Quote Originally Posted by dopp
Just to be fair, the crossbow also enjoys an exaggerated reputation as a handheld ballista that can skewer two or three men in a row and pick off coins at 200 yards. People like to credit ancient weapons with impossible feats, like the katana cutting clean through sheet steel. Even the musket is supposed to be able to blow a man completely in half. It all sounds like a bunch of war veterans grumbling about how soldiers these days are weedy and effete... a "take those longbowmen, now THOSE were real men" kind of deal.

Hihi, very well said.

But to be "fairer" one have to tell that also modern weapons are often credited to do wondrous things. Let it be the shotgun of the hero sending men on a flight against the next wall or the lonesome cowboy blasting holes in thrown coins with his incredible six-shooter. Or the opposite, a hero hiding behind a car door or a desk when a villain shoots at him with an assault rifle. Brrr.

Thats all media world, Robin Hood against Billy the Kid against Rambo against The last Samurai. It forms our brains more than we expect.