TOP TEN Lists - This Week: Movie and TV Show Directors

So it has been said, so it shall be!

 

Topic #21 - Top Ten Swords or Melee Weapons in Movies / TV Shows

Time for another topic that is a bit different. We shift our focus to the famous and amazing melee weapons wielded by TV/Movie characters.

A few guidelines:

• the term "melee" weapon is the key. We're looking at swords, axes, spears, war hammers, etc. A gun does not fit the criteria. If a melee weapon also has a ranged function (i.e. a magic axe that throws fireballs) that's okay. But a gun that has a bayonet attached to it would still be classed a long range / projectile weapon, and should be disregarded.
• a mix of mundane and/or magic weapons is fine
• the point is to list your favourite melee weapons rather than what you think might be considered the "strongest" or "best"
• make sure you list the movie or tv show from which your selected weapon comes from

I'll wait for a couple of lists to be posted before I post mine. Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with and the similarities and differences in our lists.

 

Maybe not the most inspired list, but these are some that jumped to my mind, then a few that came up as I typed out the list. Like usual, these are a bit subjective. I reserve the right to steal good suggestions from other lists.

Luke's/Anakin's Lightsaber (Star Wars)
Conan's Atlantean Sword (Conan)
He-Man's Power Sword (He-Man and the MotU)
Lion-O's Sword of Omens (ThunderCats)
Connor McLeod's Katana (Highlander)
Logan's Claws (any X-Men/Wolverine/Logan cartoon or movie)
Bilbo's/Frodo's Sting; although pretty much all of the Weta swords in the movies are cool looking. (Lord of the Rings)
Darth Maul's Double-bladed Lightsaber (Star Wars: TPM)
Thor's Mjolnir (Thor and Avengers movies)
Captain America's Shield (Captain America and Avengers movies)

Some Honorable Mentions:
Excalibur (Excalibur); Voltron's Blazing Sword (Voltron); Did I mention pretty much any sword from LotR?; Gimli's "Walking" Axe (LotR); Aang's Glider-staff (AtLA); Blade's Sword (Blade); Samurai Jack's Katana; Hattori Hanzo Katana (Kill Bill); Mizu's Katana (Blue Eye Samurai), Galen's Spear (Dragonslayer), Perseus's Divine Sword (Clash of the Titans 80s)

 

Great list @Just A Skink !

We've got quite a bit of overlap.

 

Good stuff @Killer Angel . We too have some overlap and some trends are beginning to emerge.

Who is this Ken Shiro? I'm not familiar with him.

 

Thanks @NIGHTBRINGER

I've only seen the one anime, but it's called Fist of the Northstar. That is the title Ken Shiro holds. He is crazy powerful and fights other crazy powerful people. It's a bonkers anime. I'm certain @Killer Angel could tell you more.

 

Here's my list!

1. Lightsaber [Star Wars] - you guys had to guess that this was always destined to be my top pick! I looks and sounds cool. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
2. Sword of Omens [Thundercats] - loved it since childhood. I wish I owned something like this
3. Wolverine's Adamantum Claws [X-men] - invincible retractable metal claws... what's not to like?
4. Atlantean Sword [Conan the Barbarian] - I actually own one of these!
5. Samurai Jack's Sword (Samurai Jack) - enchanted sword forged by the gods. The one weapon that can harm Aku. The sword's importance in the series is huge.
6. Mjolnir [MCU] - The weapon that only the worthy can wield. I love how they gave a hammer awesome sound effects too! Absolutely iconic.
7. Conan's Star Metal Sword [Conan the Adventurer] - another Conan sword, this time from a childhood cartoon classic. This one is far more instrumental to the plot, as the star metal it is forged from is both the enemies' weakness and the very object the enemy seeks in order to use it to bring Set into our dimension. One might say it's a double-edged sword (pun-intended)
8. Narsil/Anduril (Aragorn's Sword) [LOTR] - cool looking sword in an amazing set of movies!
9. Lucille [The Walking Dead] - it's just a bat with barbed wire wrapped around it, but somehow it essentially became a character in the show. It's also wielded by my favourite character in the show, Negan (who for seasons on end was the only reason I even watched the show)
10. He-Man's Power Sword [He-Man and the Masters of the Universe] - I have the POWER!

Honourable mentions: King Leonidas' Sword (300), William Wallace's Claymore (Braveheart), Sokka's Meteor Sword (ATLA), Trevor Belmont's Morning Star (Netflix's Castlevania), Sting (LOTR), Voltron's Sword (Voltron: Defender of the Universe), Indiana Jones' Whip (Indiana Jones movies), Scotsman's Sword (Samurai Jack)

 

Also a great list @NIGHTBRINGER. You're right, there are some definite patterns.

 

This might be the topic in which we've all had the most overlap.

 

Just waiting to see if @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl and the newly returned from vacation @Imrahil are going to put forth an entry before we move on.

 

Sorry mate, didn't see this one for a while...but if you could leave this one open until the following Tuesday, in a similar vein of allowing for a week for @Imrahil last time, I might be able to rustle up a list in the next few days.

 

OK, here's my list...

1. Darth Maul's Double-Bladed Lightsaber (Star Wars: Episode I): You don't need me to tell you how it immediately became one of the coolest things in the Prequels - a novel expansion of the Lightsaber concept that is given an excellent demonstration of its usage at the climax of the first film of the trilogy.
2. Sting (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogies): About as faithful and effective a weapon as a Hobbit could want... Sting may be small, but only a fool would underestimate it when used in the right small hand. Pity Frodo is useless as a swordfighter in the original trilogy and it doesn't get as much of an outing as it should there, but the younger Bilbo ably makes use of it throughout the Hobbit trilogy.
3. Excalibur (Merlin): As many of you have probably noticed I've always been a big fan of this BBC series of the late 2000s and early 2010s, and King Arthur's legendary sword is given a big part within it, as it deserves to - originally forged in Kilgharrah the Great Dragon's breath to be able to slay a Wraith knight, it gradually finds its way into Arthur's hands as he ultimately steps up to become the great king he was born to be, and accompanies him on his journey to fulfil his destiny in forging the land of Albion.
4. Orcrist (The Hobbit trilogy): Orcrist was my favourite weapon in the Hobbit book (as Thorin was one of my favourite characters) and it gets a good outing in the films, regularly changing hands between Thorin and Legolas and cleaving Orcs as it does best.
5. Qui-Gon Jinn's Lightsaber (Star Wars: Episode I): Of all the other Prequel Lightsabers, this one stands out as the second most significant after Darth Maul's blade, at least for me... Obi-Wan and Anakin keep losing most of theirs, and it is his master's blade, rather than his own, that Obi-Wan uses to rise above the temptations of the Dark Side and turn the tables on Qui-Gon's killer in Episode I. Plus, I have a replica of it!
6. Gimli's Axe (The Lord of the Rings trilogy): Thanks @NIGHTBRINGER for reminding me of Gimli and the first Dwarf weapon we see cracking Orc heads in the Middle-Earth franchise
7. Mjolnir (Thor films): Even though I've only seen two MCU films (and I principally watched those for the Norse Mythology references) even I cannot deny the iconic status of Thor's mighty hammer from both a comics and a mythological point of view. The mighty lightning-hammer that is the slayer of more than a few Giants and Trolls in the legends, and it was a nice touch from the MCU to introduce the idea that only the bravest, strongest and purest of heart can wield it.
8. Anakin's second Lightsaber/Luke's first Lightsaber (Star Wars: Episodes III-IV): I prefer Darth Maul's and Qui-Gon's blades, but I cannot deny that Anakin's Episode III Lightsaber also deserves a place on this list due to being the one Obi-Wan takes from him after their duel on Mustafar and gives to Luke in Episode IV. If one Lightsaber is iconic through sheer longevity in the saga, it has to be this one. Though let's ignore how a wrinkled orange alien midget somehow finds it after Luke lost it in Episode V and gives it to an unlikeable girlboss.
9. Narsil/Anduril (The Lord of the Rings trilogy): The legendary sword of Isildur that cut the ring from Sauron's finger and was later reborn into the sword Aragorn would wield in the Return of the King to unite the lands of men. While I'm less interested in the humans of Middle-Earth than I am in the other more fantastical races, I would still be a poor Middle-Earth fan indeed if I didn't recognise this sword's iconic status as a film weapon.
10. Count Dooku's Lightsaber (Star Wars: Episodes II-III): It was a toss-up between this one and Kylo Ren's Lightsaber for my last place on this list, and I've gone with Dooku's because while on the surface it doesn't look particularly out-of-the-ordinary aside from a slight curve to the hilt, it's how the late, great Christopher Lee (or a duellist stunt double... whoever wielded it) used the weapon that really helps to separate Count Dooku from other characters - he really nailed an elegant, flowing fighting style with it (which would later be codified into lore as Form II of Lightsaber Combat) that showcased the character's background as a nobleman and his sophisticated personality. Plus he pretty easily takes out both Obi-Wan and Anakin and holds his own against none other than the legendary Grand Master Yoda with this blade and style (plus defeats Obi-Wan with them again in Episode III). By contrast, Kylo's Medieval broadsword-style Lightsaber, while a cooler design, was never used to its full potential and its owner consistently got owned in a film trilogy which had a plot that was set against him from the start. As it is, though, it still deserves a place in my Honourable Mention as one of the few cool things about the Sequel Trilogy.

Honourable Mentions: General Grievous' Lightsaber Collection (Star Wars: Episode III), Kylo Ren's Lightsaber (Star Wars Sequel Trilogy), Saruman's Staff (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogies), Radagast's Staff/Gandalf the Grey's Second Staff (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogies), Gandalf the White's Staff (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Chirrut Imwe's Staff (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Indiana Jones' Whip (Indiana Jones Quartet, let's ignore the last one), Obi-Wan's third Lightsaber (Star Wars: Episodes III-IV), Shaun's Cricket Bat (Shaun of the Dead), The Martin Sword (Redwall)