry" (It's a company car) is the Psych duo's main mode of transportation.
  • Robin Hood:
    • Much's hat. He's only seen without it about three times. Subtly lampshaded in the show itself as when Robin is minutes away from death he makes a point of grabbing it off Much's head before he says goodbye.
    • To a lesser extent: Will's axe, Little John's staff and Robin's recurve bow are all practically synonymous with their characters. Kate is renowned for her forehead braid, though this is more the result of Memetic Mutation considering she only wore it for three episodes in total.
  • Sherlock: Sherlock's Badass Longcoat, his Scarf Of Ass Kicking, John's cuddly jumpers, and Mycroft's umbrella. Sherlock is also commonly depicted in fanworks as wearing the "Purple Shirt of Sex" as dubbed by the fandom.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation.
    • Geordi La Forge's VISOR. The prop was so uncomfortable that the actor managed to successfully campaign to drop it in the subsequent movies.
    • Worf's sash. During one episode when the entire crew gets amnesia, Worf suggests that it might indicate that he's the captain.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Captain Sisko acquired a baseball in an early season, which he kept on his desk. It acquired great significance in the later seasons: When the station has to be abandoned to the enemy, Sisko leaves the baseball behind, to tell his nemesis that he expects to return for it. Later, when Sisko has a breakdown and goes to Earth for some soul-searching, he brings the baseball with him, indicating that he is not sure if he will ever come back. In the finale, he leaves it again. When we revisit DS9 in Star Trek: Lower Decks, the fact it's still there shows that Sisko has yet to return.
  • Star Trek: Picard: Elnor is rarely seen without his tan qalanq. Even in situations where there's no immediate danger, he always carries it sheathed and slung across his back (like when he's casually standing on the bridge of La Sirena or eating breakfast with Picard and Jurati). If he's sitting on the ground, he keeps his sword next to his person. He's only weaponless at the Qowat Milat monastery or if he's at a place where his tan qalanq would be confiscated by security if he brought it along, such as Bjayzl's casino and Coppelius Station.
  • Supernatural: Dean's amulet, to the point where he's still wearing it in hell. He has since lost it, however, and the writers doubt it will reappear. The Colt might count, though. Also, Castiel's overcoat, so that when it's found, he's presumed dead. Later, when he's found alive with amnesia, he doesn't put the coat on until he gets his memory back. The boys each have their preferred sidearms (a Colt .45 with ivory grips for Dean, a Taurus PT-92 9-millimeter for Sam although Sam changes his temporarily when he's soulless, a Colt Single Action Army for Bobby), and of course, there's the Impala.
  • "Boston" Rob Mariano, from Survivor and The Amazing Race, has his Boston Red Sox hat. At one point on The Amazing Race 7, he gives a local the blue Red Sox hat he traditionally wore on Survivor, and from the next leg on (including on All-Stars) he wore a red one instead.
  • Marion's foxtail hat in The Swamp Fox.
  • The Teletubbies each have one: Tinky-Winky has a red purse, Dipsy has a black-and-white top hat (with a hole in the top for his antenna), Laa-Laa has a large orange ball, and Po has a scooter.
  • In Ugly Betty, Betty's red glasses and pink braces. Although she finally gets the braces removed in the final season.
  • In The Walking Dead many characters have signature items that they are often or occasionally shown using. Some of these are shown in the opening credits alongside the actor portraying the character the item represents.
    • Rick's revolver (A Colt Python, a distinctive gun in real life too)
    • Carl's sheriff hat
    • Daryl's crossbow, vest, and motorcycle
    • Carol's knife
    • Glen's watch
    • Michonne's katana
    • Dale's bucket hat
    • Tyreese's hammer and beanie
    • Hershel's crutch
    • The Governor's eyepatch
    • Eugene's mullet is lampshaded frequently.
  • Wanted: Dead or Alive: Josh Randall's sidearm, the Mare's Leg: a cut down Winchester model 1892 carbine in 44-40 caliber. In-Universe the gun is distinctive enough that people who have never met him can identify him by it.
  • Josh Lyman's backpack on The West Wing. Toby's pink Spalding ball which he bounces off the window in his office while thinking.
  • Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman has several items that are instantly recognizable even to the general public. Her invisible jet is certainly one. Her magic lasso is the prime example, but her bullet deflecting bracelets and boomerang tiara are not far behind. One of the reasons that Lynda Carter's take on Wonder Woman has endured the test of time is that these items show her not merely adventuring while adorning herself with feminine accessories, but these very feminine items are each a source of power.
  • Xena: Warrior Princess: Xena's chakram was used to introduce her character from off-screen, since if you saw it come into the frame, you knew that Xena had thrown it.

    Music 
  • Jeremy Popoff's white-flame lace-up shoes. He actually had several custom made and even wore them at his wedding.
  • The Beatles
  • Michael Jackson's single glove; subverted with his sister Latoya's headband, which was meant to become her iconic item, but never did.
  • Elton John's glasses.
  • Flava Flav's clock medallion.
  • Axl Rose's bandanna from the earlier years. And Slash's sunglasses. His signature top hat, is rarely taken off, but he always wears the glasses. For instruments, Slash's Les Paul and Duff's Fender bass.
  • Dusty Hill's and Billy Gibbons's long beards and sunglasses.
  • Queen: Freddie Mercury's bottomless mic stand and Brian May's Red Special guitar (which he built with his father).
  • Steven Tyler's scarf-covered mic stand.
  • Bono's tinted sunglasses.
    • The Edge's hats.
  • Eddie Van Halen's cut up and retaped guitars (Frankenstrat), so much so that Van Halen's Greatest Hits Album uses a red, black, and white motif for the cover.
  • Buckethead's white mask (recently used by the Jabbawockeez too, though) combined with the plastic bucket he wears on his head.
  • Claudio Sanchez's legendary hair. If not that, then his collection of personalized Gibson Explorers.
  • On the subject of hair, Ray Toro's fro pretty much has its own fanbase.
  • Ian Dury's caliper and walking stick. The latter is an interpretation of Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
  • John Otway's Rumplestiltskin Baby. A roadie throws it up on stage whence John drops it. Later smashes it against the mic during Headbutts.
  • Lights early on in her career would wear a brightly-colored headband; however, she no longer wears the headband nowadays, ultimately subverting this trope.
  • Dimebag Darrell and his Dean guitars, most notably the one given a lightning bolt paint job.
  • Kaizers Orchestra had the World War I gas mask worn by the organist. All of the three first albums feature the mask prominently on the cover art and the band's live performances involved the mask staying on for the entire set, rendering the organist into The Faceless and The Voiceless (since it's impossible to speak through it).
  • Maurice Chevalier and his yellow straw hat.
  • Louis Armstrong always has his trumpet nearby, of course, but his handkerchief is equally iconic.
  • Luciano Pavarotti also always carried a handkerchief when performing.
  • Bob Marley: his dreadlocks.
  • Madonna : her Gaultier bra
  • Georges Brassens: his pipe.
  • Fela Kuti: the white Body Paint and Tribal Face Paint on his face and torso.
  • In her early years, Britney Spears' Girlish Pigtails, crop tops and headset mic, at least onstage.
  • Ian Anderson's flute, long coat, boots, tights and codpiece in The '70s; he markets his own projects and Tull releases with this image even long after he abandoned the look and he started balding. His "jester" outfit from 1974-75 can be this as well.
  • Various costumes Peter Gabriel wore in live performances as a member of Genesis in The '70s, in particular the leather jacket and face makeup he wore as Rael in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the "flower mask" he wore in the "Willow Farm" section of "Supper's Ready'" and the bat-wings he wore during "Watcher Of The Skies" (as can be seen on the cover of Genesis Live).
  • Pink Floyd and their circular projection screen and flying pigs.
    • For the individual members, David Gilmour's Black and Red Strats, Roger Waters' black Precision bass (and in the early years, his gong), and to a lesser extent, Richard Wright's Farfisa Organ, Syd Barrett's mirrored Fender Esquire (a guitar) and Nick Mason's mustachenote .
  • Gene Simmons and his axe-shaped bass guitar.
  • Country musician Daniel Romano often uses an acoustic guitar with his name inlaid on the fretboard.
  • Several music videos by Gym Class Heroes feature Travie McCoy using or just holding a toothbrush. Some examples would be “Cupid's Chokehold,” “The Queen And I”, or “Stereo Hearts,” just to name a few.
  • Zakk Wylde's bulls-eye guitar. Twisted Sister's Eddie Ojeda has a similar one, done years before him.
  • The glittery Taylor acoustic guitars and sun dresses Taylor Swift wore during her country-pop years. Both were appropriately colored red (the guitar sometimes replaced by a red electric Les Paul guitar) for the Red tour.
  • Chris Squire's double-amped Rickenbacker 4001 bass.

    Myths & Religion 
  • The Sword Excalibur. In addition, the Sword in the Stone, to the point that both swords are often mistaken to be one and the same. Although in some cases they are; Arthurian canon is sketchy and full of retcons and Alternate Continuity. The problem is, of course, that in most pictorial representations it is impossible to tell Excalibur apart from any other old sword, and thus you need other factors to tell what sword (or king) is being depicted.
  • Mythologies in general identify deities with their iconic weapon, tool, or article of clothing.
    • Such items can be essential to tell whom a sculpture is meant to represent.
      • The Venus de Milo lacks arms and thus holds no objects in her hands, so people are still debating whether she is in fact a representation of Venus/Aphrodite or some other Goddess.
    • These identifiers can sometimes take on a life of their own:
    • Classical Mythology:
      • The Aegis carried by Athena
      • Hermes's winged sandals
      • Poseidon's trident
    • Norse Mythology:
      • Thor's hammer, Mjölnir
      • Odin's spear, Gungnir
      • Freyja and the Brisingamen
  • Robin Hood and his longbow.
    • Little John and his quarterstaff.
      • Although both of these are impossible to tell from those of the other Merry Men.
      • Robin also has his horn with which to call the men.
      • Plays, artwork, and later media added Robin Hood's distinctive feather cap.
  • Roland, his sword Durendal and his horn Oliphant.
  • From The Bible (both Hebrew and Christian):
    • Joseph and his coat (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat helped popularize this).
    • Moses and the Ten Commandments. Also, his staff.
    • David and his harp. Also his sling.
    • Jesus and the Cross. Also a wounded lamb. And a crown of thorns, or a fish note  or three nails, or the wounds in His hands, feet and side, or the Sacred Heart note  among many others.
      • The resurrected Christ can also be shown holding a spade, as the New Testament mentions that the first witnesses mistook him for a gardener. He's also sometimes shown in a winding-sheet or loincloth, and can be depicted holding a banner with a white field and red cross.
  • Since artists and sculptors generally did not know what Christian saints and martyrs looked like, the way to tell which saint a painting, stained-glass window or sculpture is meant to represent most frequently an iconic item such as the instrument of torture or implement of execution used on them or an object connected with an important episode in their life etc. These objects often can be used as symbols of the saint without actually showing the saints themselves, e. g. when a city's coat of arms features one or more keys, it usually means that it has a cathedral or major church dedicated to Saint Peter (who holds the keys of heaven) or is somehow connected to the his successors, the papacy (such as the arms of Avignon in France). For more information, see this article on The Other Wiki. Other examples:
    • St. Andrew: An X-shaped cross, better known as a St. Andrew's cross (or saltire).
    • St. Antony the Eremite: A staff ending in a T-shaped cross. Also a pig.
    • St. Catherine: A broken wheel and a sword.
    • St. Denis: His own severed head. note 
    • St. Dunstan: A hammer and tongs.
    • St. James: A pilgrim's hat and scallop (seashell).
    • St. John: An eagle
    • Judas Iscariot: Thirty pieces of silver
    • St. Jude Thaddeus: A flame of the Holy Spirit above his head and an image (either imprinted on cloth or engraved on a medallion) of Jesus
    • St. Laurence: A griddle (on which he was roasted alive).
    • St. Luke: An ox
    • St. Mark: A lion, winged and holding a book of Mark's gospels
    • St. Matthew: An angel
    • The Archangel Michael: A burning sword, and usually a defeated Satan (sometimes depicted as a dragon) at his feet
    • St. Nicholas: A bishop's mitre and three golden balls.
    • St. Mary Magdelene: A vessel of ointment.
    • St. Maximilian Kolbe: Wearing his Auschwitz prisoner's uniform on one shoulder over his Franciscan habit, carrying a copy of "Knight of the Immaculata", occasionally two crowns, one red and one white note 
    • St. Stephen: Three stones on a book.
    • St. Francis of Assisi: His simple friar's tunic and the stigmata (the mystical marks of the wounds of Christ on his hands and feet
    • St. Padre Pio: The stigmata.
    • St. Peter: As mentioned above, the crossed keys. Also an upside-down cross note 
  • Paintings and sculptures of Hindu deities hold all kinds of iconic objects in their hands (it helps that they often are represented with more than two arms). Among the most widely known ones are Shiva's trident and Kali's necklace of skulls. They also generally ride on or are accompanied by an iconic animal, e. g. Ganesha always has his rat with him.
  • Certain Buddhist deities are known for items they carry. In case of Bishamontennote , he carries a small pagoda and a spear. The items have their meaning: in case of Bishamonten, the pagoda symbolize the teaching and the spear symbolize the willingness to defend the teaching.

    Podcasts 
  • The Tres Horny Boys of The Adventure Zone: Balance each have one:
    • Magnus has Railsplitter, a battleaxe shaped like a lumber-axe, with the ability to fell a tree with a single swing.
    • Merle has the Extreme Teen Bible, his holy symbol, used to preach the good word of Pan to the youth of Faerûn. He also gains the Soulwood Arm, a prosthetic arm made of living wood to replace the one he lost in The Crystal Kingdom.
    • Taako has the Umbra Staff, a wand disguised as an umbrella, with the ability to absorb the magical power of defeated wizards.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • The Pencil of The Sheik
  • The Fork of Abdullah the Butcher. Other wrestlers would take to this one later, such as Homicide.
  • The Shrunken Head held by Pampero Firpo
  • Kendo Nagasaki's kendo stick
  • Kevin Sullivan's rail road spike, at least until Jimmy Jacobs stolewas given it as a gift.
  • The cursed fist tape of Jack Veneno
  • Raw fish for The Wild Samoans
  • Arm bands for Los Brazos(duh)
  • The spiked shoulder pads of The Road Warriors
  • Jim Cornette's Tennis Racket, to the point he was referred to by it even after trading it out for a bat. When ECW or Ring of Honor (the latter he did himself) took shots at SMW, they used ether tainted rags.
  • When people think pre Kodo Fuyuki FMW, they usually think barbed wire, landmines or barbwire rigged landmines. Mammoth Sasaki was known for his inventive use of chairs, as was Sabu.
  • Nun chucks for Kung Fu after he lost his mask to Atlantis in EMLL. Princesa Sujei has her butterfly robe. Bárbaro Cavernario is known for carrying around a stick.
  • Chairs for La Parka and his various successors in AAA and later, WCW. Unlike most pro wrestling examples though, he is known more for dancing on chairs than any acts of violence he did with them.
  • "Heat stones" or piranha tanks for Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The Original Baka Gaijin Mad Man Pondo is known for a rotary saw. Isami Kodaka for his sheathed samurai sword.
  • Tables for Sabu in ECW and later The Dudley Boyz, especially in their post ECW careers. Chairs have been makeshift weapons in pro wrestling for as long as there have been makeshift weapons in pro wrestling but the steel folding chair became iconic to Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney thanks their Tag Team and writing messages on the seats such as "This Is Gonna Hurt". The "Singapore cane" for The Sandman, though he also has his beer cans.
  • Electronic Weed Whackers for CZW as a whole, barbecue skewers for Masada, carving forks for Matt Tremont.
  • Black Rose was known for a hair iron until her reign as WWS Women's Champion. She had recovered from burns in a house fire prior to winning the belt, and another burn made her averse to hot things. When Gnarly Pop Productions wanted her resulting afro straightened for continuity purposes(so La Rosa and ACR could look as they did while teaming in SHINE), she had someone else do it for her.
  • Bobby Fish's Mouth Guard became memetic among Ring of Honor fans. Other examples include the Blank Book wielded by Truth Martini, Rocky Romero's post Hooligans eye patch, Veda Scott's wrench and the fans waved by The Boys who accompanied Dalton Castle, the peacock robe of Castle himself.
  • "The Booby Traps" of Allysin Kay and Sassy Stephie, especially in WSU. To a lesser extent, machetes, especially if Jessicka Havok is involved.
  • A bottle of rum for Act Yasukawa. Formerly an eye patch, later, ornamental swords.
  • Al Snow's Companion Cube, a decapitated mannequin head called Head. Actually caused some trouble when Head was included with an Al Snow toy sold to children, causing at least one upset mother to mistakenly think it represented the actual severed head of a woman and assume she'd bought her child a doll of a misogynistic serial killer.
  • The scale that Crash Holly carried around during his "superheavyweight" gimmick in WWE.
  • "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart's megaphone.
  • The burial urn carried by Paul Bearer, widely believed to contain The Undertaker's soul.
  • Jeff Jarrett's acoustic guitars. He first began using them during his country music star wannabe gimmick, but he continued smashing guitars over people's head even after ditching that part of his persona.
  • Sting's baseball bat has been his trademark weapon since his battles with the New World Order.
  • Triple H's sledgehammer.
  • For Ric Flair, it would either be his flashy robes, or, more likely, the legendary Big Gold Belt. Despite many wrestlers holding that world heavyweight championship belt over its near three decade existence, Flair is the wrestler most associated with the belt due to him being the first wrestler to hold it as well as having the most reigns with it. He even wore it to the ring during his "Last Match" in 2022. (His son-in-law Conrad Thompson owns it.)

    Tabletop Games 
  • Exalted: In-Universe, The Unconquered Sun is known for his four relics: a spear, a shield, a horn, and a branch of laurel. These items can be loaned to anyone he sees fit to wield, and each of them is by design a Game-Breaker.
  • Signature Gear in GURPS cannot be permanently stolen from the player and is only truly lost if willingly sold or physically destroyed (and in that case you get a new one).
  • Pathfinder gives Clerics weapon proficiency with their deity's iconic weapon. So the cleric of the badass God of Archery can be appropriately armed with a proper bow.
  • The "Trademark Weapon" edge in Savage Worlds turns one of the PC's weapons into this, giving them a small bonus to attack rolls when using said weapon.
  • In Warhammer fantasy battles many special characters have this, be it a flying longship (Wulfrik), an indestructible throne (Thorgrim) or a legendary hammer owned by the first emperor (Ghal Mharaz owned by Karl Franz).....There are many more examples but this will do for now.
  • Warhammer 40,000 Imperial Guard heroes could take a Trademark Item as an upgrade in the previous codex. It made his unit less likely to retreat, but they might panic and run if he died.
    • Many named characters have something along these lines, but Commissar Yarrick's Bale Eye, Abaddon The Depoiler's Daemon Sword Drach'nyen and Marneus Calgar's Fists of Macragge are a few examples of note. Not to mention the fact that almost all of the Legion Primarchs had a signature weapon that either summed up who they were, how they fought, how they thought or all of the above.
    • The chainsword is one of the most famous weapons to come out of the game, since it sums up nicely what the setting is all about.
    • Yarrick's eye is of special note- the orks he was fighting believed he had the evil eye, so he went to the Mechanicus to whip him up a laser eye.
    • Yarrick (again)'s most distinctive feature is his artificial arm. While this is nothing new in 40K, the fact that it's an ork-made arm and power claw (which he ripped off the ork that cut off his arm) is highly unusual.
  • Several of the Noble Knights in Yu-Gi-Oh! have a Noble Arms clearly associated with them: Artorigus has Caliburn. Laundsallyn has Arfeudutyr. Gawayn has Gallatin. Gwalchavad has Destiny, but surprisingly not Excaliburn, however, as it appears to be used by both Artorigus and Laundsallyn in their respective upgraded forms.

    Theatre 
  • Les Misérables:
    • The silver candlesticks given to Jean Valjean by the Bishop of Digne. Not seen that often, but when the lights fade to black at the end of the last note of the show, the candles are still burning bright.note 
    • Also, Enjolras's red and gold vest.
  • Wicked:
    • Elphaba's witch hat is this both in and out of universe.
    • Glinda is often pictured in fanart and promotional material in her pink dress and Flowers of Femininity from "Popular".
  • Though he only uses it for one scene, Hamlet will only ever be associated with Yorick's skull.
  • The blue sweatband worn by Joey Richter's characters in A Very Potter Musical, Me and My Dick, and Starship.

    Roleplay 

    Video Games 
  • The hidden blades and beaked hoods from Assassin's Creed. The beaked hoods not so much anymore, since Edward Kenway doesn't use one. The Hidden Blades still apply, though.
  • Minsc's Miniature Giant Space Hamster Boo in the Baldur's Gate series.
  • Banjo-Kazooie has Jiggies, golden puzzle pieces that serve as the main collectibles of the series. The games practically center around them, and there's an entire order dedicated to these golden relics as shown in Tooie and Grunty's Revenge. Even when Nuts & Bolts shifted focus to vehicle customization, the Jiggies remained as the big item to collect. It's such an iconic item that, when the titular duo were announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the telltale sign of their inclusion was a random Jiggy thrown through Donkey Kong's window.
  • Scarecrow's hypodermic syringe enhanced gloves in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Bad-ass. Some expo-speak in Batman: Arkham Knight, where he has taken a major level in badass, only increases their awesome and nightmarish quality in relation to his character. He notes that the aerosol version of his toxin is nowhere near as pure and, most importantly, terrifying as being directly injected by syringes into the bloodstream.
  • In BlazBlue, the various Nox Nyctores, weapons, and accessories, notably:
    • Noel Vermillion's dual pistols Bolverk, plus her Sexy Backless Outfit.
    • Ragna's jacket, sword, and his copy of the Azure Grimoire.
    • Litchi Faye Ling's staff and panda hairclip, Lao Jiu.
    • Arakune's mask.
    • Bang Shishigami's Nox Nyctores, Phoenix: Rettenjo (in the form of a giant nail), and scarf.
    • Hakumen's armor.
    • The blades of Nu-13 and Lambda-11.
    • Tsubaki Yayoi's Armagus, the Sealed Weapon Izayoi, and especially her nice hat with the eye (which is part of the aforementioned Izayoi).
    • Hazama/Terumi's suit and hat.
  • The Vampire Killer whip (unique in that it doesn't really represent one person, but an entire family of people) from Castlevania.
  • In Cyberpunk 2077 you can find various "Iconic" weapons and armor throughout the world, with some being notable for their association with a specific character. For protagonists V and Johnny Silverhand, the former has the Samurai Jacket that they're always portrayed wearing in promo material while the latter has the Malorian Arms 3516, his personal sidearm that he used back when he was alive.
  • Dead Rising:
    • The series' main hero Frank West can use a lot of different weapons, but is always seen (in promo material and official art) with Baseball bats. In Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Frank uses one in a hyper, and again in Case West, where he has an infinite supply of baseball bats unless the player gives him another weapon. Frank's Camera is also a pretty iconic item in the series.
    • Chuck Greene from 2 has the paddlesaw, most prominently seen wielding it on the game's cover.
    • Nick Ramos from 3 has the Sledge Saw, similarly featuring it on the game's cover as well as it being the very first Combo Weapon he crafts in-game.
  • The Plasma Cutter from Dead Space appearing in a lot of promotional material for the first two games and having become famous for being good enough to carry the player through the entire game on its own.
  • Devil May Cry: Aside from his ever-present (but differently-styled) red longcoats, Dante will always tout his Rebellion and Ebony & Ivory. His Alastor sword was this for a time (along with his attire from the first game, it followed him into several crossovers), but was eventually displaced by the Rebellion (a gift from his father, The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda). His Shotgun may be working its way up to this status, as it's the only weapon besides E&I to be present in all four games.
  • Dishonored: Corvo's mask, being present on the covers of both first game and its sequel.
  • Donkey Kong's necktie and Diddy's Nintendo hat.
  • Doom:
    • The Doomguy/Doom Slayer's most iconic weapon in the first game is the BFG-9000, due to being by far the most powerful thing in his arsenal, with the ability to annihilate an entire room's worth of demon in a single shot. Its ludicrous power has made it one of the most iconic FPS weapons ever.
    • Starting with Doom II: Hell on Earth, the BFG now shares this status with the Super Shotgun, as it packs a massive punch while having plentiful ammo, making it the most reliable weapon for situations where using up 40 plasma cells isn't warranted. The Super Shotgun has since become so iconic that many fans who start with the later games are surprised or confused when they realize that it's not in the first game.
  • Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition has Varric Tethras and his completely unique repeating crossbow who he christened Bianca and treats like a girlfriend.
  • Erdrick’s equipment in Dragon Quest, with the Sword of Erdrick and Shield of Heroes in particular getting the most attention.
  • Duke Nukem's golden Desert Eagle. Funny enough, a lot of people might not even realize he has an iconic item. It was absent in his best known game Duke Nukem 3D, and none of the games that came after it sold near as well. Strangely, it was changed to an M1911 in Duke Nukem Forever. His sunglasses, too.
  • Ness' baseball cap in EarthBound (1994). In the Japanese version, when Ness explores Magicant (the realm of his mind), his sprite shows him wearing his baseball cap and nothing else. All 3 protagonists in the MOTHER franchise wear a striped shirt.
  • The Elder Scrolls:
    • Throughout the series, in-universe, the various Daedric artifacts are these for their associated Daedric Princes.
    • In Morrowind, Lord Indoril Nerevar's Moon-And-Star ring is one of these in-universe. It was said to be blessed by Azura so that it would kill anyone who tried to wear it except for Nerevar. It's a plot point in the main quest in order to prove that the Nerevarine is really Nerevar's prophesied Reincarnation. (Though there are hints that this isn't really true, and that you're just a convenient pawn for Azura, who has her own reasons for wanting the main quest to be completed beyond simply Saving the World from the deranged Physical God Big Bad...) To a lesser extent, Nerevar's Flaming Sword "True Flame" as well.
    • Skyrim:
      • The horned Iron Helmet has become this for the Dragonborn, despite it being the lowest tier heavy armor headgear, it is featured heavily in promotional materials and simply looks so badass. When it shows up in other media, it's a visual shorthand for the whole game.
      • The Whiterun Guard's Armor (scale and chainmail combo with a yellow scarf/sash) seems to be the Iconic Outfit for guards as a whole now.
  • From Fallout we have the iconic Vault Suit; each protagonist has had one with a unique number and is apparently the only canonical item of clothing he wears throughout his adventure if the endings are to be believed. However most players of the first game ended up with the T-51b Power Armor from the cover which has so far also made it into each of the Fallout games.
    • A rule of thumb for the Fallout games is that the armor worn on the cover tends to become iconic.
    • Another one from New Vegas: the NCR Veteran Ranger Armor is associated strongly in the fandom with the NCR. In fact the game reinforces this with the concept of faction armor. It's popularity was so huge that the second DLC Honest Hearts introduced a version without faction association, so that those who do not support the NCR could wear it. The fourth DLC Lonesome Road went one step further and introduced no less then 3 additional versions.
    • From Fallout 3, we have the T-45d Power Armor worn by the Brotherhood of Steel.
    • Benny's chequered suit and his stylized Browning HP Maria is also a highly prominent example considering he uses this combination to set the entire New Vegas plot line in motion.
    • The Pip-Boy worn on every protagonist's wrist could also count.
  • Final Fantasy:
    • Cloud Strife's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII
    • And Sephiroth's ten-foot-long Masamune no-dachi from the same game.
    • Aerith's pink ribbon. She changes outfits throughout the franchise but her ribbon is a constant. It's a memento of her first boyfriend Zack. In Advent Children, all of the surviving members of Avalanche wear pink ribbons in honor of her memory.
    • Most, if not all, protagonists have a distinctive weapon, including Squall Leonhart's Gunblade, and Frionel/Firion's Blood Sword.
    • In Final Fantasy VI, Locke's headband. Finding it tied around a pigeon's wing gives Celes hope that he's still alive.
    • Tidus' J-shaped pendant in Final Fantasy X. Particularly significant since it's actually the personal insignia of his father, Jecht, whom Tidus has a beef with. In X-2, Yuna takes this emblem for her very own, to represent her memories of Tidus.
    • The Gae Bolg is the weapon most associated with Final Fantasy XIV and is frequently used in Crossover events to represent the game.
  • Golden Sun: Isaac's (and later Matthew's) Scarf of Asskicking. Menardi and Karst's scythes.
  • Half-Life:
  • Storm's BFS in Heroes Must Die.
  • Honkai: Star Rail: The protagonist (typically the female heroine Stelle) is most commonly associated with trash cans, given their extremely bizarre and comical fascination with them in the game's first major story arc.
  • Jak and Daxter: Jak's Morph Gun, and the duo's (seldom used) goggles.
  • Jazz Jackrabbit wears a red headband and totes a uniquely-shaped firearm. The artist’s proposed logo for the (canned) third game would included these elements, and there’s just something about the way they’re laid out...
  • The King of Fighters:
  • Kingdom Hearts:
    • Kairi's silver bead-shaped necklace, which she's only seen without when in her school uniform in II. It's to the extent that in III, Aqua is able to recognize Kairi after over ten years by her necklace.
    • Sora's Keyblade and crown necklace.
    • Riku's Soul Eater sword has stuck with him so much, that come Kingdom Hearts II, it basically evolved into a new Keyblade called Way to the Dawn.
    • Organization XIII's black cloaks.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
  • Mass Effect has Commander Shepard's N7 armor and Garrus Vakarian's visor.
  • Mega Man:
    • Proto Man's yellow scarf and Zero's Z-Saber from the Mega Man (Classic) and Mega Man X games. The latter item was changed to an even more iconic, triangular shaped appearance in Mega Man Zero.
    • Zero's helmet is used for a particularly symbolic, yet sad, example in Zero 4. It's lying on the ground broken, and Zero is dead, and he doesn't have to fight anymore; because, whether or not Zero survived (still heavily disputed by the fanbase), the war is over.
    • Mega Man & Bass has the helmet of the character you are playing as lying on the ground if you got a game over.
    • Proto Man's shield is iconic enough that Mega Man was shocked when Proto Man gave him his shield in 7. It's an equippable item in that same game. In fact, his kart and transportation items are all modeled after his shield.
    • Similar to the Eggmobile example above would be the Wily Capsule, often described as "the form that will haunt Mega Man for ages."
  • Metal Gear Solid:
    • Snake's (Solid and Naked, not Liquid or Solidus) Cardboard Box.
    • And, on the more normal side, there's his bandanna.
    • And his cigs. For a game that loves to make you procure on-site equipment, they go through insane trouble explaining how cigarettes are somehow smuggled along with him... including one example of Snake ingesting his cigarettes and then vomiting them up upon arrival.
    • Even more prominently, Revolver Ocelot and his revolvers.
    • An eyepatch on the right eye is the signature of Big Boss- other characters have worn eyepatches as a form of comparison between them and Big Boss, though never the same eyepatch design on the same eye.
  • Metroid:
    • Samus Aran's Charge Beam and Varia Suit, commonly found in every game, and the focus of most of the box art.
    • Her Arm Cannon — though in this case, it's literally her arm. Or, rather her Power Suit's arm.
    • And the friggin' Morph Ball.
    • And the Screw Attack — which, with a few key modifications, became the series logo.
    • The Ice Beam as well, both because of the unique platforming it produces from frozen enemies, and because of its significance as the primary weakness of the Metroids.
    • Her Missiles as well, with their distinctive rocket shape and red tip. So iconic, even more so than the unique round green-tipped Super Missiles, that in Metroid Fusion they made it so that it's the Super missiles that have the rocket shape with red tip and the normal missiles are just grey cylinders.
  • Mortal Kombat: Scorpion's spear, Liu Kang's headband, Shao Kahn's hammer, Johnny Cage's five-hundred dollars sunglasses...
  • Amaterasu from Ōkami has the Divine Retribution Relfector, her past self Shiranui has the Solar Flare, and Issun has his beetle helmet.
  • One Shot: Niko is almost never seen without the lightbulb. It's a very important item that defines its carrier as the messiah because it's supposed to be the world's new sun.
  • Onmyoji has a huge cast with a lot of them having their items, most notably the four protagonists: Seimei's folding fan, Kagura's umbrella, Yaobikuni's staff and Hiromasa's bow and arrows.
  • In Panel de Pon, Lip uses a flower wand as a weapon. Super Smash Bros. features the wand as a usable item that causes those hit by it to slowly sustain damage for a few seconds.
  • All of the clown masks from PAYDAY: The Heist count, but Dallas' mask gets special mention for also being the icon of the series. It's telling how indicative the masks are of the characters that wear them that, when one of the crew is rescued after a 2-year stint in prison in PAYDAY 2, instead of reclaiming his old mask (now being used by his replacement) he instead opts to use a replacement-that happens to be said old mask, with a new facial expression and burn scars that mirror the ones that he now has.
  • In Persona 2, we have Tatsuya's lighter, Jun's flowers (and watch), and Maya's Mister Rabbit.
  • The Protagonist's "Audio Atlus" headphones, Yukari's heart-shaped choker, and Junpei's baseball cap in Persona 3. A more generic example may be SEES' Evokers or armbands.
  • Persona 4 has the glasses that the Investigation Team uses to see through the fog, the Tarot cards they use to summon their Personas, and the old TVs that are used to enter or exit the TV world.
  • Persona 5's main items are the outfits that the Phantom Thieves obtain upon getting their Personas. Joker's other signature items are his knife, gun, and as of Royal, a wrist-mounted grappling hook.
  • Pokémon:
    • Every protagonist has a nice hat which they can quickly be identified with. Even in Pokémon X and Y, which offers player character customization, you are still forced to wear a hat, although you do get to choose what hat.
    • Some Pokémon species have some: Cubone/Marowak has a bone club and a skull helmet, both from their dead mother. Farfetch'd gets a stick of celery it uses, pathetically, as a sword. Oshawott and Dewott have Scalchops, Scallops it uses as swords. Even when as Samurott it becomes a Dual BFS Wielding Pokémon, the battle animation for Razor Shell is still a Scalchop.
    • All three variations of Meowth sport a koban on their head, and in Galarian Meowth's case, it's carried over to its evolution Perserker. Meowth is also shown tossing kobans when using it's signature move Pay Day. In the anime, Meowth seemingly loses it in one episode, which stresses him out. (Turns out it somehow got shoved into his head.)
    • The Poké Ball, synonymous with the entire franchise itself.
  • You don't get more iconic than Professor Layton's top hat. It pops up quite often in the puzzles and is the game logo. Story wise, no matter what you do, you will never convince the Professor to take it off.
  • A few characters in Puyo Puyo have a certain item associated with them:
    • Ringo always carries around an apple, a joke on the fact that "ringo" means "apple" in Japanese. Apparently the apple is a keepsake from her grandma.
    • Maguro carries a kendama, a sort of hammer-shaped toy with a ball attached to it by a string. The ball in this case is made to look like a Puyo.
    • Amitie is almost never seen without her signature red Puyo cap.
  • Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th of Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army and Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon is noted, both in universe and out, as having a reputation attached to the school uniform he wears. He is even wearing it in the second game when he is 20 and no longer in school. His hat is also part of it, to the point that he keeps it while fighting Yakuzas in a bathhouse.
  • Ratchet & Clank: Ratchet's Omniwrench, specifically the Omniwrench Millenium 12 introduced in Quest for Booty.
  • From Resident Evil:
  • In Rune Factory 4, Leon is never seen without his feathered fan, and Arthur is never seen without his star-shaped book. Strangely, he's not particularly a bibliophile (though he's got plenty of other nerdy qualities), but the resident Cute Bookworm isn't seen carrying around any of the many books he says he likes to read.
  • Serious Sam and his red Converse-like sneakers. Serious Sam 3: BFE, in which he doesn't have them by default, even includes a secret that exists solely to put him back in them.
  • Sly Cooper's ancestral hook cane.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog:
    • Sonic's red sneakers. Certain sources say that these are actually specifically designed for him, to avoid burning his feet while running.
    • Though his redesign is overall polarizing, Sonic's scarf in Sonic Boom has become this.
    • Sonic's nemesis Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik also has his Eggmobile, a rotund hovercraft that is used as his personal transport and as the cockpit of his manned machines. His Scary Shiny Glasses would count as well.
    • Amy Rose is rarely seen without her hammer, except in Sonic the Comic (where she uses a crossbow).
    • Sonic and Tails' biplane, the Tornado. Starting with Sonic Unleashed, Tails always has his Miles Electric on hand.
    • Although the Chaos Emeralds have been in the franchise longer than him, Shadow the Hedgehog has made the green Chaos Emerald his own. It is always the first or only Chaos Emerald he collects and uses for his Chaos Control powers across his appearances.
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell has Sam Fisher's trifocal night vision goggles. Fittingly, Double Agent foreshadows Sam going Off the Rails by having him dramatically throw his goggles into the ocean, effectively telling the audience "Sam Fisher is no longer the man you once knew".
  • Krystal's staff, despite the Star Fox series only letting her use her staff one time. Because there's so much call for it in interplanetary dogfights.
  • Story of Seasons:
  • Street Fighter:
    • Ryu's red headband (given to him by Ken, who previously used it as a hair tie back in Alpha.)
    • Akuma's prayer beads (used for a Shout-Out in the form of Magma Dragoon), Chun-Li's spiked bracelets, and Vega's mask and claw.
    • In the manga Ryu Final: Street Fighter III, Ryu has tied his headband to a post in the ruins of Suzaku Temple, where he trained with his master and eventually faced Akuma in one Final Battle. Aspiring warriors travel to this location to find the headband, where Ryu awaits. It is a symbol of how he has finally achieved peace as a warrior, and now dedicates himself to raising the younger generation.
    • Sakura's white headband mimics her hero Ryu's headband from his early days as a street fighter, before Ken replaced it with the red one.
    • There are several others. Rose's scarf, Guile and Charlie's dogtags (Guile later taking the presumably KIA Charlie's dogtags for his own), Dhalsim's necklace made out of the skulls of the children in his village who died from famine, Fei Long's nunchaku, Dee Jay's maracas, etc. Of special note is Guy's sneakers, popular enough to spawn a meme ("Real ninjas wear Nikes!").
  • Super Mario Bros.:
    • Mario's hat. In Super Mario 64, if his hat is lost or stolen, he'll take double damage until he gets it back. In Super Mario Sunshine, if it's lost or stolen, he'll actually take damage every few moments because he's not wearing it. Justified because the strategy guide says he's getting sunburn without his hat protecting him. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Luma takes Mario's hat in the ending. He's not too happy about it. In Super Mario Odyssey the hat becomes sentient and it appears on anything Mario transforms into.
    • Luigi has never had an appearance in a game without his hat. In Super Mario Galaxy and the sequel, he keeps it on all the time, while Mario sometimes takes his off for a few seconds. Luigi also has the Poltergust line of ghost-busting vacuums thanks to the Luigi's Mansion series.
    • Lakitu's fishing pole. "Fishin' Lakitu" appeared in one level of Super Mario World, baiting players with a 1-Up on the end of a fishing pole. This single appearance made enough of an impression for the fishing pole to become his primary method of communication in the Mario Kart series, and how he holds the interactive camera in Super Mario 64.
  • Tales of Symphonia: Genis's kendama, Presea's massive axe, Sheena's cards, Regal's greaves (and his manacles, for that matter), and to a lesser extent Colette's chakrams. The NPCs occasionally get into it too, like Forcystus's Arm Cannon.
  • Team Fortress 2's nine classes all have at least one iconic weapon.
    • The Scout's aluminum baseball bat.
    • The Soldier's rocket launcher.
    • The Pyro's flamethrower and flare gun.
    • The Demoman's grenade launcher and Eyelander.
    • The Heavy's Sascha and Sandvich.
    • The Engineer's sentries.
    • The Medic's medi-gun.
    • The Sniper's rifle and Jarate.
    • The Spy's butterfly knife, invis-watch, and disguise kit.
  • Tekken has Jin Kazama's flame pants and red gloves with silver studs in a triangular formation.
  • Ultima has the Avatar's Ankh necklace. Lord British has his serpent necklace, both in and out of the game world.
  • Undertale:
    • Frisk's stripped shirt, as well as their stick and bandage. Also, to lesser extent, Heart Locket.
    • Papyrus's scarf. Fanarts often show his brother Sans wearing it after/if he dies (even though it doesn't happen in game).
    • Sans himself has his blue hoodie and pink slippers (ironically, they are actually white in game), as well as whoopie cushion and a bottle of ketchup.
    • Asriel and Chara are always shown wearing matching, heart-shaped lockets. Chara is also associated with Real Knife.
    • As fight against Omega Flowey reveals, all improvised weapons and armors player uses throughout the game were items that once belonged to other seven Fallen Children:
      • Worn Dagger and Heart Locket, as well as their upgraded versions - Real Knife and Locket - belonged to Chara.
      • Toy Knife and Faded Ribbon - Patience
      • Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna - Courage
      • Old Tutu and Ballet Shoes - Integrity
      • Torn Notebook and Cloudy Glasses - Perseverance
      • Burnt Pan and Stained Apron - Kindness
      • Empty Gun and Cowboy Hat - Justice
  • Nick Mason's Riot shield in Urban Chaos: Riot Response. It's so iconic, people remember that part of his arsenal more than the pistol, which was featured in an in-game news cast. To the point where the Burners copy him and get their own. And taunt you about the fact they have their own.
  • Clementine's cap in The Walking Dead, which was the last thing she got from her parents before the apocalypse began and she's worn it ever since. It also serves as a Berserk Button as she will not take it lightly if someone makes fun of it, and she's rarely seen without it. Whenever it does come off, she's quick to put it back on as soon as she can. She loses it for a while in Season 4 after the boat battle and AJ saving her by amputating her leg; he will find her hat in a stream and retrieve it for Clem.
  • Ubisoft deliberately tried to invoke this trope with "Aiden Pearce's iconic cap" in Watch_Dogs. It didn't work; not only were they frequently mocked for trying to make the hat iconic before the game even came out, but when it finally was released, Watch_Dogs was met with a lukewarm reception and Aiden was widely regarded as an unremarkable Vanilla Protagonist. It didn't help that the item in question was just an ordinary-looking baseball cap with the game's innocuous logo stitched on. The sequel plays this straight in the form of Wrench's mask and Marcus' Thunder Ball.
  • The World Ends with You:
    • Neku's headphones.
    • Shiki's stuffed animal/living weapon Mr. Mew.
    • Most of the other characters have something like this too, but Neku and Shiki's iconic items are, well, the most iconic.
    • Most of these iconic items are available as rare items which usually give really good stat boosts. Things like Beat's hat, Rhyme's pendant, and a feather belonging to Joshua. In the sequel, Neku's original outfit can be purchased at the Jupiter of the Monkey shop (or given to the player as a preorder/launch window purchase bonus).
    • The sequel also has Rindo's face mask and Shoka's Mr. Mew hoodie.
  • From Xenoblade Chronicles 1, we have the Monado. Unlike most iconic items, the weapon goes through several changes in appearance and powers throughout the game, but promotional materials and references in other media (like Shulk's appearance in Super Smash Bros.) only use the Monado's first form, leading it to become iconic of the game as a whole. This may be Harsher in Hindsight to players who have finished the game because both the Monado I and II are an Unholy Holy Sword associated with the Big Bad.
  • Elly's pendant in Xenogears.
  • From Xenosaga, KOS-MOS can use many weapons, but her dual triple barrel gatling guns are by far her most iconic.
  • While Yume Nikki's Madotsuki can equip various other objects, the one she's most often associated with is her knife.

    Visual Novels 
  • The Key/Visual Arts novel AIR has Kano Kirishima with her yellow ribbon, which she keeps tied on her right wrist at all times, on the belief that it will someday grant her magical powers. And Minagi Tohno with rice tickets, which she carries with her by the dozen, and likes handing them to Yukito.
    • Both girls appear as playable characters in Eternal Fighter Zero: Kano actually has two iconic items: her yellow ribbon, and her signature weapon, a Magic Staff to go along her ability to cast elemental magic; And Minagi is capable of using her rice tickets as weapons.
    • Speaking of Eternal Fighter Zero, there's also the weapons used by other characters. Examples include: Mizuka's bookbag and cello, Rumi Nanase's wooden sword, Ayu's winged backpack, Sayuri's Magical Girl wand, among others.
  • All Servants in Fate/stay night have at least one Noble Phantasm, a weapon or item exclusive to themselves as a heroic spirit. Examples include Lancer's Gae Bolg and Caster's Rule Breaker.
    • In the 2006 anime adaptation, Archer's identity isn't revealed (as the anime wasn't an adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route), but the post-credits scene of Episode 14 shows that all the way to his death, he had the necklace that Rin gave to Shirou, which gives a huge hint as to who Archer really is.
  • Higurashi: When They Cry:
    • Rena's nice hat, which is used at least once to signify that she's dead. Her cleaver also counts.
    • Mion has her taser that she's never shown using. It was removed in the remakes but appears in adaptations.
    • Both Keiichi and Satoshi are heavily associated with baseball bats. Satoshi was into baseball but is associated with bats because he beat his abusive aunt to death with it. Keiichi is associated with bats (specifically Satoshi's hand-me-down bat) for similar reasons.
  • Zero Escape:
    • Luna (and Diana, the human she was created to mimic) wears an appropriately symbolic cage necklace. In a promo image for the third game, Diana's face is actually hidden for dramatic effect- so the necklace is the only indication of her identity.
    • Akane's doll, which played a pivotal role in her backstory and symbolizes her (otherwise hidden) humanity. Even in the second game- when the doll doesn't even appear- it's still highly relevant to the plot, being part of a computer password that the protagonists must find.
    • Clover's axe - even though it isn't technically her axe, and only appears in one of many possible endings. That ending terrified the fans so much that axes and Clover became synonymous to them.
  • Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony:
    • Kaede's hairclips and backpack.
    • Rantaro's shirt.
    • Miu's goggles.
    • Kokichi's scarf.
    • Ki-bo's ahoge. It serves as an antenna that allows viewers to determine his actions via survey, but it temporarily breaks off during Chapter 5's execution.
    • Gonta's insect cage.
    • Shuichi's hat, which he removes from Chapter 2 on.
    • Tsumugi's glasses.
    • Korekiyo's mask.
    • Tenko's shuriken-like bow.
    • Kirumi's gloves.
    • Maki's hair scrunchies.
    • Ryoma's hat.
    • Kaito's coat.
    • Himiko's hat.
    • Angie's jacket.

    Web Animation 
  • A Day With Bowser Jr: This series subverts the trope in that Bowser Jr doesn't wear his famous bib anymore - he rather hangs it on his door now.
  • RWBY: Aside from the fact that nearly everyone here uses a unique and self-built Mix-and-Match Weapon of various degrees of crazy, there's Ruby's red hooded cloak, Blake's cat-ears-shaped bow (designed to hide her real cat ears; she ditches it in Volume 4) and Pyrrha's circlet which, eventually, is the only thing left of her.
  • SMG4: SMG4 is rarely seen without his hat, much like the character he was based on.
  • NostalgiaSquare: As of Season 4, NostalgiaSquare is almost never seen without his green hat, similar to Mario and SMG4 above.
  • hololive ERROR, aside from carrying over some Iconic Items from hololive proper, has one of its own: the 19XX Transfer Student's bell bracelet. It is such a unique item amongst the characters, that it showing up on the wrist of another case of The Voiceless prior to the events of the Past Aogami High arc raises several questions about the character's nature...

    Web Comics 
  • In the Lucky Bunny Bounty Show, in El Goonish Shive, a bunny ear headband appears to be this for Unusagi.
  • Girl Genius: Agatha's trilobite necklace. The trilobite is the emblem of the Heterodyne family, but Agatha's is also a Restraining Bolt.
  • Homestuck: Weapons of choice aside, John is strongly associated with the Con Air bunny he received as a birthday present three times over all on the same day. Jade was also associated with her pair of Squiddles dolls until having a nightmare about the things following the death of her dreamself.
    • Due to the simplistic art style of the comic, many characters are distinguished by clothing choices or strange weapons, which are always included in cosplay or fanart. These include Terezi's canes and dragon plushies, Vriska's white cue ball, Dave and Dirk's glasses (the latter being textbook Kamina Shades), or Nepeta's nice hat.
  • The Order of the Stick: The main protagonist, Roy Greenhilt, is named after the green-hilted sword passed down through his family from his grandfather. It's the reason he became a fighter to begin with, and it's the symbol that allows his father's ghost to manifest on the material plane and talk to him.
  • Schlock Mercenary: The title character's plasma cannon.
  • Torg in Sluggy Freelance had a flannel shirt, which has since phased out somewhat. Riff always has his sunglasses, and though he's depicted often without his trench, he will always be associated with some form of long coat, either duster or labcoat. Bun-bun will always have his switchblade and associated ka-click!
  • Something*Positive: Aubrey's choker, so much so that it became a plot point when her soon-to-be-husband Jason destroyed it accidentally.
  • Tina of Wapsi Square is never seen without her choker, to the point where other characters speculate that it is there to keep her head attached.
  • From xkcd, there's the black hat guy's black hat.

    Web Videos 

    Western Animation 
  • Adventure Time: Finn's self-proclaimed "awesome hat" is the most characteristic part of his look. Also the Ice King's crown, which is the source of his powers.
  • Amphibia: Sprig's hat and goggles are this for him, since he was given them on his birthday by his parents before they died.
  • Most of the leading characters in Around the World with Willy Fog have some form of iconic item:
    • Willy Fog himself has a top hat and a walking cane, the latter often being used in self-defense
    • Rigodon has a valise, as well as a bowler hat which he believes brings him good luck and refuses to replace when he briefly loses it
    • Tico is given an Ancient Egyptian "sun clock" early in the series and finds an excuse to consult it in nearly every subsequent episode
    • Princess Romy has a jeweled head-dress, revealed in one episode to contain medicinal chicken bones
    • Inspector Dix has a flat cap and a pipe, though he is never actually seen smoking
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender:
    • The page quote comes from the episode "Avatar Day", where Sokka's boomerang gets stolen. He gets it back at the end of the episode.
    • Some other examples are Aang's arrow tattoos or his staff that turns into a glider, as well as Iroh and his tea. Katara's "hair loopies" ride the line on this trope, as while she spends much of the show, comics, and sequel series with that hairstyle, the character spends the entirety of Book 3 (and nearly every important fight) with her hair down.
    • In season 3, when Aang has to hide the fact that he’s still alive, he burns his glider-staff in lava so that people won’t recognize him by it. He also lets his hair grow and wears a headband to conceal his arrows tattoo. Meanwhile, Katara stops wearing her hair loops and her mother’s necklace.
  • In the Belphegor series - Belphegor's Ring of Power and gold mask without a mouth, combined with his black outfit with hood and cape.
  • Ben 10 has the Omnitrix, which basically acts as the symbol for the entire franchise, usually worn by the protagonist, Ben Tennyson.
  • Louise's bunny ears on Bob's Burgers. The third-season premiere, "Ears-y Rider", was devoted to her efforts to get them back after a bully took them.
  • Disney:
    • Mickey Mouse's red buttoned shorts, yellow shoes and white gloves.
    • Donald Duck's blue (black in the comics) sailor shirt and hat.
  • Dan's "Jerk" shirt from Dan Vs..
  • Ed, Edd n Eddy:
    • In the episode "Boom Boom, Out Goes the Ed", Ed assumes the worst when all he can find of Edd is his trademark stocking cap, which he wears about 99% of the time he's on screen throughout the entire series. ("Double-Dee is double-done for!")
    • Also in the episode "The Luck of the Ed", Eddy is trying to reclaim his (brother') magazines, due to Ed misplacing them. Annoyed at his friends, and suspecting them, he steals Double D's hat and Ed's eyebrow, both of which they prized dearly.
      Ed: But Eddy! I can't make funny faces without that!
      Edd: (pulling Ed's pants close to his head) Wait, please Ed! I'm not decent!
  • Freakazoid!: Invisibo's scepter, since it's the only visible part of him.
  • Gravity Falls: Dipper's (and later the Author's) Journal 3, with its six-fingered hand decal on the front.
  • Hey Arnold!: Arnold's tiny blue baseball cap and Helga's pink hairbow.
  • Kaeloo: Mr. Cat's bazooka and Stumpy's video game console.
  • Ralphie's baseball hat from The Magic School Bus. He always wears it, even when sick in bed. The reboot modernized everyone's clothes to fit 2010s styles but kept his hat (which is a relic of the 90s when many male characters wore caps).
  • Looney Tunes: Daffy Duck is always seen wearing a white collar.
  • Mixels has Cubits. They're the base to Mixing for the Mixels, and each episode contains at least one. Each tribe has their own color scheme of two different colors or shades of a color, which signifies which tribes can use the Cubit. However, the most iconic one are the Rainbow Cubits, a six-colored Cubit that any amount of Mixels from any tribe can use.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Each member of the Mane 6 had their Element of Harmony from the first three seasons, representing what each pony stood for. Twilight Sparkle's consisted of a Cool Crown while the rest each had a necklace.
    • Several members of the Mane 6 have an item that is often associated with them. Applejack has her signature stetson which she's almost never seen without, Pinkie Pie has her Party Cannon, Rarity has her red work glasses and her "fainting couch", and Rainbow Dash has a pair of flight goggles that she wears in several episodes.
    • Recurring character Trixie has her distinctive wizard's hat and cape.
  • Recess: T.J. is mostly seen wearing a red cap.
  • Every character on Scooby-Doo can be identified by their one outfit, but the most iconic item is Fred's ascot.
  • The Simpsons:
    • Parodied in "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade", when Marge finds an insignificant portion of clothing belonging to a missing Bart but nonetheless is overwhelmed.
      Marge: [gasp] It's a small piece of plastic from the tip of Bart's shoe! (Homer looks at her) A mother only knows.
    • Played straight in "Homer the Vigilante", when a Gentleman Thief steals her red pearl necklace. And then we find out she has an entire drawer full of such necklaces.
    Marge: They're all priceless family heirlooms.
    • In "Bart Gets Famous", Homer finds Bart's rarely-seen-before-or-since "favorite" hat and thinks his son's been turned into a cardboard box...
    • Bart's green "old-school" skateboard is probably the straightest example.
    • And Lisa's saxophone. Arguably, her white pearl necklace too.
    • Maggie's pacifier, of course.
  • Parodied in a SpongeBob SquarePants episode when SpongeBob loses all his clothes in his efforts to escape Sandy's dangerous "pre-hibernation week" activities, and Sandy stumbles across them while looking for him.
    Sandy: SpongeBob's tie! And all his other little dressings! But he always folds up his clothes before runnin' around... in the nude! Something terrible must have happened to him!
    • Depending on certain locations, SpongeBob tends to have a set of items with him. At the Krusty Krab, expect him to wear his employee hat and a spatula in hand. In Jellyfish Fields, he sports a pair of protection glasses (in a few episodes), and wields a butterfly net made for catching jellyfish. He also has his bubble wand for blowing bubbles, with a bubble mixture bottle to go with it.
    • Squidward can be seen with a clarinet, though despite his knowledge and taste in cultural music, he is most likely to play very badly that people would just leave the place.
  • Steven Universe: Steven's ukulele whenever he comes up with a tune, and his uniquely designed pink shield.
  • In any version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there's Leonardo's katana, Raphael's sais, Donatello's bo staff, Michelangelo's numbchucks, and of course, Shredder's helmet and gauntlet(s).
  • Transformers
    • In most series, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership is strongly associated with Optimus Prime, who carries it inside him. When it's seen in other hands, it's generally a sign that Optimus is badly injured, if not dead.
    • While not really an item, Optimus Prime's original vehicle mode. If he isn't a flatnose Mac truck, the franchise is RUINED FOREVER.
    • Pretty much every Transformer has some kind of weapon, gadget, special power, or altmode that's strongly associated with them.
  • Total Drama: Several contestants have an item that signifies them. Most of these are relevant to the plot at one point or another and some of these have been subject to bowdlerisation.
    • Eva's MP3 player is precious to her and she flips if she loses it and by extension the music on it. This is used by Heather to create hostility between Eva and the Killer Bass so they'll vote her off in "The Big Sleep".
    • Duncan has two iconic items: his knife and his lighter.
    • Lindsay always has abundant makeup with her, but the one she truly can't do without is her collection of lip gloss. In "Ocean's Eight - Or Nine", she helps feed Owen with her fruit-flavored lip gloss. In "Broadway, Baby!", she insists she can't go home when she's not even used up a full tube of the season's worth she brought with her. In "Aftermath II: Revenge of the Telethon", the 400 tubes left when Lindsay got voted off are used as gifts for each donation of 100 dollars. And in "Heroes Vs. Villains", Lindsay reveals she only came back to the show to win money for more lip gloss, but that it actually isn't worth it.
    • The sole reason Courtney gets to compete in Action is that she wins a lawsuit against Total Drama. Part of the settlement is that she gets to bring her PDA with her, while normally devices to contact the outside world are not allowed. Among others, it allows the contestants to learn about what Leshawna said about them in "Million Dollar Babies". In World Tour, she no longer has her lawsuit's advantages and replaces her PDA with a notebook, which among other she uses to make a memo to get revenge on Gwen and Duncan in "The Ex-Files".
    • Harold has his nunchucks and nun-jo's.
    • Justin has his mirror.
    • Anne Maria has her hairspray and to a lesser extent her brush.
    • Dakota has her cellphone.
    • Sam has his handhelds.
    • Jo has her whistle.
    • Scott has Fang's tooth.
    • Sierra has her make-believe laptop and later her cellphone.
    • Topher has Chris's cellphone.
  • On Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, each one of the historical heroes has an artifact that belonged to them that is featured. Abraham Lincoln's top hat, Susan B. Anthony's shawl, Helen Keller's Braille book, Zora Neale Hurston's corn shuck doll, etc. By far the biggest relic was Rosa Parks' bus.

    Real Life 
  • Abraham Lincoln's hat. America's greatest citizen summed up in one piece of clothing.
  • Ulysses S. Grant's cigars. He was actually more of an alkie, but when a famous picture of him smoking one was circulated, he received so many free ones that he picked up the habit....Which ended up giving him fatal throat cancer.
  • Winston Churchill with cigars as well. Also his Homburg.
  • The Boondocks made a comment about how it is near-impossible to think of Martin Luther King Jr. in anything besides a gray suit... You just can't imagine him in a sweater and jeans sitting on the couch watching football or something. MLK destroys your image of him forever here
  • Any soldier's dogtags, to the point where if he's KIA, his fellows will try to at least get them back home. Which is why they're carried in the first place, of course. Although in another way they can and are seen as items that grind down soldiers' individuality and indeed humanity. This is why they got the derogatory nickname in the first place ("we are treated like dogs").
  • Tom Landry's hat. If that doesn't motivate you, then nothing will.
  • Similarly, and as noted above, Bear Bryant's houndstooth fedora. It became so associated with the former Alabama Crimson Tide coach that that particular style of hat is now called a "Bear Bryant hat".
  • While not an example from a specific individual, according to international law, resistance movements are required to have an identifier to ensure they are treated as lawful combatants in a conflict, and are thus afforded protections in legal proceedings. This led to the widespread use of armbands during the Second World War, as they provided excellent visibility to observers.
  • Jamie Hyneman's black beret, immaculate white shirt, and walrus mustache. The shirt even played a role in proving the plausibility of a myth about using sunlight and mirrors to light up an underground tomb.
  • The President of the United States' "Resolute Desk", which with a few exceptions is always present in the Oval Office, no matter who is president.
  • Ronald Reagan's jelly beans.
  • The Mafia has two, depending on it being the original Sicilian Mafia or its American offshot:
    • In Italy it's the lupara, a sawed-off break-open shotgun (usually double-barreled) originally used for wolf hunting (hence the name, meaning "for the wolf"), and sometimes loaded with pellets linked with iron wire for added damage. The association between Mafia and lupara (actually the typical home defense weapon in Sicily and Southern Italy up until mid-20th century) is strong enough that a Mafia murder where the victim's body isn't found is referred as lupara bianca ("white lupara") in journalist slang.
    • In America the "classic" weapon is the Thompson submachine gun (particularly with the "drum" magazine), to the point it's hard to imagine a Mafia soldier without one.
  • General George S. Patton is associated with his ivorynote  -handled revolvers.
  • General Douglas MacArthur is similarly known for his aviator shades, visored cap, and corn cob pipe. In fact, in a form of Memetic Mutation, he is actually the originator of the stereotype of military pilots wearing aviator shades; many of the officers that would go on to lead the Air Force worked for MacArthur earlier in their careers, in fact, also consider that he served as an officer in the Army from the turn of the century until the Korean War, and you begin to see just how many junior officers may have been inspired to imitate his style.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt: his cigarette holder, glasses and wheelchair.
  • Julius Caesar wrote in his Commentaries that his soldiers would immediately recognize him by the red cloak he habitually wore. Many more modern renditions have him wear a laurel wreath at all times as well, as both Caesar and laurel wreaths are strongly associated with Rome.
  • Joan of Arc's home-made banner.
  • Frederick the Great's walking-stick, tricorne and whippets.
  • Napoléon Bonaparte's distinctive bicorne (of a model quite different from those worn by others) and redingote grise (grey overcoat).
  • Horatio Nelson's eyepatch and empty sleeve. Possibly a subversion as, contrary to popular history, Nelson didn't wear an eyepatch. He was blinded in one eye, but the damage was all internal; the affected eye looked normal enough to be on display. More accurately, the green visor on his cocked hat and the Medal of the Nile on his coat, made him quite recognizable... unfortunately, even to French marksmen.
  • Field Marshal Blücher's peaked cap and pipe.
  • Richard Wagner's distinctive beret.
  • Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves always wears a bow tie (though not the same one). And why not? Bow Ties are cool.
  • Adolf Hitler's toothbrush mustache. Also, the suit with swastika armband.
  • The Staff of Authority in general.
  • Josef Stalin's pipe.
  • Leonid Brezhnev's set of four Golden Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
  • Elio Di Rupo (Belgian Prime Minister, 2011-2014) is so closely associated with his bowtie that the coalition agreement that formed his government became known as "the Butterfly Agreement" (as the words for "bow tie" and "butterfly" are the same in both French and Dutch).
  • Domian's legendary white moose is an icon of German television despite having no obvious relation to the show at all. Legend goes that it really has no meaning and is a fan's present.
  • Ron Howard's baseball cap. It even made it into How the Grinch Stole Christmas! where Jim Carrey's Grinch wore an oversize one to "direct" Max on how to be a proper reindeer.
  • Osamu Tezuka's round glasses and beret. In Japan, Tezuka's beret has become iconic with Japanese audiences and is frequently referenced when it comes to characters wanting to become a Mangaka (such as the Smile Pretty Cure! series).
  • Former President Donald Trump is well-known for his red "Make America Great Again" cap that he began wearing during the 2016 election campaign, which he in turn popularized amongst his supporters.
  • Japanese adult actress Ui Nenne's big Velma-esque pairs of glasses. She's never seen without them, whether in films, promotional material, and even home movies and everyday photos.

Top