Spear of Destiny in popular culture

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The Spear of Destiny features prominently in contemporary market-driven popular culture, for it enjoys a broad-based recognition factor, based on the legend of the Spear of Longinus, employed at the Crucifixion, and on the medieval legends that accrued around the relic. The Spear of Destiny has appeared as a thematic or plot device in numerous movies, TV series and video games. A partial list of such appearances follows:

1 Films
2 TV and Anime
3 Literature
4 Video Games
5 Comic books
6 Other

[edit] Films

Constantine, a 2005 film based on the comic book Hellblazer. The story depicts the Spear of Destiny being found in Mexico, wrapped in a Nazi flag, granting its holder invincibility to all harm. It was central to the story, which required the Spear be used in order to bring the devil's son, Mammon, into this world. The demon Balthazar indicated that whatever killed the Son of God will give rise to the Son of Satan. (This is inaccurate on Constantine's part as the Gospel of John states that Christ was already dead by the time he was struck by the Spear.) The object itself appeared to be just the tip of a spear, only a foot long, with a nail from the crucifixion of Christ embedded at its center and held in place by gold and silver bands resembling a dagger more than a spear. Interestingly enough, the same prop was used for the Spear in both this film and Hellboy.

Hellboy, a 2004 movie based on the comic book series of the same name. Here the Spear of Longinus is shown in the hallway leading to Hellboy's quarters at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. It is said to have been possessed by Hitler, prolonging his life and granting him supernatural power. It appears to be a thick spear head, not an entire spear.(It should be noted that the spear depicted in Hellboy and Constantine is based on the 'real' Lance in Austria).

The Spear of Destiny was featured prominently in the TV movie, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. In this story, the Spear holds supernatural powers that make its holder immortal as well as omnipotent.

In Atlantis: Milo's Return, Milo and Kida discover that the mystery of Atlantis is linked to The Spear of Destiny.

[edit] TV and Anime

In 1997 the TV show Roar had a subplot of Longinus searching for the Spear of Destiny on the British Island just before the Romans abandoned the island (AD 400). The character of Longinus in the show was cursed with immortality until he found the Spear of Destiny and relieved himself of his burden of immortal life.

In the television series Witchblade, based on the comic book character of the same name, the second-season episode "Destiny" involved the discovery and use of the Spear by Kenneth Irons.

Lex Luthor stole the Spear for Gorilla Grodd in an episode of Justice League Unlimited though Grodd shows no interest in using it or belief in its powers.

In the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Lance of Longinus is key to the Human Instrumentality Project. In contrast to many fictional counterparts it is around 100-150m long and is usually shaped roughly like a symmetric double helix (however, its shape can be changed). In the series it is used to pierce the "shields" or AT-Fields of the enemy.

For the anime series Trinity Blood, in a nod to its long string of religious references, the villian Cain uses a spear that is often interpreted to be the Spear of Destiny.

The 2005 Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa featured multiple lances that were rumored to be forged from the original "Lance of Longinus" and had been scattered around the world. The Thule Society supposedly hunted down and retrieved each of these spears and used them to entrap and control Envy.

The sequel series to the erotic Japanese Animated series Bible Black revolves heavily around the Lance of Longinus

[edit] Literature

In the Clive Cussler novel Atlantis Found, it is mentioned as being hidden within the ruins of Atlantis by the Nazis not long after they fled their research station in the Antarctic. It is the object that the novel's villain Karl Wolf wants to obtain for his twisted utopia.

In the James Herbert novel The Spear. The main story is based around the fulfilling of a 'prophecy' concerning the Wagner opera Parsifal, by a group of remaining Thule Society members. The spear in question is the Spear of Longinus.

In the novels of Barry Sadler's Casca: The Eternal Mercenary, which feature an immortal Casca Rufio Longinus as the subject through at least a dozen novels, the Spear of Longinus is an artifact in the possession of a secretive group The Brotherhood of the Lamb (Casca: The Warlord and Casca: The Persian).

The novel Blue Moon, part of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton, features a black magician who summons a demon in order to search for the Spear in the hills of Tennessee.

In the novel The Jester by James Patterson and Andrew Gross, the spear was unknowingly brought to France by Hugh de Luc, the main character of the novel in the wake of the First Crusade and many deaths resulted because Stephen, the duke of Borée, wanted it for himself. By itself the relic was depicted as not having any special powers.

The Spear features prominently in Peter David's 2006 Arthurian fantasy novel, Fall of Knight, the third book in his Knight trilogy.

[edit] Video Games

Several games from the Castlevania series have employed a weapon called "Longinus" (sometimes rendered Ronginus, due to the lack of an L sound in Japanese), usually one of the most powerful spears in the game (if not the most powerful), although there are generally more powerful swords.

The Spear was the final item to be retrieved in the computer game Spear of Destiny, prequel to Wolfenstein 3D.

In the Game Boy Advance video game Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (part of the Ogre Battle series, which revolves very much around religion), the plot begins with the search of a sacred spear called "Longicolnis" (a mistranslation). It is also present as the Lance of Longinus in the game Ogre Battle 64 for the Nintendo 64, with its details citing it as a "Lance of damnation that harms even the gods."

In Tomb Raider Chronicles for the PlayStation, the second chapter has Lara Croft searching for the Spear of Destiny, lying in the ruins of a wrecked U-boat.

Most games in the Final Fantasy series have a weapon called either the Longinus or the Holy Lance, usually as the best or second-best spear. Several US releases have changed the name of this weapon to such things as 'Spirit Lance' or 'Pearl Lance'.

The Holy Lance is also a recurring weapon in the Dragon Quest series.

In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for the PlayStation 2, the Longinus is the second most powerful spear-type weapon, and required to get the strongest weapon.

In the highly acclaimed game God of War II, it is one of the weapons Kratos can wield. Though the game takes place well before Christ was said to live, it may have been put in since the many point of the game is to be able to control time itself.

In Persona 2: Innocent Sin for the PlayStation, the Spear of Destiny, wielded by Adolf Hitler, and mass-produced copies, wielded by the Last Battalion (Hitler's mechanized elite troops), can seal characters' ability to change Personae. Plot-wise, the Spear is used to inflict a wound that will never stop bleeding on one character, causing the character to bleed to death.

In Riviera: The Promised Land for the Game Boy Advance, the Longinus is an extremely powerful spear available after beating the game once.

Indiana Jones 2007 is rumoured to feature the Spear of Destiny as the prominent artefact of the adventure, although these claims may not be genuine.

In Quest for Glory 3, a central point of the plot is the Leapordman tribe's Spear of Destiny being stolen from them. At the same time, the Simbani's Drums have been taken as well, leading the two tribes to blame one another. Other than the name, this Spear of Destiny shares no similarities to the one of legend.

[edit] Comic books

In the DC Universe, the Spear and the Holy Grail were used as a retcon developed in the 1980s for the explanation of why the World War II superheroes didn't simply invade the Axis Powers to attack its leaders directly. DC Universe heroes learned that if they tried, the most powerful superheroes would be subject to mind control via the spear, which was imbued with supernatural power and held in Adolf Hitler's custody. It is later established that the Spear is the one artifact capable of destroying the Spectre. The Spear also briefly reappears in Justice League Elite when Circe attempts to use a magic spell to obtain it and (presumably) use it in an attempt to destroy/rule over Earth.

In a four part DC story entitled Light Brigade, the Centurion who pierced Jesus' side with the Spear must use it to fight Nephilim during World War II.

In the Japanese manga Hellsing, in Chapter 66, Hundred Swords 4. Alexander Anderson Pulls out a box from the "Vatican Top Secret Holy Relics Administration Bureau" upon breaking it, it's revealed to be Elena's nail, which is meant to be one of the nails involved in the Crucifixion of Jesus. After this, "The Shroud of Turin" "The Holy Grail" and the "Spear of Longinus' Are mentioned by Alucard. When Anderson Pierces his own heart. In the next chapter, it shows all wounds he sustains reforming in a forest of thorns. also in this chapter one of the Vatican members comments on his transformation by saying "and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns" and a few chapters later, Anderson is shown with his arms outstretched and his legs together in the form of the crucifixion.

A four-part story about the Spear of Destiny was published in The Phantom comic book in 2000. It was written by Ben Raab and drawn by Joan Boix.

The comic book series The Magdalena features a heroine suggested to be descended of Christ who uses the Spear of Destiny as her weapon.

Vector 13, a weekly standalone short story featured in Britain's cult sci-fi comic 2000AD, chronicled the history of the spear of destiny. It finished with the Americans returning a detailed copy of the spear to Austria post WWII and then taking the original, with a new shaft, and using it as a flag pole for the American Flag on the first Lunar Landing, keeping the flag out of the clutches of other powers.

The Spear of Destiny featured prominently in Lady Pendragon, a series put out by Image Comics in 1999.

Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny was a comic released by Dark Horse Comics in the 1990s. It followed Indiana Jones and his father, Henry Jones, as they raced across Ireland and Wales to stop the Nazis claiming the Spear in 1945.

In the BPRD story-arc, The Dead, it is revealed the Nazis had gained the Spear during the Second World War, but was never really used as other projects were considered more important (Such as Project Ragnarok, which summoned Hellboy onto Earth). After the war, when the scientists assigned to it defected to the United States of America, its use led to the facility the experiments were carried out in being partially destroyed, burying the sole survivor in a sub-basement for over fifty years. When the BPRD took over the facility, they found the survivor, but later learned he planned on using the Spear to open a portal to "Heaven", unleashing horrific insect-esque entites.
In the game Tales of Symphonia, Holy Lance appears, however it is a move consisting of five spears of light (which can be casted by most angelic enemies and Raine if she is raised as an S-Type), not an actual weapon.

[edit] Other

The role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem contains a group of vampires who revere Longinus and call themselves the Lancea Sanctum. They claim that when Longinus pierced the side of Christ, some of the blood spilled on him, granting him eternal life, but cursing him for his part in the crucifixion.