"I will destroy that target!"
The Pencil of Doom is a weapon introduced by Hitler Rants Parodies. It's a pencil that, when thrown against a table, will cause something deadly and of great harm. It's one of the major superweapons in the Parody Universe, and, one that isn't a gun of some sort.
The scene that's used for the Pencil of Doom is in the middle of the Original Bunker Scene, where Burgdorf rapidly talks to Hitler about how his rant against the generals are outrageous, but Hitler claims the generals are the scum of the German people, then throws the pencils against the map in anger. In the Pencil of Doom segments, it's edited so that Burgdorf tells Hitler not to throw the pencil, but he says he will and aims at his target, using the pencils to harm them.
In other parodies not made by Hitler Rants Parodies, it's used as a major superweapon for Hitler to use against his enemies. In other circumstances, however, he uses them against his own allies, especially Burgdorf, who ends up begging for mercy from Hitler when targeted. A running gag in some parodies is how Fegelein or Himmler try to steal or break the Pencil of Doom to use in their antics.
The Pencil of Doom was supposedly broken by Hitler himself after being upset by something Speer said to him. Fegelein had the audacity to film this mishap, along with a scene of Hitler 'crying over his broken pencil'.
A separate pencil, also created by Hitler Rants Parodies, is called the Pencil of Mass Destruction, where it can cause considerably more damage; so destructive it can destroy the entire world. Sometimes, it's conjoined with the Pencil of Doom, so its title is the Pencil of Doom and Mass Destruction.
Abilities
The Pencil of Doom can do something as small as making someone fall off a treadmill, or as big as destroying the Universe. Since the weapon is always targeted at unsuspecting victims (i.e. remotely) it is not known whether this weapon is effective against a target who is aware of the Pencil, such as other superweapon user.
The MKIII version can fire a laser.
Other Superweapons
Being the progenitor of a whole class of weapons, the Pencil of Doom, with a few exceptions, inspired almost every other superweapon in the Parody Universe. A list of all Parody Universe superweapons can be found on the Superweapon page.
Trivia
- There have been two "pencil" weapons in real life used by the Germans and Nazis:
- British Time-Pencil/Pencil Detonator: not an actual weapon, but a detonator with a chemical reaction switch, based on a glass vial filled with a concentrated copper chloride solution and a wire that prevented a spring striker to hit the percussion cap inside a brass casing. When the vial was broken, the copper chloride would eat through the wire, and when the wire was weak enough, it'd snap and the striker would hit the percussion cap. The detonators were well known for their ambiguous time delays: depending on the weather, it could either detonate several minutes earlier, or later, or not detonate at all. The detonators were used to in plastic explosive bombs. Originally made by the British for commando and resistance forces for sabotage. One such detonator was used by Claus von Stauffenberg in the failed 20 July plot. Also, several other such devices were used by a German conspiracy (of which Stauffenberg was part of) against Hitler during their assassination attempts on the Führer from 1942-44.
- Pencil bomb: invented by Franz von Rintelen, a German spy during WWI. It was about the size of a cigar. It was a hollow cylinder of lead, separated in the middle by a copper tube. One part was filled with picric acid and the other with sulfuric acid or other inflammable liquid. both ends were then sealed. By regulating the thickness of the disk, it was possible to determine the time the two acids would come together. When the two acids mingled at the appointed time, a silent but intense flame, from 20 cm to 30 cm long, shot out from both ends of the tube, and while it was still burning the lead casing melted away without a trace. Von Rintelen and his ring of German agents would slip the bombs onto U.S. ships carrying munitions bound for the war. The incendiary device ignited cargoes when ships were far at sea. It was estimated later that he alone had destroyed $10 million (US$ 146 million in 2011) worth of cargo on 36 ships.
- The "Pencil of Doom" is also the name of a children's book (with an exclamation mark), in which the pencil is not a weapon, but rather a tool that creates things out of what it draws. Unfortunately, for every good thing it draws, bad things happen, and vice versa. Unlike Hitler's pencil that can be easily broken, this one is much harder to damage/destroy.
- In the last scene with Speer, Hitler actually breaks a pencil. This explains why he lost the war.
- In the Original Bunker Scene, Hitler throws three pencils. Which one is the Pencil itself is unknown, or maybe the other two are copies of the pencil.
- The Pencil of Doom's firepower is said to be similar to the Blue Spiny Shell from the Mario Kart games.
See also
Read Pencil of Doom and Mass Destruction in related wikis: