Most Iconic Weapons (Non-DnD)

[aco175]

If the whole Death Star is a weapon, then this must be up there as well.

Then, this one I just thought was funny, but not sure if it is a thing overseas.

 

[Corinnguard]

If the whole Death Star is a weapon, then this must be up there as well.

Well it is an iconic ranged weapon. Are there any iconic weapons that can top the Death Star?

 

[aco175]

Well it is an iconic ranged weapon. Are there any iconic weapons that can top the Death Star?

Well, the new movies had a whole death planet that might have counted if people liked the last three movies being just a copy of the first three.

 

[Corinnguard]

Well, the new movies had a whole death planet that might have counted if people liked the last three movies being just a copy of the first three.

True. As for the last three movies, I wish the producers used what had happened in the post-Episode VI books for those three instead.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Mjolnir (any weapon over a thousand years old and still in use in pop culture deserves a place on the list)
Aliens' Pulse Rifle
Wolverine's claws

They've already been listed, but Sting, Excalibur, Stormbringer, and lightsabers all belong on the list.

 

[Willie the Duck]

I think lightsabers win, hands down, in that they are ubiquitously known and also never mistaken for anything else but themselves -- if they show up, be it another movie or comedy shows, you know it's an allusion to the iconic ones (whereas if a series has a sword, you might need it clarified that it is Excalibur, etc.).

Otherwise to add to the list, certainly Wonder Woman's lasso, Ash's chainsaw, Poseidon's trident should also count. Others, it depends...

Various figures like Robin Hood, William Tell, and Elmer Fudd are iconically depicted with a specific type of weapon (bow, crossbow, and hunting rifle, respectively), but it's not always clear that they are using the same specific weapon in deferent scenes (and the weapon generically as a type maybe isn't as iconic as something like a lightsaber or tommy gun), so I don't know if it is the weapon counts as iconic so much as the character having one.

Some items aren't necessarily weapons. I count Ash's chainsaw because it is only ever used for violence (by that logic, Bugs Bunny's anvils should count, although see point above about not an individual item). However, what about Potterverse wands (mostly tools, but with capacity to harm and regardless used in combat-like situations repeatedly)? I include Poseidon's trident even though tridents are realistically more fishing tools than weapons, but in the Roman era when he (well, Neptune I guess) was an actual worshipped god, tridents were used in gladiatorial matches. But what about the grim reaper's scythe or devil's pitchfork? Both tools, not weapons, and not actually depicted as being used as weapons.

Others have mentioned the Death Star and A-10 Warthogs. To me, those would be combat vehicles/weapon delivery systems, although their main guns are in fact pretty iconic.

They've already been listed, but Sting, Excalibur, Stormbringer, and lightsabers all belong on the list.

Oh yes, his 'Feyd-Rautha in a metal speedo' depiction in the Lynch version of Dune certainly was a dagger to the eyes. Oh wait, you mean something else...

 

[Umbran]

Vorpal Blade (from the poem, Jabberwocky)
Captain America's Shield
Bullwhip - from Indiana Jones
Buntline Special - the Colt Army single action .45 revolver with a 12" barrel supposedly carried by Wyatt Earp
.41 Thunderer Colt Repeater - the double-action revolver favored by Billy the Kid.
John Henry's Hammer - typically depicted as a tool, not a weapon, but hey.
Paul Bunyan's double-bitted axe - also typically a tool, but hey.


Iconic to D&D players, specifically:
Wave
Whelm
Blackrazor (which is really a Stormbringer reference)
Hammer of Thunderbolts (which is a Mjollnir reference)
Holy Avenger

 

[Umbran]

Others have mentioned the Death Star and A-10 Warthogs. To me, those would be combat vehicles/weapon delivery systems, although their main guns are in fact pretty iconic.

If we are going to include the Death Star, then we probably ought to also include the Wave Motion Gun from Space Battleship Yamato.

 

[Corinnguard]

If we are going to include the Death Star, then we probably ought to also include the Wave Motion Gun from Space Battleship Yamato.

And the Macross' dimensional cannons.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Light Sabers: Once Star Wars used them, almost no one dared to use them again, and they are such cool looking weapons. Swords in general are cool, of course.
Katana: The mystical supersword that can cut through anything because of secret steel folding techniques only known to Japanese master craftsmen, and wielded only by the best swordsmen, or some such. In reality, it's just another sword shape, but its basically a mythological weapon in lots of fiction. Lots of games also particularly single out the Katana as a seperate weapon from all the other swords and melee weapons.
Tommy Gun: If you want something to be set in the early 20th century or want to evoke the feel of a Gangster of that era, you can't go wrong with the Tommy Gun. Even if your Tommy Gun were to shoot blaster bolts...