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Prongs of Poseidon: Difference between revisions
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[[File:badassposeidon2 8128.jpg|link=Age of Mythology|frame|Go ahead, tell him he's holding a fork.]]
▲Unless your story is set in Barbados, there are exactly two uses for tridents in fiction.
The first is for anyone associated with the sea, particularly if you're a fisherman or a god. This isn't contrived; tridents have their origins as fishing tools, after all, and [[Classical Mythology|Poseidon]] was portrayed with a great big trident.
The second is if you're [[Spikes of Villainy|evil]]. ''Really'' evil. Tridents don't go to moderately evil villains or Redshirts; if you're using a trident you better be [[Satan]] or seriously, ridiculously evil, and a major villain. They're too stylish for [[Mooks]].
In the ancient world, tridents were used in warfare as a spear capable of disarming. They were also used in [[Ancient Rome]] in the [[Gladiator Games]], in a parody of fishing - a fisherman (''Retiarus'') went after a fish (''Secutor'', whose helmet had a fish welded on top). So historical works set in [[Ancient Rome]] or [[Ancient Grome]] are justified in showing tridents, either in the games or in war.▼
Not to be confused with the much more mundane farmer's pitchfork, which unless it's being used to pitch hay is generally wielded in combination with a [[Torches and Pitchforks|torch and a mob mentality]].
▲In the ancient world, tridents were used in warfare as a spear capable of disarming. They were also used in [[Ancient Rome]] in the [[Gladiator Games]], in a parody of fishing - a fisherman (''Retiarus'') went after a fish (''Secutor'', whose helmet had a fish welded on top). So historical works set in [[Ancient Rome]] or [[Ancient Grome]] are justified in showing tridents, either in the games or in war.
{{examples}}
== Tridents associated with the sea ==
* [[Classical Mythology]]: Poseidon, of course, as well as his Roman counterpart Neptune, is always portrayed with a trident.▼
▲* Poseidon, of course, as well as his Roman counterpart Neptune, is always portrayed with a trident.
** His brother Hades wielded a bident.
* King Triton in ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'', unsurprisingly, as he's an obvious [[Expy]] of Poseidon.
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** Just like Empoleon from Pokémon, Wave Man's (of ''[[Mega Man 5]]'') face is adorned in three horns fashioned after the trident.
== Tridents associated with evil ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* [[Satan]], for some reason, always gets a trident if he's going to be using a weapon. He probably popularized it for evil characters.▼
** There's actually an explanation: when early Christians finally got in charge, the literal [[Demonization]] of the classical gods included giving Satan attributes of them; Poseidon's trident, Pan's cloven hooves and horns...▼
* Ganon loves to use a trident, using it in all but ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' of his appearances in his monstrous form. In human form, however, he's never used it.▼
* While not exactly evil, [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]] Wufei from ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' is probably the most morally ambiguous of the five main characters & has a double-bladed [[Energy Weapons|Beam Trident]] as his Gundam's sole handheld weapon after its [[Mid-Season Upgrade]]. Notably this is the only part of any of the five main Gundams not to get massively overhauled yet again by Hajime Katoki for [[The Movie]], which features Wufei as one of the main antagonists for much of his screentime & even has him [[Putting on the Reich]].
* [[Psycho Electro|Eneru]] of ''[[One Piece]]'', at one point in his battle with [[Rubber Man|Monkey D. Luffy]], used his [[Shock and Awe]] powers to heat up his gold staff and re-shape it into a trident. Later on, when he's gone [[One-Winged Angel]], he uses two of them and nearly kills Luffy. While Eneru is both evil and the [[Big Bad]], his use of a trident is a bit ironic, [[A God Am I|considering his personality]].
** Played straighter with [[The Alcatraz|Impel Down's]] staff. The average mooks are armed with tridents, and so does [[The Starscream|Hannyabal]]. Saldeath has a [[Instrument of Murder|flute-spear]] and Sady-chan has a [[Bifurcated Weapon|trident with a whip inside.]]
* ''[[Bleach]]'' has Mayuri Kurotsuchi's shikai, although it has a very short shaft the more important part is that it [[Poisoned Weapons|exudes a paralyzing poison]].
*
* ''[[The Salvation War]]'' has [[The Legions of Hell]] armed with tridents, which they use to channel their [[Doing In the Wizard|natural bioelectricity]]. Demonic nobles tend to have fancier, more conductive weapons.▼
▲* [[Katekyo Hitman Reborn|Rokudo Mukuro and Chrome Dokuro]] are no exceptions... They will skewer you with their trident... and also... Mukuro is an expert at [[Mind Rape]].
* [[Evil Diva (webcomic)|Evil Diva]]: The Big Guy's [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224223613/http://www.evildivacomics.com/?p=965 got one]▼
* Dagon of [[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]] is a odd combination of types 1 and 2. Not only is he a designated [[God of Evil]], he's also based on a fishman monster▼
* Pandora from ''[[Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas]]''. [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|And adorned with a snake motif]].
=== Live-Action TV ===
▲* Dagon of ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]'' is a odd combination of types 1 and 2. Not only is he a designated [[God of Evil]], he's also based on a fishman monster
=== Oral Tradition, Myths and Legends ===
▲* [[Satan]], for some reason, always gets a trident if he's going to be using a weapon. He probably popularized it for evil characters.
▲** There's actually an explanation: when early Christians finally got in charge, the literal [[Demonization]] of the classical gods included giving Satan attributes of them; Poseidon's trident, Pan's cloven hooves and horns...
=== Video Games ===
▲* Ganon loves to use a trident, using it in all
* Nue Houjuu from the 12th ''[[Touhou]]'' game wields one, however she is a subversion.
* ''[[MediEvil (1998 video game)|Medievil]]'''s [[Evil Sorceror|Zarok]] uses a trident instead of the more traditionally wizardly [[Magic Staff|staff]].
===
▲* ''[[Evil Diva (webcomic)|Evil Diva]]'': The Big Guy's [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224223613/http://www.evildivacomics.com/?p=965 got one]
* A lone example, Shin Seijuro from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' is characterized by a knight wielding a trident for his trident tackle. The kicker is that Shin is among the most righteous and skilled of the Japanese players and he bases his beliefs on pure merit and hard work, making him a subversion to both tropes.▼
* Not so lone anymore. Kanade Tachibana, from ''[[Angel Beats!]]'', has a variation of her usual [[Blade Below the Shoulder]], "Guard Skill - Hand Sonic version 3." She has nothing to do with the sea ([[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|Everyone Calls Her Angel]]), nor is she evil.▼
=== Web Original ===
* You can find and use a trident in [[Drakensang]] 2.▼
▲* ''[[The Salvation War]]'' has [[The Legions of Hell]] armed with tridents, which they use to channel their [[Doing In the Wizard|natural bioelectricity]]. Demonic nobles tend to have fancier, more conductive weapons.
* The [[DC Comics]] superhero ''[[Blue Devil]]'' uses a gadget-filled trident as a weapon, in keeping with his 'devil' theme.▼
== Tridents associated with war or combat ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
▲*
▲*
* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', [[Dark Magical Girl]] Fate Testarossa gains an attack called "Trident Smasher" post-timeskip, which takes the form of three beams of plasma in the shape of a trident.
* Xing Cai in [[Dynasty Warriors]] wields a two-pronged fork (which was an actual weapon in ancient China and doesn't have the devil/sea associations) and a small shield.▼
* In one book of the [[Dragonlance]] world, the main characters are stopped by a huge Ogre Knight armed with a large trident.▼
* The Javelin is one of the weapons you can get in [[Secret of Mana]], though its number of prongs vary depending on what level you've forged it to with the [[Ultimate Blacksmith]]; it's used as a throwing weapon.▼
* Toshiie Maeda's weapon of choice in [[Sengoku Basara]] is a large trident.▼
* One of the possible weapons as a fighter in [[Maple Story]] is a trident with a fish stuck on the end...a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Pike on a Pike]], as it were.▼
* In ''[[Gundam Wing]]'', [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|Wu Fei]]'s [[Mid-Season Upgrade]] Altron wields a [[Double Weapon|twin]] [[Laser Blade|beam]] trident. He's righteous (but misguided), so this falls more under the martial arts exception.
===
▲* The [[DC Comics]] superhero
=== Literature ===
▲* In one book of the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' world, the main characters are stopped by a huge Ogre Knight armed with a large trident.
=== Video Games ===
▲* You can find and use a trident in ''[[Drakensang]] 2''.
▲* Xing Cai in [[Dynasty Warriors]] wields a two-pronged fork (which was an actual weapon in ancient China and doesn't have the devil/sea associations) and a small shield.
▲* The Javelin is one of the weapons you can get in ''[[Secret of Mana]]'', though its number of prongs vary depending on what level you've forged it to with the [[Ultimate Blacksmith]]; it's used as a throwing weapon.
▲* Toshiie Maeda's weapon of choice in ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' is a large trident.
▲* One of the possible weapons as a fighter in ''[[Maple Story]]'' is a trident with a fish stuck on the end...a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Pike on a Pike]], as it were.
== Tridents associated with gladiatorial games ==
=== Film ===
* ''[[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]]'' showed tridents as part of the many gladiatorial combats.
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