Superweapon
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A superweapon is an extremely powerful weapon by the standards of its time and its scale. Examples include the Tsar Bomba (the most powerful nuclear bomb and weapon ever made), various superguns and other various weapons employed to give a decisive advantage over opposing countries or forces. The given advantage is usually based on intimidation and demoralization of the opposing side. Historically, the majority of superweapons have given little to no tactical advantage at best, instead being part of a greater strategy.
A great deal of the Nazi propaganda in the closing stages of WWII to boost German morale in an already lost war was based on promised superweapons ("Wunderwaffen") that would soon reach operational status.
In modern times superweapons are usually considered to be weapons of mass destruction, and close attention is paid to countries who possess and/or operate such weapons, as well as countries who have operated, researched, funded, or otherwise sought to gain such weaponry. This is especially true of so-called "rogue states", as most people feel that possession of a superweapon by such nations would pose a threat to international security.
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[edit] Weapons that have been regarded as superweapons
- The first Nuclear Weapons
- Vergeltungswaffe
- Artillery
- Nuclear-capable strategic bombers
- Ballistic Missile Submarines
- Warship
[edit] Superweapons in Fiction
In many works of science fiction, superweapons are often far more powerful than their real-life counterparts, capable of devastating entire cities, continents, planets, stars, or even entire galaxies. See also Orbital bombardment and Planet killer.
A well-known example of a fictional superweapon is the Death Star from the Star Wars movies, a battlestation as large as a moon that could destroy an entire planet. See also Sun Crusher and Centerpoint Station.
In the Halo universe, seven collective orbitals, known as Halos to The Covenant and mankind, are capable of eliminating all sentient life within the galaxy. However, the life eliminated by the Halos must be of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability to sustain a parasitic race known as the Flood. Theoretically, this allows smaller life forms, or non-sentient life forms, to survive, reproduce, and (eventually) repopulate the galaxy. The humans also use advanced magnetic acceleration cannons (MAC gun) to create orbital defense platforms that could launch a 9.14m 6000 metric ton projectile at .4 percent of the speed of light. Later, when the war became more and more grim, the humans in a scorched earth policy started 'safe guarding' planets with a fictional "NOVA" bomb, a nuclear weapon capable of destroying an entire planet with a possible power of 100 teratons of TNT.
Also in the Halo universe, the Covenant (antagonists) can fire plasma torpedoes from their interstellar spacecraft. They would bombard human planets, melting the surface. When the surface of the planet would reharden, it was glass. This gave way to the term "glassing." All structures and inhabitants of the planet would be lost.
In the Stargate universe, the weapon on Dakara was capable of reducing all matter into its basic elements in the Milky Way galaxy by disrupting molecular bonds using the Stargate network to spread the disrupter wave across the entire galaxy. Not intended to be used as a weapon, it was originally built by the Ancients to create life in the Milky Way. The weapon created from the "Eye of the Gods" is also considered a superweapon because of its enormous power.
In the Star of the Guardians book series, a device called a "Space Rotation Bomb" is capable of destroying all matter in its range. It does this by forcing the colour bonds between quarks to the breaking point. It may also tear a hole in space-time, causing universal destruction.
Galaxy Quest's Omega 13 device was originally thought to be a bomb capable of destroying the entire universe. However, it causes a 13-second time rewind, just enough time to correct a fatal mistake.
The concept of a superweapon has also been used in fantasy games like Breath of Fire IV, where a supercannon built by the Fou Empire can shoot beams of Hex Radiation to poison large areas of land, killing several living things while causing some to drastically mutate. A unique feature of this weapon is that its potency increases when more human sacrifices are used to generate the Hex.
In Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Symphonia, the Mana Cannon is a weapon using surrounding Mana to fire huge beams. In Tales of Phantasia, this cannon was used to decimate an oncoming army of monsters, the remnants of which the player had to fight. It was this cannon that would drain the mana from the planet. The plans for this weapon came from the events of Tales of Symphonia. The Mana Cannon was built to destroy the Tower of Salvation, the link between the two dimensions of the world and the city of the Angels, Derris-Kharlan. Later in the game, it would be used to control a mana disruption, which overtakes the Tower of Salvation. The plans for this Mana Cannon was taken from the Sylvarant-Tethe'alla war 5000 years ago, where it was known as Thor's Hammer.
In Final Fantasy VII, an ancient magical orb created by the Cetra race called a Black Materia can use a super gravitational force to pull a meteorite into the planet's orbit and crash it onto the surface.
In the Lunar: The Silver Star RPG, the Grindery, a massive armored castle running on caterpillar tracks and fueled by magic, fires a beam of extremely potent dragon magic at the floating magic city of Vane to crash it.
The Ace Combat series of video games has a long line of unique superweapons, ranging from large anti-aircraft guns to MIRV-launching satellites. Some examples of these weapons include Stonehenge, SOLG, the Arkbird, and Excalibur.
The Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000 use orbital bombardment as a tactical weapon to wipe out specific hardened or large targets on planetary surfaces. While the Space Marines use it on a tactical scale, the Inquisition may order Exterminatus, the total destruction of a world with viral agents and other superweapons fired from orbit.
[edit] Strategy Games
The term is often used in Real Time Strategy games to define a special weapon or spell ability that is capable of inflicting massive damage on enemy forces, but with great cost and usually with a hefty time-delay between uses. Many nuclear weapons fall into this category, as well as more exotic weapons such as the Ion cannon from the Command & Conquer series and the Weather Control Device in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.
