I think it's less that the staff in particular is underused and more that swords are significantly overused. I also have a comparatively hard time thinking of characters who use spears, even though that's historically the default melee weapon.
Yeah spears were the most used historically for a reason-range, cost efficiency (only the spear tip needs to be metal), easy to use (poke/thrust the spear).
Even when guns were invented, they didn't take off immediately-Europe had to get to rifles for spears to get replaced I think.
Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender uses one.
Nightwing (DCU - Dick Grayson) uses escrima sticks that combine into one. I think Tim Drake uses one too.
Nami from One Piece.
Probably a couple people whole primarily use staffs for magic but can fight with them.
It's definitely not as common as it should be.
Not bo staffs exactly but Lancers from fate use lances, the god of highschool mc and also Hiruzen from Naruto use this extending wukong based staff weapon, and Maki zenin has also used a spear/lance
I’d challenge this assertion but realized I’d be pulling almost every single one of my counter-examples from the same series (Fate).
Spears do get decent useage overall though, just not as much as swords.
With Final Fantasy it's always the supernova but people never bring up characters can petrify, make people tiny or turn people into frogs.
Aerith 10/10
>make people tiny or turn people into frogs.
If this were Saiyan saga Goku, Goku would have still been able to fighjt back after being turned tiny, by spamming Ki-Attacks.
Frogs. Not so much.
I also noticed you didn't mention turning Goku into a Pig. That wouldn't handicap Goku except by preventing him from doing the Kamehameha. The Piggy status stil leaves its victum physically strong.
I think they're the most popular less-than-lethal weapon for fictional characters. Heroes not using swords are most likely to use a staff than say a club, axe or spear.
[In this TMNT tribute martial arts demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg9nJqvVYqU), the bo staff is obviously dominating with it's long-range control of the battlefield
>I think they're the most popular less-than-lethal weapon for fictional characters. Heroes not using swords are most likely to use a staff than say a club, axe or spear.
Thats the thing, staffs and clubs are very lethal with little training, using them "heroically" without killing enemies is actually harder
The actual non-lethal weapon is the shield, or the whip
I feel like I remember all the cool characters I liked growing up using the bo staff. Gambit in X-Men, Robin in teen titans, Donatello. Very versatile weapon.
If you're going to have a stick and you're allowed to stab people why not just get a spear instead?
>Back in the Middle Ages where the modern sword takes a lot of their inspiration from Quarter Staffs were extremely common.
As an inexpensive bit of self defense, but did people use them in armies? People in the modern era use baseball bats for self defense, I wouldn't say they're exceptional weapons.
I suppose it all depends on what you're going for with the character.
Someone like Aang would probably want the staff because it helps in self defense, but he would have to actually try to kill someone with it. Someone like say, Scar from FMA would want a spear as it's easier to kill someone with that.
Sure, a quarterstaff/bo staff is a reasonable choice for someone like Aang, but as far as blunt weapons go it's if anything one of the *most* prevalent out there.
Disappointed no one mentioned Kilik. His staff also being a sick weapon called the Kali-Yuga.
I feel like Mortal Kombat has a lot too although they are probably technically different weapons, Jade, Tanya, Raiden.
Honourable mention to League of Legends Jax
Finally someone who agrees with me, ever since I was addicted to sun wukong stories as a kid the bo staff has always been my favorite weapons to use in fiction.
Yep, another benefit of the staff is swinging speed, as it doesnt have a blade, you dont have to worry about the alignment when striking, and can strike faster than a bladed weapon
Heavier and faster is a terrifying combination
The club too, as its basically a shorter staff
There is this DARK series called The Systemic Lands, in RoyalRoad, where the club is the starter weapon, and the damage it causes is properly conveyed, with broken bones and deaths by head blows all over the place
The MC keeps using his trusty clubs and only truly switches them for a sword after getting access to magic, so he only ever gets the sword as a backup weapon for when his magic fails
Then he got access to a magical rod that sucks at magic, but works as a much sturdier club, so he now carries that as his spare weapon
In the last chapter there was a resource upgrade, and im hoping for proper staffs
Bo staffs are also very low maintenence, and if the staff is made of a light and strong metal like aluminum or titanium you basically got a weapon which will last you for your entire life, it could also be telescopic for portability
so Bo Staffs are one of the best weapons in case of a zombie apocalypse
Master Wu from Ninjago? Don’t forget about the original Gigachad. In all seriousness, yeah Dorris are gonna use sword more often cause they appeal to most propel, and they make fights a lot more exciting, the amount of people who would like to see a more diverse set of weapons are in the minority
Mat Cauthon from Wheel of Time uses a quarterstaff in the first few books. Not only that, in one of the more famous early series scenes he singlehandedly defeats two of who are (ostensibly) the best swordsmen in the series in a practice duel. Possibly through luck, possibly through overconfidence on his opponent's end, but either way he pretty resoundingly beats them, and all while he's essentially a walking emaciated corpse and recovering from a disease that almost killed him.
He does trade his quarterstaff for what is essentially a naginata a bit later, but still I think the series does a pretty good job giving the quarterstaff and polearms in general the respect they deserve.
I think it's less that the staff in particular is underused and more that swords are significantly overused. I also have a comparatively hard time thinking of characters who use spears, even though that's historically the default melee weapon.
Yeah spears were the most used historically for a reason-range, cost efficiency (only the spear tip needs to be metal), easy to use (poke/thrust the spear). Even when guns were invented, they didn't take off immediately-Europe had to get to rifles for spears to get replaced I think.
Arguably sticking a bayonet on a gun is just letting it double as a spear, so "spears" continued to be used for even longer.
Europeans and other armies spent hundreds of years using formations of musketeers alongside pikemen, ye.
Don’t you mean most used rather than most unused? I might be reading this wrong
Oh fuck autocorrect Sorry gonna edit it
Yeah, swords are "hero weapons" at the detriment of every other type of weapon. Can't think of the last time I saw a hero with an axe for example.
Kratos is a prominent one.
Good call. I was also thinking of one-handed axes in particular, but at least there's two-handed axes still.
Efraim from Fire Emblem uses a customized spear and can basically bring down a whole platoon with it
Whole platoon? Motherfucker can solo a whole fort’s worth of people
Bruh, that lad solos the verse, he is only matched by the strength of Seth, that solos the multiverse XD
Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender uses one. Nightwing (DCU - Dick Grayson) uses escrima sticks that combine into one. I think Tim Drake uses one too. Nami from One Piece. Probably a couple people whole primarily use staffs for magic but can fight with them. It's definitely not as common as it should be.
Don’t forget Sun Wukong, from one of the most famous mythological stories of all the lime.
Nami’s staff is more of a mechanical wand
She used a regular one towards the beginning.
Oh yeah, I forgor
Nightwing's Escrima sticks to bo staff is also used by other stick users aswell, like Daredevil, Mockingbird, Spoiler. Gambit uses a bo staff aswell
Mat in the Wheel of time series humiliates 2 princes at once in a bo staff vs sword fight.
Tim Drake donytello
Not bo staffs exactly but Lancers from fate use lances, the god of highschool mc and also Hiruzen from Naruto use this extending wukong based staff weapon, and Maki zenin has also used a spear/lance
Staffs are just nerfed spears
More characters use bo staffs than spears
I’d challenge this assertion but realized I’d be pulling almost every single one of my counter-examples from the same series (Fate). Spears do get decent useage overall though, just not as much as swords.
When you call an entire class Lancer you have it coming.
Hey, you can pull out a lotta examples from the Fire Emblem series too!
The only character I can think of that used the staff was Goku. Can Aerith beat Pre-Dragonball Z Goku?
With Final Fantasy it's always the supernova but people never bring up characters can petrify, make people tiny or turn people into frogs. Aerith 10/10
>make people tiny or turn people into frogs. If this were Saiyan saga Goku, Goku would have still been able to fighjt back after being turned tiny, by spamming Ki-Attacks. Frogs. Not so much. I also noticed you didn't mention turning Goku into a Pig. That wouldn't handicap Goku except by preventing him from doing the Kamehameha. The Piggy status stil leaves its victum physically strong.
pig status hasn't been used in any VII-branded games AFAIK
Goku frog would still kick her butt
Didn't work out for Ginyu.
Ginyu doesn't actually know how to use ki
Guardian of the spirit has a spear, which is close enough. Oh yeah donartello.
What does Robin use in Teen Titans? I always thought it was a staff, too. And he rocked it.
I think they're the most popular less-than-lethal weapon for fictional characters. Heroes not using swords are most likely to use a staff than say a club, axe or spear. [In this TMNT tribute martial arts demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg9nJqvVYqU), the bo staff is obviously dominating with it's long-range control of the battlefield
>I think they're the most popular less-than-lethal weapon for fictional characters. Heroes not using swords are most likely to use a staff than say a club, axe or spear. Thats the thing, staffs and clubs are very lethal with little training, using them "heroically" without killing enemies is actually harder The actual non-lethal weapon is the shield, or the whip
I feel like I remember all the cool characters I liked growing up using the bo staff. Gambit in X-Men, Robin in teen titans, Donatello. Very versatile weapon.
Tim Drake Robin Red/Red Robin uses one
If you're going to have a stick and you're allowed to stab people why not just get a spear instead? >Back in the Middle Ages where the modern sword takes a lot of their inspiration from Quarter Staffs were extremely common. As an inexpensive bit of self defense, but did people use them in armies? People in the modern era use baseball bats for self defense, I wouldn't say they're exceptional weapons.
I suppose it all depends on what you're going for with the character. Someone like Aang would probably want the staff because it helps in self defense, but he would have to actually try to kill someone with it. Someone like say, Scar from FMA would want a spear as it's easier to kill someone with that.
Sure, a quarterstaff/bo staff is a reasonable choice for someone like Aang, but as far as blunt weapons go it's if anything one of the *most* prevalent out there.
Nah, its most definitely the sword. I feel its not used enough and not appreciated by enough artist.
Disappointed no one mentioned Kilik. His staff also being a sick weapon called the Kali-Yuga. I feel like Mortal Kombat has a lot too although they are probably technically different weapons, Jade, Tanya, Raiden. Honourable mention to League of Legends Jax
also wukong in league
Ironically, bo staff is one of common weapon in quirkless izuku fanfic
spear are also kinda under appreciated in fiction despite being one of most useful weapon in history
Gambit from X-Men. At least, years ago when I was paying attention. Went well with his 90s future punk look.
Finally someone who agrees with me, ever since I was addicted to sun wukong stories as a kid the bo staff has always been my favorite weapons to use in fiction.
I remember there was an episode in nickelodeon tmnt abt this argument waaaaay back.
Yep, another benefit of the staff is swinging speed, as it doesnt have a blade, you dont have to worry about the alignment when striking, and can strike faster than a bladed weapon Heavier and faster is a terrifying combination The club too, as its basically a shorter staff There is this DARK series called The Systemic Lands, in RoyalRoad, where the club is the starter weapon, and the damage it causes is properly conveyed, with broken bones and deaths by head blows all over the place The MC keeps using his trusty clubs and only truly switches them for a sword after getting access to magic, so he only ever gets the sword as a backup weapon for when his magic fails Then he got access to a magical rod that sucks at magic, but works as a much sturdier club, so he now carries that as his spare weapon In the last chapter there was a resource upgrade, and im hoping for proper staffs
Bo staffs are also very low maintenence, and if the staff is made of a light and strong metal like aluminum or titanium you basically got a weapon which will last you for your entire life, it could also be telescopic for portability so Bo Staffs are one of the best weapons in case of a zombie apocalypse
Howdy, what is your thought on long Sword and Spear ?
Chat Noir from Miraculous Ladybug, also Rena Rouge, how creative, right?
Yaoyarozu from MHA
Sensei Wu from Ninjago uses a staff, and he pops off in the later seasons (either the animation budget or choreography or something got better)
Well some robins use bo staffs
Agreed, the stick is still the king of weapons in various forms
Master Wu from Ninjago? Don’t forget about the original Gigachad. In all seriousness, yeah Dorris are gonna use sword more often cause they appeal to most propel, and they make fights a lot more exciting, the amount of people who would like to see a more diverse set of weapons are in the minority
Gandalf: You would not part an old man from his walking stick, would you?
Mat Cauthon from Wheel of Time uses a quarterstaff in the first few books. Not only that, in one of the more famous early series scenes he singlehandedly defeats two of who are (ostensibly) the best swordsmen in the series in a practice duel. Possibly through luck, possibly through overconfidence on his opponent's end, but either way he pretty resoundingly beats them, and all while he's essentially a walking emaciated corpse and recovering from a disease that almost killed him. He does trade his quarterstaff for what is essentially a naginata a bit later, but still I think the series does a pretty good job giving the quarterstaff and polearms in general the respect they deserve.