The 10 Best Uses of Canes in Science Fiction [List]

The greatest moment in
cane history
was on the Senate floor in 1856, when House of Representatives member
Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles
Summer unconsciousness with a
metal-topped cane. Sci-fi has a bunch of great cane moments too, but here are the 10 greatest.

Above
Image: Tron Legacy (2010) Castor (Michael Sheen)

The idea of using a cane as a fashion accessory to go with top hat and
tails was popularized by Fred Astaire in several of his films and in
the song “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.” Nowadays, people don’t use canes
much, but they’re still a great fashion accessory.  Here are the 10 guys that made them work.

Jim Carrey’s
Groin-Whacking Riddler Cane

It’s hard to imagine anyone else that had more fun with his cane than
Jim Carrey as “The Riddler” in BatmanForever. One thing Jim Carrey had going for him was his
amazing question mark cane. He twirled it, flipped it and spun it with
gusto. Plus, he got to hit Tommy Lee Jones in the crotch with it. The
first night on the set
he says, “I whacked Tommy Lee in the groin. ‘Tommy, nice to see you!’
and thunk!” Jones was nice about it though. At least, as nice as you can
be when someone whacks you in the crotch.

Doctor Who’s Sonic Cane

Doctor Who has his famous sonic
screwdriver and we all know not to “dis’ the sonic!” In the episode “Let’s Kill
Hitler” he showed us a very different cane. This cane had a sonic
screwdriver in the top! It went great with the top hat.

Castor’s
Glowing Cane

Pretty much everything glowed in Tron Legacy, but
we got to see an amazing glowing cane too. In the tallest tower
in “Tron City” was the “End Of Line” club.  The owner was the
flamboyant Castor, played with infectious enthusiasm by Michael Sheen.
The owner of the End Of Line club had an awesome glowing cane which he
used with panache. Not only that, but it was also a hidden gun! Sheen
said his hair and air guitar was inspired
by David Bowie.

The Goblin King’s
Impressive Cane

Speaking of David Bowie, he had a pretty cool cane moment himself. In
the dazzling 1986 film Labyrinth
he played the glam-rock Goblin King, who wielded a large object that
intimidated his enemies. I’m talking, of course, about his codpiece.
But he also had a pretty sweet cane. We only saw it a couple of times,
but he used it so well it was like a natural part of his outfit. He
poked Hoggle and started singing “Dance, Magic Dance” with it. The
riding crop end probably silenced more than one goblin.

Mr. Hyde’s Old Man
Whacking Cane

Back in the day, you weren’t considered a gentleman if you
didn’t carry a cane with you. Even a monster like Edward Hyde carried a
cane. In the book The
Strange Case of Doctor Jeykll and Mr. Hyde Hyde by Robert
Louis Stevenson, there was a very distinctive cane. In fact, it was the
cane that led to the discovery of Jekyll’s evil alter-ego. When Hyde
got into an argument, he savagely beat a poor old
man to death. His attack was so violent that he broke the handle off
and left it behind as he fled the scene. They didn’t have CSI back
then, but the cops didn’t need them to identify him as the fierce Mr.
Hyde.

“The stick with which the deed had been done, although it was of some
rare and very tough and heavy wood, had broken in the middle under the
stress of this insensate cruelty; and one splintered half had rolled in
the neighbouring gutter — the other, without doubt, had been carried
away by the murderer”

Mr. Hyde’s Sword Cane

Many have played Mr. Hyde, including the short lived series Do No Harm, but
none have played him with the gusto of Jack Palance. Frankly, Palance
is pretty scary looking without make up, so the Hyde make up just makes
him even freakier-looking. In the 1968 telemovie The Strange Case of Doctor Jeykll and Mr. Hyde Hyde starring Jack Palance, Mr.
Hyde had a different type of cane. While it had the same weight as the
novel, it also had a sword hidden inside, making him even more fierce.
Swordsticks, or cane-swords, were pretty popular in the 18th and 19th
century, but are illegal in the United Kingdom and United States as a
concealed weapon. Too bad. But I guess you wouldn’t want to bring a
knife to a gun fight anyway.

Penguin’s Helicopter Cane

Penguins are famous for using umbrellas. The last time I went to the
zoo, the penguins couldn’t stop using their umbrellas. So, it’s no
surprise that the Batman villain The Penguin has a variety of trick
umbrellas. Penguin uses his umbrella as a cane for walking, but it also
turns into a helicopter in Batman
Returns. Forget a hidden sword. Penguin can fly with his
cane! For some reason I couldn’t find a decent video clip of Penguin, so this image will have to do for now.

Daredevil’s Grappling
Hook Cane

Seeing a blind man with a cane is a familiar sight. The “Hoover Cane”
was actually invented in 1944 by army sergeant
Dr. Richard Edwin Hoover while treating blinded soldiers at
Valley Forge Army Hospital.
In the comics, Daredevil has a cane that turns into a grappling hook,
which is pretty awesome. In the underrated 2003 movie Daredevil with Ben
Affleck the cane took on a new life. My favorite part is when the
coroner Jack Kirby, played by Kevin Smith, shows off it’s trick buttons. With all the spinning,
flipping and swinging made me wish I had a cool cane too.

Ruby Rhod’s Microphone
Cane

The most flamboyant user of a cane is the radio host Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element played by Chris Tucker.
Leopard skin leotards. A bizarre hairdo and a voice that could peal
paint all would have made Liberace proud. Plus, his cane doubled as a
microphone.

Jurassic
Park’s Hammond Dinosaur Cane

Most of the people on this list didn’t need a cane, but Hammond was
different. Unlike the others, he actually needed the cane to walk. But
what makes his cane even more special is that he had a dinosaur inside.
Admittedly it was a mosquito, but a dinosaur mosquito nonetheless. How
cool is it to have a cane with an ancient bug inside?

Which is the coolest cane you’ve ever seen?
Have you ever used a cane?

[Image Source: Collider]

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