Cut It Out!

The Megami Tensei compendium features demons and deities from various mythologies and religions. Atropos might seem insignificant in a series that includes everyone from Zeus to Beelzebub, but her scissors aren’t as trivial as they seem. They actually govern destiny itself! In Greek mythology, Atropos was responsible for choosing how each person died. To that end, she used her abhorred shears to cut their threads of life. She has great power and tremendous responsibility, but I can’t rank her higher on this list since she doesn’t really use her scissors for their intended purpose in any of the Megami Tensei games. She mostly relies on elemental magic and barely uses her scissors at all. Her mythological counterpart uses scissors as an instrument of fate, but her Atlus iteration looks like she belongs on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.

Sin Scissors are lesser demons that arms themselves rusted scissors. They rely on masks to retain their form, since their bodies are entirely comprised of empty robes and dark energy. As such, the only way to damage them is to aim for their heads. The ethereal beings can fly through the air and phase through walls, and this allows them to catch their enemies off guard. Death Scissors are more powerful versions of Sin Scissors, and their methods of attack are more varied. Armed with curved cutting shears, Death Scissors attack their foes with short lunges, successive stabbing motions, and dramatic spinning attacks. Some of these maneuvers could be likened to corkscrews or drills, and the blades can dish out serious damage if they connect. The scissors have a defensive component too, and they essentially act like a layer of armor.

Sundowner was an American soldier who served his country in numerous conflicts. After an IED forced him out of active service, he was given a specialized custom cyborg body by a private military company. Now employed as a mercenary, Sundowner develops a reputation as a bloodthirsty warrior with a pessimistic view on humanity. He’s augmented with superhuman strength and equipped with an array of explosive shields, but he mostly relies on a pair of high-frequency machetes known as “Bloodlust.” The blades can be used individually, and they can also be merged into a single scissors-like contraption. The pincer blades allow him to clamp down on his foes, but they’re relatively ineffective compared to traditional weapons. It can be assumed that Sundower uses the scissors to intentionally prolong his bouts of violence.

Daemon Bride is a fighting game that’s centered around humans who have been gifted with angelic and demonic powers. The eclectic cast includes everyone from a gang member with a squid-for-an-arm to a German priest who literally thumps bibles. As a teenage girl who fights with oversized sewing scissors, Nina Sumeragi would stand out in most environments. She’s par for the course in Daemon Bride, and her scissors aren’t nearly as unwieldly as they look. They have incredible reach, they can be swung in a wide arch, and the can be thrust forward in a stabbing motion. The scissors likely weigh more than she does, but Nina looks remarkably graceful as she spins, twirls, an leaps across the screen. She can also split the scissors in two and use them as twin swords to overwhelm her opponents. The girl is remarkably creative.

Most scissors are comprised of a pair of blades that are fastened together at a pivot point. While this is technically true in Jack Baker’s case, his custom-made “scissors” consist of two working chainsaws. Typical scissors cut material by simply inducing shear stress, but Jack apparently prefers two-stroke engines that are fueled by gasoline. I can’t decide if the weapon is ingenious or nonsensical, but it’s a heinous instrument in either regard. The horror genre is filled with chainsaw-wielding maniacs, but I guess Jack decided that a normal chainsaw wasn’t visceral enough for his needs. The former Marine apparently killed over 100 people on his family’s farm, and his insatiable appetite for human flesh was informed by a psychoactive fungal bio-weapon. Chainsaw scissors are remarkably on-brand for someone as violent as Jack is.

Red Riding Hood is the de facto leader of a group called the Blood Maidens who had the misfortune of being born within an escapable prison. (Incidentally, the maidens are all based on well-known figures from fairy tales and folklore.) Red Riding Hood is defined by her brazen personality, and she’s daring enough to stage elaborate rescue missions. She sometimes acts without thinking, and this is exasperated by the fact her weapons have a corrupting influence that can cause her to go berserk. Friend and foe alike have been impaled by her giant scissors, but they prove to be remarkably practical for her line of work. Outside of battle, the scissors can be used to cut chain link fences, unfasten giant screws, and sever power lines. If you’re planning on infiltrating a prison, it makes sense to bring a weapon that can slice through barriers.

Toko Fukawa is a mild-mannered high school student who was mistreated as a child and frequently bullied. This trauma ultimately caused her to develop Dissociative Identity Disorder, and an alternate personality named Genocide Jack emerges during times of emotional distress. Toko’s body is transformed when Jack is in control – evident by her glowing eyes and abnormally long tongue – and the alter can also be identified by unhinged laughter and erratic body language. Above all else, Jack is defined by bloodlust. Jack keeps multiple pairs of custom “genoscissors” holstered to her right thigh, and she uses them to stab, gouge, and even crucify her enemies. She often wields multiple pairs of scissors at once, and she never seems to run out. The scissors can also be used as projectiles, and they’re sharp enough to cut through steel.

Gwen is a doll who was carefully crafted by a humble seamstress. She was used as a prop in all sorts of fantastic adventures, but the games eventually stopped without explanation. Gwen spent centuries forgotten and alone, until an unknown magic transformed her into a living girl! As an added bonus, the very tools that were used to create her were blessed with this same magic. Armed with needles, sewing thread, and a pair of scissors, Gwen set out to restore joy across a broken world. She had often used scissors in imaginary silverware duels, and she was even more efficient with them in real-world situations. Even though the scissors are comically large in her hands, she’s somehow quick enough to snap them a half dozen times in a single attack! Gwen realizes how precious life is, so she uses her scissors to hang on to this unique gift.

Cut Man was originally intended to be used in the forestry industry before Dr. Wily reprogrammed him as part of his bid for world domination. The blades on Cut Man’s head are apparently made out of ceramic titanium, and they’re powerful enough to cut large trees in half. They can also be thrown like boomerangs, so they’re effective from a distance too! Cut Man made his debut in the first Mega Man game and has made several guest appearances in subsequent titles. There aren’t many Robot Masters that are more iconic than Cut Man is, and the developers originally had even bigger things in mind for him. Cut Man was the first Robot Master that Capcom designed, and he was even planned to be the hero before Mega Man was given the role. (It just goes to show that rock beats scissors every time!) No wonder he’s always in a bad mood.

Clocktower is the gaming world’s closest equivalent to a Hollywood slasher flick. Scissorman could be likened to iconic movie villains like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, and his oversized pruning shears were directly inspired by The Burning. The first iteration of Scissorman was a deformed eight-year-old boy named Bobby Barrows who roamed the halls of his family’s mansion, but the series has technically introduced us to multiple Scissormen (and even Scissorwomen) over the years. All iterations of Scissorman share common traits, however. The aptly-named serial killers are seemingly invincible, they show up out of nowhere, and they kill without remorse. They all have an affinity for really big scissors, and they’re surprisingly creative with their kills. Few characters in gaming have been responsible for more jump scares than Scissorman.