Signature Weapon

A Signature Weapon is an artifact, weapon, or equipment that is known for being specific to a particular group (which often has special requirements for membership), and may even be emblematic of that group, uniquely identifying its members. Despite the trope name, such items need not be weapons at all. Some can be accessories that grant their power by wearing them. Individual examples may have unique titles or names that describe what they are or can do.

Signature Weapons can have many origins. Depending on the setting, they may be magical items or advanced technology (or both), but they can also be perfectly mundane in origin and function. Ownership of such items can be restricted by law or custom, but when the setting permits, it's not uncommon for such devices to choose the person who wields them; alternately, they can be unique manifestations of supernatural power by their "owners". In the latter cases, they are unlikely to be counterfeited (although someone figuring out how to do so can be a powerful plot hook for a story).

When they actually take the form of weapons, Signature Weapons are usually their owner's Weapon of Choice. Whether they become so because of their owner's existing skills and inclinations or they grant the required skill to use them depends on the setting.

If an item has no inherent function beyond identifying the bearer's group affiliation and concomitant privileges, it's just an identification badge or card (which are so common that they are in People Sit on Chairs territory).

Anime and Manga

• Zanpukuto are the main weapons of Soul Reapers in the series Bleach. They are used to combat Hollows and can send souls to the Soul Society. Each Zanpakuto is a unique reflection of a Soul Reaper's soul and powers while also being sentient. The abilities of each are based on their soul and a Soul Reaper's relationship with each other, which can help grow in strength. Once a Zanpakuto reveals their name to their Soul Reaper, they may access greater power through Shikai and Bankai forms, each with its own forms and powers.
  • Spirit Weapons are armaments Quincies can make using the Reishi in the atmosphere. They manifest them by using their Quincy Cross charm as a conduit. These weapons, similar to Zanpakuto, are intended to destroy Hollows. However, instead of purifying Hollows, they completely eliminate them down to their soul. The standard form for Spirit Weapons is Heilig Bogen, which is a bow that can fire off arrows made of Reishi. The Sternritter's Spirit Weapons come into different forms while also acting as extensions for their Schrifts, abilities given by Yhwach to high-ranking members of the Wandenreich.
  • Dolls are the representation of a Bount's power that are similar to Soul Reapers' Zanpakuto. These living weapons can come in the form of a weapon or a living being, depending on their Bount. Each has unique appearances and abilities dependent on their wielder, and powerful Bounts can merge with their Doll. They have a tenuous master-servant relationship if the Doll disagrees with their Bount, such as being injured in battle or not having enough power.
  • Bakkoto are parasitic weapons that absorb a user's Reiatsu to power themselves, and evolve as they consume more of it. They can only be wielded by a person with Reishi and have organic parts that becomes a part of their user. These weapons can eat their host as they grow stronger until they kill the user, thus considered forbidden to wield.
  • Fullbrings used by Fullbringers are objects that carry significant meaning for them and can bring their soul out as a unique power. The Fullbring cannot change their abilities nor stop them from growing. They can only bring them to their fullest potential by achieving a final form.
• ÄRMs from MÄR are an assortment of mystical objects within the land of MÄR-Heaven with different purposes. The weaker ÄRM can be used by anyone. They are also used as weapons and were the leading force in the first Marchen War. An ÄRM can have different abilities and can be 'upgraded' by installing a magic stone. The power of an ÄRM is related to a user's mental, physical, and magical skills. Magic power is the most crucial, and one can either be born with it or gain it through training. Synchronization with an ÄRM is also needed to bring out its power, which increases as it gets higher.
• The Killer Yoyos wielded by the various heroines (all code-named "Saki Asamiya") of the long-running franchise Sukeban Deka are the signature weapons of their specialized undercover police group -- and also serve as their badges and symbols of their authority, having a hidden emblem that can be displayed at a dramatically appropriate moment. Unlike many of the other examples on this page they are completely mundane in origin and function -- they are simply incredibly rare, issued only by the Japanese government, and dependent upon the extraordinary skill of their users.
• In World Trigger, advanced pieces of technology from another dimension known as Triggers. These items can come in different forms and are powered by Trion. Their abilities and forms are determined by their current customization and the wielder's Trion levels.
  • One powerful type of Triggers is called Black Triggers, created by people with high levels of Trion who sacrifice their lives to make one. They reflect the personality of the person who created them and need a user compatible with the creator's personality.
• Mystickers from Blazer Drive are stickers that have extraordinary power when stuck on a surface and activated with a finger's trace. Anyone can activate a Mysticker, but there are people called Blazers who can control their powers by sticking them on their bodies. Suppose a Mysticker gets stuck on an average person's body; the power will activate on the person like an Ice Mysticker would freeze them.
• Beet the Vandel Buster's Saiga are weapons Busters can manifest when they master Divine Power. They are manifestations of a Buster's soul, and each Saiga has a unique power based on its user that falls under one of the five types of Divine Power. If the Saiga is damaged or destroyed, their Buster can become unconscious.
• Highschool DxD: Sacred Gears are items God bestows on humans that can give powerful abilities. There are common Sacred Gears, such as Twice Critical, but the rare ones have exceptional power. Humans and human hybrids are the only species that can keep Sacred Gears, but they can still keep them if they reincarnate into Angels and Devils. Sacred Gears have a form called Balance Breaker, the evolved form of Sacred Gear where full power can be activated.
• Akame ga Kill!: Teigu are mysterious and powerful relics created under the instruction of the First Emperor of the Empire. Most of them were created from the remains of Danger Beast, which gives them unique powers. Weapons and armor are forged from the rare metal Orichalcum. Teigu must be wielded by a compatible user and requires considerable physical and mental strength, so most users only use one.
• In Chivalry of a Failed Knight, people known as Blazers can use magic by manifesting their soul as a weapon known as a Device, which grants them a Noble Art. Devices are the crystallization of a Blazer's Magical Power, fixed at birth and fuels their Noble Art. Blazers can learn to control their Magic Power and use their Noble Art efficiently. However, the amount of Magic Power is limited but can't increase unless they go through an Awakening, becoming a Desperado. They are Blazers who break the chains of fate and are not bound by fate.
• In Soul Eater, Demon Weapons are humans who can transform into weapons and be wielded by others as Meisters. Depending on their Soul Wavelengths, compatible Meisters can wield their Demon Weapon with ease. However, if they aren't, it can result in injury at best or death at worst. The two can perform Soul Resonance, which enables a special attack. As the two bond, they can gain more abilities as they become stronger. Demon Weapons can gain more power by absorbing Souls, and the Death Weapon Meister Academy encourages Demon Weapons to absorb 99 Kishin Souls and consume a Witch's Soul to evolve and gain the rank of Death Scythe.

Comic Books

• The rings of the Green Lantern Corps in DC Comics act as weapon, transport, and badge of authority all in one for their wielders. Semi-sentient artifacts created by the Guardians of Oa, each ring will only function for its designated user (or a proxy/successor designated by that user).
  • There are other Lantern Corps on the Emotional Electromagnetic Specturm. Each color^[1] is linked to an emotion: red represents anger, orange represents avarice, yellow represents fear, blue represents hope, indigo represents compassion, violet represents love, black represents death, white represents life, and ultraviolet represents negativity.
• Marvel Comics, there's Spider-Man's web-shooters, Captain America's shield, Thor's divine hammer, Doctor Strange's Eye of Agamotto, Quasar's Quantum Bands, Namor's Trident of Neptune, and Daredevil's billy-club.
  • Villains have them too; the Mandarin's rings, Foolkiller's Purification Gun, the Trapster's paste-guns, and the Wrecker's enchanted crowbar.
  • Those are just special weapons, of course. Many other heroes and villains have preferred weapons that are not unique, like Hawkeye and Trick Arrows, Mockingbird and her batons, Squirrel Girl and slingshots (using acorns for ammunition, of course), and Gambit's Death Dealer-style playing cards.

Fan Works

• The Lenses from Undocumented Features were incorporated into this Mega Crossover setting from the Lensman books of E. E. "Doc" Smith (see Literature, below) and served to identify and empower the elite agents of the IPO, a galactic-scale NGO Superpower dedicated to peace-keeping and law enforcement. UF‍'‍s Lenses had all the same defenses against counterfeiting and impersonation as the originals from the source material did, but their origin was divine (instead of being Imported Alien Phlebotinum) and their empowerment was not limited to Psychic Powers -- in one particular case, a Lens tapped into and vastly magnified its owner's native magical talent.

Film

• Lightsabers from the Star Wars franchise are the traditional weapons of Jedi and Sith that can easily slice through flesh and most metals. They are weapons that Force-users are trained to use and are made by their user when trained and when they are ready to retrieve a kyber crystal (gems connected to The Force). Younglings are sent to the Crystal Cave of Ilum to gain them. The youngling would then construct their Lightsabers' hilt. The energy blade becomes attuned to its wielder, where the color changes based on its wielder until it permanently imprints.

Literature

• The Honorblades from The Stormlight Archive are ten swords bound by their wielder, known as a Herald. Honorblades grant wielders Surgebinding in the form of two Surges. Surges are 10 fundamental forces: Adhesion, Gravitation, Division, Abrasion, Progression, Illumination, Transformation, Transportation, Cohesion, and Tension.
• The Lenses from E. E. "Doc" Smith's classic Golden Age science fiction series Lensman. These devices were Imported Alien Phlebotinum paired permanently with their wielders, the titular Lensmen, who acted as a Galactic police and military force. The Lenses not only granted their owners Psychic Powers (very impressive powers in the case of elite "Second Stage" Lensmen), they also acted as an unimpeachable identification of their owners; because of their origins and their permanent bonds with their owners, the Lenses could not be forged and anyone trying to impersonate a Lensman by wearing his Lens would be instantly killed.
• Wands in Harry Potter, to the point that Ollivander saying "The wand chooses the wizard" becomes a Chekhov's Gun in Deathly Hallows. While some families pass down wands either to preserve a legacy or to save on costs since a wand can cost six to eight Galleons, witches and wizards do best if the wand chooses them in a shop or if they win a wand in a duel using "Expelliarmus". Students expelled from Hogwarts or other institutions have their wands snapped, though Hagrid says they let him keep the pieces and they are certainly not in his umbrella. (The Elder Wand is the most powerful one, but Dumbledore and Harry eventually intuited that having that much power attracts trouble from opportunistic magic users that would kill the wielder.)

Live-Action TV

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
  • You can identify a Slayer by her carrying two items: a stake and a cross, with the occasional crossbow. The stake is one weapon that can kill a vampire permanently; while a sword through the heart can do the trick, stakes are smaller and more portable. Crosses, even in necklace form, also repel all vampires; it takes a strong one to resist the repulsion or even get turned on by it. When the Scoobies form, they start carrying stakes and crosses in turn on realizing how useful they are when hunting down monsters in Sunnydale, while Willow starts dabbling in magic. Buffy also starts training the Potentials in using stakes before awakening all their powers en masse.
  • The Initiative, being a supernatural investigative military unit, are marked by their guns which can injure demons if not slow them down completely. At first Buffy wonders if they can be allies on finding out her current boyfriend Riley is part of the Initiative; that doesn't last thanks to the head setting her up with a Uriah Gambit and a tampered gun.
• My Babysitter's a Vampire: The human protagonists Ethan and Benny do carry stakes to deal with vampire villains, but they also learn that tanning bed bulbs shaped like lightsabers will also harm a vampire. And yes, they lampshade while fighting how cool it is that they're real-life Jedi. Benny also rigs pistols with holy water and stores them around town.

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

• Astra from Hinduism are supernatural weapons that specific deities preside over and are imbued with supernatural powers. They can be summoned through an incantation or invocation. The deity invoked would give the weapon supernatural power, which is impossible to counter through normal means.

Video Games

• ARMS from Wild ARMs series are the weaponry under different acronyms in each entry.
  • The first game's ARMs (Advanced Relic Machine) are pieces of lost technology; they can be firearms or special weapons that a handful of people use.
  • Wild ARMs 3‍'‍s ARMs (Artifacts from Ruins: Memories) are machines activated by willpower along with the technology used to create them.
  • Wild Arms 4: ARMs (Ambient Reorganization Materials) are nanomachines that can only be used by Gene Drivers, people either born or artificially given the ability to wield them. It looks like silver sand when deactivated and forms a weapon when activated.
• Tales (series):
  • Fell Arms from Tales of Vesperia is a series of weapons that are said to have spawned from a fourteen-headed monster or at the height of civilization as weapons of untold power. They can resonate with each other, which can discern an ordinary weapon from another.
  • Soma from Tales of Hearts are tools from the Age of Stones, and the method to make them is lost. People who wield Soma are called Somatics and can form a connection called a Somatic Bond. Each tool manifested is different based on the user, such as one taking the form of a sword while another would be an ax.
• Blades from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are immortal weaponized life forms that can link to people called Drivers. A person can become a Driver if they resonate with the Core Crystal of the Blade. They come in rarities, from Common to Legendary. They can grant their Drivers a weapon, Blade Arts, and empower them with Ether.
• Pins in The World Ends With You are integral to the Reaper Game Players. Each one carries a unique Psych that grants a Player power. Most players can only use one Pin, but Neku has shown mastery over every Pin he has used throughout the game. This is because a Pin's Psych needs to be compatible with Player's Soul (an abstract form of matter that beings in the Underground are composed of and related to the phenomena on that plane of reality).
• In the Monster Hunter series, Hunters make a living by hunting monsters using one of 18 types of weapons. There are two classes, ranged and melee, and hunters also perform certain types of damage: cutting, impact, piercing, and shot. The second damage type is Elements that can affect a Monster based on resistance. Some weapons also can have a status effect. Weapon damage can also be augmented by the armor a hunter wears.
• Kingdom Hearts: Keyblades are weapons used to fight against Darkness. They can only be used by people with strong hearts, and the ability can be bequeathed by Keyblade Masters as a successor. Each one can unlock any lock and be used as a conduit for magic. Keyblades can be modified by changing their keychains to gain different abilities and forms. They can also be transformed into different items, such as other weapons or vehicles. They are also one of the most effective weapons for fighting creatures of Darkness, such as The Heartless.

Visual Novels

• Nasuverse: Noble Phantasms introduced in Fate/stay night can come as weapons for a Servant and are the crystallization of their legend. The weapon grants their respective Servant an ability related to their mythology.
• Fortissimo//Akkord:Bsusvier‍'‍s OOPArts are stones that can be embedded into certain people's bodies, allowing them to use magic and materialize a magic weapon.

Web Comics

• Tools from Paranatural are supernatural items that Spectrals use the power of the Spirits that inhabit it. Each tool has its own form and superpower, some of which may complement each other. A tool is created when a Spirit is on its last leg and resides in an item to recover strength. Recovery is quicker than a Spectral with the right spectral energy color. The spirit can subconsciously draw a spectral to him and create a symbiotic relationship. As the spirit absorbs spectral energy, they heal while the spectral gains access to their powers.
• National Treasures in God of High School are items from human history that have gained fame and are known for their power. They have a will and choose who is worthy of using them. They can be summoned to their rightful owner and telekinetically controlled. If the user has Charyeok related to the National Treasure, it can amplify the power. For example, if a person had Siegfried as their Charyeok, the power would increase when they were the worthy wielder of Balmung.
• Tomb Raider King: Relics are artifacts connected to histories, mythologies, and fiction. They can take many forms, like jewelry, books, plants, or weapons. They are housed in Tombs, which contain many dangers, and they are conquered when a person connects with them. Some are hidden throughout the world until they find a compatible human. A person needs Talent to use a Relic's power, which falls into three categories: Sociability, Dominance, and Compatibility. Sociability is forming a healthy relationship with a Relic. Dominance is demanding obedience with a Relic. Compatibility is having a strong affinity with a Relic and user as if they were made to be together.

Web Original

• Critical Role: Vestiges of Divergence are ancient but powerful artifacts from The Calamity during the Age of Arcanum. Though some are sealed, hidden, or destroyed, they are scattered worldwide. These Vestiges have their own powers they can grant their user. They can grow with their wielder and awaken sealed powers with determination, time, and personal growth.
• The mechashift weapons possessed by Huntsmen and Huntresses in the world of Remnant from RWBY are unique to their wielders (and often are designed and built by them), and are unlike the more ordinary static weapons carried by members of the four Kingdoms' police and military. If someone possesses a mechashift weapon, they are all but guaranteed to be a licensed Huntsman/Huntress or studying to be one. Huntresses and Huntsmen customize their armaments to match their fighting styles and, where appropriate, Semblances. They can channel their Aura into them, frequently use Dust as ammunition, and augment their Semblances.

Western Animation

• Shen Gong Wu from Xiaolin Showdown are magical objects made by Grand Master Dashi to combat Heylin villains. They each have a unique power that can be activated by calling out their name and are undetectable unless activated. If two or more people are touching a Shen Gong Wu while holding their own, they can call the titular showdown while wagering their own Shen Gong Wu.
• Miraculous: Tales of Lady Bug and Cat Noir: Miraculouses are magical jewelry connected to a Kwami that can transform a person into a superpowered being. The Holders are traditionally chosen by one of the Order of the Guardians. Each Miraculous gives the user enhanced physical abilities and unique powers based on the concept related to their Kwami. They also include a tool, which can be a weapon, toy, musical instrument, etc., based on the user.
• In Kid Cosmic, the five Cosmic Stones of Power bestow their wielders with a superpower. Each stone is a remnant from a planet destroyed by Erodius the Planet Killer and has the ability of the planet's species.
• Key Tools from ReBoot are watch-like devices that chooses the Guardian that wields them. They have different functions, such as scanning, deleting viruses, and performing an act of non-imitable violence. When a Key Tool chooses a Guardian, they exchange code that bonds the two, which can be used to issue commands outside a possible hearing range. They can also transform into different objects when given a command.
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers has Gaea's five rings. She gives them to the main cast when needing their help in stopping human villains like Hoggish Greedly and Doctor Blight. Individually the rings have the powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Heart; if the powers combine, the rings summon Captain Planet. (Wheeler questions What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? only for Gaea to reveal that Heart is the gift of mass empathy, allowing the wearer to connect with humans and animals alike, and it's the only one that can't be replicated with any technology.) One awesome episode has Mai-Ti call on the ring and Gaea to stop three different bombings across the globe, showing warring factions the devastation their weapons will cause without needing to summon Captain Planet. Turns out there have been many Planeteers in the past, chosen because of their dedication to saving the planet; the Goki episode confirms that there will always be Planeteers in the future. One who had long retired and fallen out with Gaea returns when the Planeteers ask him for help in taking down Captain Pollution.
• Voltron: Legendary Defender:
  • Voltron itself and the five lions are meant to be this for the Paladins of the universe. They were initially created to broker peace across the galaxy, which is why the Paladins came from different planets. A lion switching allegiance is a serious issue, as it means either it's an emergency when another Paladin asks for help, such as when Keith asked the Black Lion to help save an injured Shiro, or the original pilot is no longer worthy, as shown with Zarkon, who once manned the Black Lion.
  • The Blades of Marmora are named for their weapons. They're a resistance group dedicated to stopping Zarkon and the empire, with blades that can extend from knife to sword-length for use in any emergency. Keith reveals that he has one, which he inherited from his mother. When he brings it to a truce meeting to seek answers about his past, the subsequent trials reveal that he is part-Galra on his mother's side. It's eventually revealed that his mother is alive, but was doing Marmora work on the other side of the galaxy.
• Hazbin Hotel: This trope is actually used for a Hoist by His Own Petard plot point. Exterminators, angels given the authority to cull demon populations, use Angelic Weapons that can kill any demon or sinner permanently. Usually these weapons are spears, which is how Carmilla figured out that Vaggie was an expelled Exterminator, but they also include knives, axes and swords. Otherwise any Hell resident can die temporarily and revive in a few days. It turns out these Angelic Weapons can also kill angels permanently, and Carmilla provides her entire stock to the Hazbin Hotel after Vaggie proves she is fighting for love and not out of vengeance or anger.

Real Life

• Some countries or Big International Clubs developed weapons that were not sold to outsiders. A historical example was the British Avro Vulcan aircraft.