Supersoldier

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For the Amalgam Comics character, see Super-Soldier.

Supersoldier is a fictional term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal physical human limits. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as military fiction and spy fiction. Many depictions of supersoldiers treat them as Shock troops or heavy infantry, although others feature them as elite commandos or special forces personnel.

Supersoldiers are usually heavily augmented, either through eugenics, genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, drugs, brainwashing, an extreme training regimen (usually with high casualty rates, and often starting from birth), or other scientific and pseudoscientific means or a combination of any of those. Occasionally, some instances also use paranormal methods, such as black magic, as well as technology and science of extraterrestrial origin. The creators of such programs are viewed often as mad scientists or stern military men, depending on the emphasis, as their programs will typically go past ethical boundaries in the pursuit of science or military might.

Contents

[edit] Examples

Supersoldiers have been seen in several media:

[edit] Science Fiction books

  • Frank Herbert's Dune saga has many examples of entire armies of supersoldiers, such as the Padishah Emperor's Imperial Sardaukar, who hail from the penal colony Salusa Secundus, where six out of every thirteen people die before the age of eleven. The strongest of these prisoners are selected and subjected to inhuman conditioning that kills a third of the remainder. Conditioned with a disregard for safety and human life and an inability to disobey orders, a single Sardaukar was a match for ten soldiers in the service of the other Houses of the Lansdraad. They were eventually replaced by the Fremen of Arrakis under the command of Paul Atriedes as the foremost soldiers of the known universe. Under the Emperor Leto Atreides II, the Fish Speakers, an all female fighting force who were fanatically trained and eugenically bred, became the preeminent and most effective military force in the known universe. The Fish Speakers were eventually eclipsed by the Honoured Matres, evolved from offshoots of the Fish Speakers and the Bene Gesserit organization, that also has a superhuman reputation.
  • In Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's CoDominium Universe, the Saurons are a genetically engineered race of supersoldiers. The army of the planet Frystaat also fields what might be called supersoldiers, being an elite, highly trained commando force bred to survive on a harsh, high-gravity world. The alien Moties also have a specialized Warrior caste, a subspecies bred for tens of thousands of years to be the perfect fighters and bodyguards.
  • Though it does not play a large role in the series, Larry Niven's Known Space universe makes reference to a group who wear the Hellflare, a flame tattoo that signifies the wearer is trained to fight Kzinti warriors in single combat. The majority, perhaps all, of these individuals are implied to be Jinxians, another group of Humans adapted to a high-gravity planet by selective breeding. The Hellflare wearers were first mentioned by Niven in the short story "Flatlander" (from the collection Neutron Star) as 'background color'; the first one to be used as a character is the Jinxian Daff Gambiel in the novelette "Hey Diddle Diddle" by Thomas T. Thomas in Man-Kzin Wars V.
  • The Galactic Patrol of E. E. "Doc" Smith was a military organization made up of the Lensmen, the end results of centuries of breeding programs among several races on dozens of worlds, designed to be not only physically and mentally superior, but morally superior as well, and armed with Lenses that give them telepathic abilities. The Patrol also had ground troops in the form of the Valerian marines, a human-offshoot subspecies bred on a high-gravity world (similar to the Frystaaters and Jinxians, above).
  • In David Brin's novel The Postman (though not in the film adaptation), the United States military is described as having experimented with 'Augments', a type of supersoldier. There were at least two different forms of the modifications, one based one the use of strength enhancing cybernetics, the other using a combination of cybernetics, hormone stimulation, hypnosis and biofeedback to enhance agility and endurance. The project apparently also experimented in the psychology of augmentation; the protagonist notes that the strength-enhanced cyborgs were chosen for being psychopaths whose loyalty was entirely to the project and each other (but not, as things would go, the US as a whole), while those in the adrenaline-control project were chosen for their psychological stability and strong sense of social conscience.

[edit] Movies/TV

  • Clone troopers in the Star Wars series are the precursors to the original trilogy's Imperial stormtroopers: mass-produced troops with superior training, and all-around physical prowess. Clone commandos are far more powerful, operating in squads of four, and using the most advanced weapons and armor. ARC Troopers are also elite soldiers, considered one-man killing machines, with weaker armor, but very advanced training and weapons. ARC Troopers are supposed to be based on U.S. Navy SEALs[citation needed].
  • The TV series Andromeda featured the Nietzscheans, a highly competitive, genetically enhanced offshoot of humanity. Andromeda also featured the Magogs, a highly dangerous, genetically modified creature with enhanced strength and aggression, clawed hand and feet & ability to spray acid.
  • In The X-Files, Super-Soldiers are human-alien hybrids that exhibit extreme strength and seemingly cannot die. They were apparently designed to colonize the earth.
  • The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Hunted" involved an army of super-soldiers who were unable to re-acclimate themselves to civilian life after the war they created for ended, due to their extensive psychological conditioning. The civil authorities resorted to imprisoning them 'for the public good', until a group of them escaped and overthrew the government. The episode is generally considered to be an allegory for the problem of post-traumatic stress disorder (and more specifically, Vietnam veteran's syndrome).
  • The Manticore project and the Familiar cult from the TV series Dark Angel, whose shared end goal is the creation of supersoldiers, either through genetic manipulation or selective breeding, respectively. The heroine, Max, is one of the results of the Manticore project.
  • In Stargate SG-1 The Goa'uld use Jaffa. genetically modified soldiers that act as incubators for their symbiotes. They possess great strength, perfect health & long life.
  • The Goa'uld System Lord Anubis develops the Kull Warriors (first named supersoldiers or Anubis drones by the SGC personnel).
  • In the film Universal Soldier, the two lead characters are biologically-enhanced reanimated cyborg soldiers as part of an American supersoldier project. Robocop also has a similar premise.
  • The movie Soldier was based entirely on the premise of supersoldiers, particularly the psychological effect of raising someone to be a human weapon.

[edit] Animated Series

  • Shane "Goose" Gooseman, one of the heroes of The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, was the result of a government genetic engineering experiment to develop "supertroopers". Other supertroopers exist, but many were exposed to a gas to speed up their mutation and became aggressive and unstable in the process.
  • In the animated television series Exosquad, the Neo Warriors were mass-produced as brutish shock troops, while the smarter Neo Lords were designed for infiltration and commando activities. Even the common Neosapien troops, while not specifically designed as soldiers, are physically superior to humans in strength, reflexes, endurance, and senses.
  • In the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics and cartoons released by Marvel and Sunbow respectively, a number of supersoldiers or supersoldier-like characters make appearances, the most supersoldier like being the Strato-Vipers and the Star-Viper; pilots whom have been exposed to extreme gravity and have had cybernetics implanted in their brains to increase their reflexes. Also supersoldier like are the powerful Royal Guards and Nemesis Enforcer of the pre-human civilization Cobra-La. Zartan, with his holographic and camouflage abilities, (the nature of which are something of a mystery) may be considered a supersoldier by some. Although not strictly superhuman or artificially enhanced, some might consider the characters of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow to be akin to supersoldiers due to their great skill, which has come from rigorous, at times quasi-mystical ninja training. The genetically engineered characters Serpentor and venomous Maximus can be consider supersoldiers due to their highly enhanced attributes.
  • The enhanced naturals used by Blue Cosmos and LOGOS in Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny could be seen as supersoldiers owing to their enhancements through implantation and drug usage (only in Gundam SEED) and mental conditioning (SEED Destiny) but it is debatable as they were more along the lines of Super Pilots like those in the Battletech universe as opposed to true super soldiers.

[edit] Comic Books

  • Captain America was to be the first of a line of super-soldiers, a plan that was ruined when the creator of the Super-Soldier serum was killed. Other characters in the Marvel Universe, such as Wolverine (Weapon X) and X-23 are continuations of those experiments. Another Marvel character that has similar qualities of a supersolider is the mutant Cable.

[edit] Video/Computer Games

  • The Combine Elite is referred to as a supersoldier in Half-Life 2. They are heavily augmented cyborgs and have faster reflexes and can endure more than the other human and trans-human forces of the Combine Overwatch.
  • In the Metroid series, Samus Aran was strengthened with cybernetics, infused with Chozo blood (and later Metroid DNA) which gave her superhuman abilities. Also, the fearsome Bounty Hunter Kanden is the result of many years of research into creating a Supersoldier - However, the mental strain drove him utterly insane. His only goal is to prove himself the best Bounty Hunter in the galaxy. He has never reached the popularity of Sylux and Samus Aran and seeks out the secret of the Alimbics in order to prove himself the very best.
  • The Terran Ghosts from the game StarCraft are psychic Special Forces soldiers trained from childhood to focus their powers into enhanced combat abilities. Most are also cybernetically enhanced.
  • In the PC game F.E.A.R. the player is an experimental Special forces operative with superhuman reflexes, who must fight against an army of cloned soldiers that are telepathically linked to their insane commander.
  • In most games of the Command & Conquer series there appeared tiberium-enhanced infantry soldiers. These often appear as expensive troopers whose cost and firepower (but mostly the latter) rival those of vehicles. Stronger ones often serve as "hero" units or, in the case of Renegade, boss characters.
  • In the survival-horror video game series Resident Evil, the Tyrants can count as super soldiers, they are humans infected with the T-Virus to turn them into Bio-Organic Weapons. Also the villains Albert Wesker and Alexia Ashford are infected with special versions of the virus.
  • In the video game Breakdown, the main character is somewhat of a super-soldier; however, the powers are unknown to him at first and he must work to "regain" them.
  • In the MMORPG City of Heroes, one of the main villain groups, the Council, gives their experienced soldiers "supersoldier syrum" to turn them into deadly fighting machines.
  • In the computer game Deus Ex, the player character JC Denton, and his brother Paul are nanotechnologically-augmented agents. Augmentation canisters that can be found and installed in the game allow for new and improved abilities, enchancing agility, stealth or combat.
  • In Star Wars: Dark Forces, Dark Troopers are a class of robotic Imperial Stormtroopers, tougher and deadlier than ordinary stormtroopers. In the Expanded Universe, they are cyborgs of Elite Stormtroopers.
  • In the PC game ÜberSoldier, you play as a German soldier in WW2 who is killed in battle, but reanimated by scientists who give you superhuman abilities. With the help of other rebels, you escape and turn against the Nazis.

[edit] Tabletop Role-Playing Games

  • In Battletech the warrior caste of the Clans is largely composed of soldiers created by means of eugenics, intended to give them superior skills in their respective fields of action. Infantry units (elementals) have superior size, strength and endurance, pilots of air- and spacecraft have improved reflexes, perceptions and cognitive capabilities, and MechWarriors, the operators of BattleMechs are somewhat a combination of the two.
  • In Warhammer 40,000, Space Marines are elite soldiers, modified through gene therapy, surgical modifications, and hypnotic indoctrination. Several variations exist, such as Chaos space marines and the Grey Knights. Stormtroopers also appear somewhat as supersoldiers, with cybernetic augmentation and intense training from birth.
  • In Rifts, there exist many forms of supersoldier mercenaries such as the Borg, or full-conversion combat cyborgs; the Juicer, a chemical-enhanced soldier gifted with incredible speed, reflexes, and strength from a constant supply of performance-enhancing drugs and substances, but with a severely shortened lifespan; and the Crazy, named because of the M.O.M. conversion (Mind Over Matter), that rewires their brain to increase their speed, reflexes and ability, but leads to mental instability and eventually insanity.
  • In Return to Castle Wolfenstein, there are Nazi machine-men, created by a mad scientist named Wilhelm Strasse, aka. "Death's Head". They are created through a "bizarre synthesis of robotic and biological engineering", and they serve as a springboard toward the creation of paranormal Dark Knights. Despite their interim status, they were formidable in their own right. Their equipment included highly advanced armor, autocannons, and rocket launchers, among others.

[edit] Fantasy

  • In the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Shin- Ra used mako to turn anyone in the army, or SOLDIERs, into superhumans. Also, the characters Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz seem to be superhumans with incredible speed and deadly accuracy with their weapons.
  • In Illuminatus!, Hagbard Celine claims that a division of Waffen S.S. troops were ritually sacrificed and sunk under 'Lake Totenkopf', so that they might be reanimated as mystically-enhanced supersoldiers at some later date. Due to the intervention of Eris, these soldiers destroyed each other in a fight over the Apple of Discord; however, it is later implied by Joe Malik that the battle with the Nazis was an illusion, meant to give a comprehensible form to what was actually a metaphysical conflict between Celine and the Saure siblings.
  • The Final Fantasy series of role playing video games has featured supersoldiers of various sorts as plot elements in several titles. Several characters in the Playstation RPG Final Fantasy VII, including the protagonist of the game, Cloud Strife, and the villain of the game, Sephiroth, are humans that have been augmented by exposure to high levels of an energy source known as Mako, as well as infusion of cells from the alien life form Jenova. Cloud and Sephiroth were both former members of a program known as SOLIDER, which created supersoldiers through a more simplified process using only Mako. Another Final Fantasy version of Supersoldiers are the elite mercenaries known as SeeD's from Final Fantasy VIII, who augment their fighting skills by "junctioning" magic to themselves. Another example comes from Final Fantasy VI, in which Cid and Emperor Geshtal sought to fuse magic and biology to create elite soldiers known as Magitek Knights, and other magic using superhumans. One of the protagonists of the game, Celes Chere is an example of these efforts, just like the game's primary villain Kefka.
  • The 1977 film Shock Waves, where Nazi zombies were failed subjects in a project to develop a soldier who can survive in a multitude of hostile environments (such as the freezing cold of the Russian winter) with a minimum of protective equipment. The subjects became impervious to normal weapons but went insane in the process and where eventually abandoned on a deserted island.

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • In the virtual band of Gorillaz it has been revealed indiscreetly that Noodle is a supersoldier.
  • The Abductees in the webcomic It's Walky! were altered to serve as supersoldiers using transplanted Martian DNA and psychological conditioning. It is later revealed that Linda Walkerton had conspired with Head Alien to provide the necessary DNA samples, with the understanding that the Abductees would be used to defend the Earth against an expected Martian attack, but Head Alien later betrayed her with the intention conquering Earth himself once the Martians were defeated.

[edit] Note:

There are numerous characters in fiction who utilize advanced technology to indirectly enhance themselves, such as powered armor, mechas, and other "wearable weapons". These characters, while powerful, are probably not supersoldiers any more than a man driving a tank; while exceeding the destructive potential of an unarmed man, he is not himself superhuman.

[edit] References

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    [edit] See also

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