The Truth About The Damascus Blade In Alita: Battle Angel

In the manga, Alita's Damascus Blade looks like two separate blades that attach to her wrists during Motorball. The weapon eventually joins into a single sword similar in appearance to what we see in the film. During Alita's original manga run, the blade is presumably lost or destroyed at the story's conclusion. However, that destiny was altered by the subsequent Last Order, in which Nova (Edward Norton) recovers the Damascus Blade. He then uses the damaged weapon as a component for Alita's Imaginos Body, further building the link between the blade and its wielder. Alita's signature weapon has a similar appearance to Damascus steel, hence the name. Given the weapon's imperfections, it's said to be a representation of Alita herself — unimaginably tough, but riddled with beautiful imperfections.

As Zapan explains, the blade is honed to a monomolecular edge — the sharpest honing physically possible. As a result, it slices armor like butter. It was forged before The Fall using the lost art of URM metallurgy. The blade is eventually attached to the arm of Alita's Motorball body. The weapon can receive plasma (powerful energy) as a power source, which is likely why it turns blue when Alita raises it toward Zalem at the end of the movie.

The cyberpunk-action film ends on a cliffhanger, even though there's plenty more manga to adapt. We could certainly use a sequel (or two) to unpack more of this rich world — including the blade.