Sonic weaponry in popular culture

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Sonic weaponry is frequently used in popular culture and fiction, including computer games.

1 Fiction
2 Film and Television
3 Animation, Comics and Manga
4 Games
5 References

[edit] Fiction

In Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged Project X was a sonic weapon with an effective radius of up to 300 miles. It was used in an attempt to keep the population in line.
In the novel and anime Trinity Blood the "Silent Noise" system uses the sound of altered church bells as a weapon. It is controlled by playing an organ and depending the length of the song, can destroy a single building to entire cities.
In the book The Calculus Affair, in the series of books entitled The Adventures of Tintin, Professor Calculus develops a sonic projector that has the potential to destroy entire cities.
In Marvel Comics , the symbiote (a parasitic alien lifeform) is vulnerable to sonic weaponry and fire.
In the The Runelords fantasy series by David Farland, the Wolf Lord, Raj Ahten, discovers he is able to use his heavily augmented Voice endowments to harm enemy soldiers and even--at the proper resonating frequencies--to reduce city walls to rubble.

[edit] Film and Television

The David Lynch film Dune features hand held weapons that amplify the user's voice. ^[1]
Rifles that project sound to knock down or stun are featured in the 2002 movie Minority Report.
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the Geonosians use sonic weapons that can reduce solid materials, such as rock and bones, to dust.
A sound weapon is developed by the Germans in the movie Biggles: Adventures in Time.
Sonic Disruptors and pistols were used by several aliens (most notably the Klingons) in the various Star Trek franchises.
Sonic Disruptors/Sonic Stun Guns were used by the UEO in the First season of seaQuest DSV.
In Joss Whedon's television series Firefly, Alliance 'Feds' use non-lethal sonic weapons to incapacitate criminals. The Hands of Blue utilized a lethal device which may have been based on the same technology.
In the popular BBC series Doctor Who, The Doctor uses a device known as a Sonic Screwdriver which has been used for quite a few things in the Doctor Who universe. In the episode The Empty Child Captain Jack Harkness reveals he has a weapon known as the sonic blaster. Based on the same technology and by the same manufacturers of the screwdriver, it functions as a weapon that can digitally rewind damage it does to solid objects. Apparently from the return of The Master in Series 3, the upgrade from the Sonic Screwdriver is the Laser Screwdriver. In the original series, the Martian Ice Warriors are also shown to use sonic weaponry.
On the ABC television series Lost, the camp of the "Others" is surrounded by a ring of pylons. Crossing between two pylons activates a sonic pulse that causes a lethal cerebral hemorrhage.
In the film Mars Attacks!, Slim Whitman music causes the Martian's heads to pop.

[edit] Animation, Comics and Manga

The Batman Beyond villain Shriek uses a variety of sonic weaponry.
Siryn (a fictional superheroine from Marvel Comics), and Black Canary (a fictional superheroine from DC Comics), have the ability to utter an ultrasonic scream (referred to simply as a "Sonic Scream" for Siryn, and the "Canary Cry" in Black Canary's case). (Cyborg) (a fictional DC superhero) fires soundwaves from his arm attachmants.
In the manga and anime series "Naruto", many villagers from the Land of Sound implement sound into their combat in various ways. For instance, the villager Dosu Kinuta wields a sound amplifier on his arm, allowing the motion of his attacks to create sound waves that disrupt the target's inner ear and thus their coordination and balance.
The Powerpuff Girls also have the ability to emit what they call an "Ultrasonic Scream".
Minmei, a fictional pop singer in Macross, whose song causes an adverse reaction when broadcast against enemy Zentraedi.
In RahXephon, Dolem and the RahXephon sometimes sing while attacking. Some of them turn the song itself into a weapon that inflicts damage by sonic or other means.
Japanese metal band Sigh used sonic weapons on their 2005 album Gallows Gallery

[edit] Games

In Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, the Global Defense Initiative employs a powerful sonic weapon mounted on a tank called the Disruptor, much like the Sonic Tank from Dune II.
In the Dune II video game, House Atreides has access to a Sonic Tank, with the ability to devastate any vehicle or troop with little resistance.
In Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars The Global Defense Initiative employs the Sonic Emitter, a powerful anti-ground base defence designed to emit powerful waves of Ultrasound.It is noted to be particually effective against the alien Scrin, and was originally designed to break up Tiberium fields.
In the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes respectively, the rat-like Skaven use sonic weapons in the form of The Screaming Bell (although this is more of a magical effect than a sonic one), while the Emperor's Children chapter of the Chaos Space Marines also utilizes an array of dangerous sound-based man portable support weapons. Also, Eldar Howling Banshee aspect warriors have access to a helmet that twists and amplifies their voices, stuning and confusing their opponents at close range. Eldar air- and spacecraft use sonic torpedoes and bombs. The Centurio Ordinatus superweapon Ordinatus Mars use a highly destructive Sonic Cannon capable of destroying entire units without saves, and even the game terrain.
In the computer games City of Heroes and City of Villains, two villain groups, the Council and the Gold Brickers, utilize sonic guns. Additionally, ranged sonic attacks are available to the primary ranged archetypes of both games.
In X-COM: Terror from the Deep, the aliens use powerful 'sonic' weaponry that works both above and below water, showing no difference in damage potential in either situation. They are effectively the equivalent of the original X-COM: UFO Defense's plasma weaponry.
In the RTS game Empire Earth, the ultra cyber 'Tempest' has a special ability called the Resonator.
In the video game Star Wars Battlefront 2, the Geonosians have sonic weapons (hand weapons and defensive turrets) which damage enemies and knock them down, and the Imperial Officer has a sonic blaster which damages enemies.
In the video game Mortal Kombat 3, Sindel has the ability to create sonic screams, which she calls "Banshee Scream", and uses it as a powerful weapon against her foes.
In the computer game War Front, the Third Reich can build Sonic Tanks, which mount a large sound weapon capable of easily ripping through almost any ground unit or building.
In Dark Reign The Freedom Guard has the Seismic Tank, a sonic based wave that fires a (presumably) infrasonic wave at its target devastating anything in its path.