Basic Trope: A sapient weapon, that is evil. Often tries to corrupt their bearer.
- Straight: Tyrfing is a jet-black, viciously barbed sword, that’s telepathic and constantly urges its wielder to murder so it can take over their mind. It cannot be sheathed until it kills.
- Exaggerated: Tryfing is a Fantastic Nuke made of the bones and misery of forsaken children. So much as touching it causes an instant Face–Heel Turn, and has a personality that would make a serial rapist recoil in disgust.
- Downplayed: Tyrfing is an Empathic Weapon that hungers for blood, but it’s too dumb to be capable of true malice.
- Justified: Tyrfing contains the soul of a dark wizard, who was in of himself evil.
- Inverted:
- Excalibur is a blessed weapon, that’s alive and telepathic, and constantly urges its wielder towards righteousness.
- The Red Aegis is a cursed shield that causes its bearer to throw themself in front of any attack, no matter who they're defending from whom or at what cost.
- Subverted:
- Tyrfing turns out to be a Noble Demon, creepy whispers aside, and is eventually talked into a Face–Heel Turn.
- Tyrfing was rumoured to be an evil sword, but it’s actually a blessed weapon resplendent in golden light.
- Tyrfing isn't evil or living at all: Hiro's changing personality is entirely due to his own issues.
- Double Subverted:
- After its Morality Pet dies, Tyrfing goes off the deep end.
- Tryfing turns out to be an Unholy Holy Sword.
- Tyrfing acts as a trigger for Hiro's Enemy Within, and it seems to be a Clingy MacGuffin...
- Parodied:
- Tyrfing rants and raves about how it’s the ultimate evil and the most powerful sword in existence, but it doesn’t actually force its wielder to commit evil acts, and isn’t even that sharp.
- Tyrfing is so Obviously Evil he can’t even get anyone to pick them up in the first place.
- Tyrfing is a Harmless Villain whose idea of evil is telling Hiro to not flush the toilet.
- Zig Zagged:
- Tyrfing is not evil, per-say, but has a… different set of priorities.
- Tyrfing goes through the Heel–Face Revolving Door
- Averted: No weapon is noted as evil.
- Enforced: “Weapons are bad, and they should LOOK bad.”
- Lampshaded:
- “…Yeah, not picking THAT one up without oven mitts.”
- “Foolish mortal. You do not wield me. I wield YOU.”
- Invoked: Emperor Evulz has Tyrfing made in order to place it as a trap for our heroes.
- Exploited: Hiro goads someone else into picking up Tyrfing, knowing it will bring them to ruin.
- Defied:
- Hiro sees Tyrfing… and immediately seals it away; knowing nothing good will come of it.
- Evulz is such a Control Freak he isn’t even willing to use a Living Weapon, let alone an evil one.
- Tyrfing does ''not'' want to be used for evil, and demands that its wielder never use it to kill or cause suffering.
- Discussed:
- “Even a bow has peaceful uses…but a sword is a tool for murder and murder only. It’s no surprise Tyrfing went evil.”
- “If you picked me up willingly, you obviously haven’t heard many horror stories. That suits me perfectly.”
- Conversed: “Cripes. That’s the third-scariest sword I’ve ever seen.”
- Implied: It’s never made clear whether Tyrfing is actually cursed, or if everyone just thinks it is and gives in to their darker urges because that’s what they think the sword does.
- Deconstructed:
- Tyrfing is so damn scary and powerful that no-one is actually brave/stupid enough to pick it up in the first place and it’s left to rot in a dungeon.
- Tyrfing didn’t start evil: but being totally immobile and dependent, combined with being bodily thrust into people against its will, inevitably drove it to insanity and misanthropy.
- Considering a sword to be evil or cursed for taking so many lives is ridiculous - a sword's purpose is to kill, and a sword that's taken so many lives fulfills its purpose well. If the swordsman falls into harm for wielding such a sword, it only shows that they're unworthy to wield the blade in the first place.
- Reconstructed:
- No-one picks up Tyrfing… willingly.
- Tyrfing is a Psycho Prototype; later Evil Weapons have their powers limited to the point they can act only as advisors. They’re still very manipulative, however…
- Tyrfing doesn’t appreciate being immobile and helpless, but it was a clinical sociopath from the start and doesn’t want your pity.
- Tyrfing can be mastered and made subservient, whether through Heroic Willpower, Incorruptible Pure Pureness, Villain Respect, Eviler than Thou, or any other.
- Played For Laughs: Tyrfing is the Laughably Evil Token Evil Teammate.
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