History Main / ManInTheMachine

** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' features Captain Pike in the second season, but before the accident that leaves him wheelchair bound. There are numerous hints to remind the audience of his eventual fate [[spoiler: and Pike witnesses it for himself due to the season's time travel plot.]]

* In ''Druuna: Morbus Gravis'', it is revealed that the entire city is actually a giant spaceship fought over by a malfunctioning A.I. and its former Captain Lewis, who is nothing more than a head floating in a box that is plugged into the ship. Whenever he wants to talk with Druuna, he does assume AFormYouAreComfortableWith by projecting an image of his younger, handsome self directly into her mind.

A type of ClingyCostume. Strongly related to MobileSuitHuman and WeCanRebuildHim. Compare WetWareCPU and DarkLordOnLifeSupport. Contrast to PeopleJars, which are typically stationary installations that involve the subject being unconscious, unwillingly restrained, or otherwise unable to express autonomy.

* The Cybermen in ''Series/DoctorWho''

** Orks, meanwhile, have ''two'' notable varieties of this trope in their armies, though both are a bit rare as they require a Painboy and Mekboy to cooperate long enough to build the things. First, you have Killa Kans, which are similar to Space Marine Dreadnaughts, only instead of a gravely injured Astartes, the pilots of these machines are Gretchen who volunteer--or get volunteered--to get wired up to a crude battle walker in an excruciatingly painful procedure. The resultant cybernetic war machine is a ten-foot tall rickety metal monstrosity which nevertheless retains some [[DirtyCoward Gretchen cowardace]] in spite of its greater ferocity compared to the average Grot. Deff Dreads are similar constructs, only they use an Ork instead of a Gretchen, and are thus larger with more arms, mass, killy bitz and attitude. Most Orks go through with the procedure in order to become more powerful and get greater standing in their clans and warbands, as being a Deff Dread automatically makes you one of the biggest an' meanest Orks in the clan, only to realize to their [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone dismay]] that being wired up to a giant metal container puts the kibosh on their plans to get stronga' and bigga'. This makes them a little crazy--more so than the average Ork--but they tend to calm down slightly after demolishing a few unfortunate buildings.

He isn't a typical {{Cyborg}}, lamenting [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul his dwindling humanity]], nor is he a BrainInAJar fighting the SenseLossSadness and [[WhatHaveIBecome despair]] their LossOfIdentity brings. He's a normal, ordinary human encased in a mechanical body. He might be created from a person who is fatally wounded or suffering from an illness that makes it impossible for him to survive without heavy life-support machinery. This would normally doom the person to spend the rest of his life bedridden, but if those machines were to be mounted on a robotic frame, they would be able to walk around and interact with others. Their new mechanical body will effectively be a suit of PoweredArmor, immensely strong and tremendously alienating since they can't live outside of it. Is it any wonder those trapped in these bodies as an EmergencyTransformation become [[CrushKillDestroy rampaging engines of destruction?]]

* A recurring character from the British ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'' was Shortfuse, an otherwise normal animal that was turned into a Badnik but who managed to gain free will and rebel against Robotnik. In one comic they showed a cross-section of Shortfuse to show that yeah, he's just a man stuck in a suit with no way to take it off...[[FridgeLogic or pee]]

* In ''VideoGame/RType'', this is how a WetwareCPU was made. The R-9C War-Head is piloted by a biological computer made of amputated pilots linked onto the spacecrafts, the pilots are contained within a capsule known as Angel Pac. The R-9/0 Ragnarok is also speculated to have used a ''[[PoweredByAForsakenChild 23 year old girl stuck in a biologically 14 year old body]]'' as its biological computer, in which the military denied the speculation.

%%* Yoshimitsu from ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' might be considered one of these.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect''
** Tali'Zorah, one of the main party members in the series, is from a species with such debilitatingly weak immune systems that none of them can safely remove their space suits outside of clean rooms.
** The Reaper fighter craft, the Oculus, is a Collector that has been stripped down to the nervous system, hardened to withstand the vacuum of space and placed in the craft to act as a pilot.
* [[spoiler:Porky]] from ''VideoGame/Mother3'' is so old that he must spend all his time within a mechanical bed.
* The ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'' universe features the Meklar race, who have proceeded to this condition willingly.
* Karen S'Jet of VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}.
* Big Daddies from ''VideoGame/BioShock'' are spliced up humans whose internal organs have been removed and grafted directly into huge mechanized diving suits outfitted with [[ThisIsADrill one of]] [[NailEm several]] [[TheTurretMaster weapon]] [[FrickinLaserBeams loadouts]]. The FlawedPrototype Alpha Series Big Daddies are not grafted, and can take their suits off, but in order to be big enough to fill them they have to be spliced up so heavily that [[BodyHorror it's probably better for everyone if they kept them on]].
* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' has the Handymen, made by Bettermen's Autobodies as a means to help the disabled, sickly, or severely injured citizens of Columbia to be better than new. However they are forced into hulking metal bodies that don't work very well, cause them constant pain, and prevents them from sleeping due to the constant noise. This has left them irritable at best and they fly into violent rages that makes them lash out at anyone nearby. [[spoiler:In the dimension where the Vox Populi are banded by Dewitt's death, it appears that that Comstock (or the Comstock you have been chasing) forced perfectly healthy people into Handymen to bulk up his forces... and made them fall right into the Vox's hands.]]
* The Templars, one of the most hated enemies from ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}.'' They are members of The Order whose bodies have decayed so much that they can't live without being hooked to the life support in their {{powered armor}}s.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Deathwing is a special case of this. His proximity to the Demon Soul he created with stolen power from the other four dragon aspects ruptured his body so much, that the goblins had to encase him in full-body elementium plating in order to keep him in one piece. Behind that armor is a horribly crippled, yet still cosmically powerful, draconic body that would nevertheless bleed to death and spill its organs all over the place if it wasn't for those plates.
* [[spoiler:Mr. House]] from ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas''. For the first half of the game, the player is left wondering how someone from the pre-War days could still be alive. When the player eventually meets him, they have the option to break into his security vault and find a massive life-support machine. Furthermore, in one of the endings, it is hinted [[spoiler:that if the player sides with Mr. House, s/he can also receive this life-support treatment and be effectively immortal, if they desire it.]]
** An AndIMustScream variant occurs with the Y-17 Trauma Harnesses in the same game: PowerArmor designed to transport injured occupants to a medical facility was poorly-programmed, and with injury thresholds set too low and no home base specified, they wandered, with their lightly-injured occupants dying slow deaths trapped within them.
** Similarly, Dr. Stanislaus Braun in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', the overseer of Vault 112 and the Tranquility Lane simulation, is a withered old man that has spent the last two hundred years in a combination VR / life support pod, amusing himself by tormented the similarly-confined Vault residents.
** Not quite a human example, but [[BlackKnight Frank]] [[BigBad Horrigan]] in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' is permanently welded/grafted into his [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport life-supporting]] PowerArmor. The Power Armor was made specifically for him as his hulking bulk made him far bigger than any Super Mutant before and to increase his already massive durability.
** Proctor Ingram from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' was bound to her PowerArmor frame after a hundred-foot fall that required the amputation of her legs.
* ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames'' has Militron. Defeating him will actually cause his robotic shell to fall off, revealing a scrawny old man in his boxers who then slinks away in humiliation.
* Alcatraz from ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2''. Later on, it is revealed that [[spoiler:all wearers of the N2 nanosuit eventually become this.]] Toward the end of the game, [[spoiler:Jacob Hargeave]] is revealed to also be one.
* Stroggified Kane in ''VideoGame/{{Quake IV}}''. Also, Cyber Voss and some of the other Strogg monsters.
* [[spoiler:The golems]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', who [[spoiler:were dwarves who were transformed into 10-foot-tall rock creatures, a process that involved having molten rock poured over them and their free will removed. Some volunteered; some didn't.]]
* In the classic steampunk top-down shooter ''VideoGame/TheChaosEngine'', the eponymous machine features its creator, Baron Fortesque, as an unwilling component.
* Von Bolt, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Dual Strike'', extends his life by being hooked up to a machine [[PoweredByAForsakenChild fueled by the planet's energy]].
* [[MadScientist Fennel]] from ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'' is encased in a machine shaped like a giant shoe.
* Desolators from ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' are terminally-ill patients placed in MiniMecha.
* In ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'', when a Nuluupian dies, their soul gets transferred to a humanoid frame that allows them to continue their existence as a {{literal|Metaphor}} ghost in the machine.

* ''Seriess/{{NTSFSDSUV}}'': The NTSF office have their own precog lying in a bathtub filled with "thought goo". When they go and ask her for information, they find Alphonse [[TwoPersonPoolParty in a compromising position with her]].

* Anime/YuGiOh: An interesting example is a member of the Big 5 named Nezbitt, who always wanted to be a machine instead of human, and gets his wish while trapped in a virtual reality world. His back story reveals he used to build tanks and other weapons of war for Kaiba's stepfather, but when Seto took over the company, he was forced to destroy his weapon research and only build technology for games. During his duel with Joey's sister, Tristan and Duke Devlin, he addresses them as humans, and only calls himself a machine, and is always saying that machines are better than humans. This reveals he probably enjoys being a robot, but from a distance, his boss, Noah comments that he's not a real robot - just a sad little man.

* Yugioh: An interesting example is a member of the Big 5 named nezbitt, who always wanted to be a machine instead of human, and gets his wish while trapped in a virtual reality world. His back story reveals he used to build tanks and other weapons of war for Kaibas stepfather, but when kaiba took over the company, he was forced to destroy his lab and weapons and only build technology for games. During his duel with joeys sister, Tristan and duke devlin, he addresses them as humans, and only calls himself a machine, and is always saying that machines are better than humans. This reveals he probably enjoys being a robot, but from a distance, his boss, Noah comments that hes not a real robot just a sad little man.

* Comicbook/IronMan in some continuities. For example, the ''ComicBook/EarthX'' universe has him wired into an entire Stark Enterprises factory, controlling various armors remotely. He's also [[spoiler:the only remaining non-Terrigen'd human]] due to this particular behavior.

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* The ''Film/PacificRim'' fic ''Fanfic/EchoesInTheDark'' has the Sentinels, which are particularly disturbing variation of Jeagers.

[[folder:Film]]
* Darth Vader in ''Franchise/StarWars''. His suit is a comprehensive life-support system, and most of his limbs are cybernetic as well. When [[spoiler:he is unmasked in the final movie, he dies within minutes, though he may have died anyway due to injuries sustained when killing the Emperor.]]
** General Grievous in the prequels can be considered either this or a case of the man ''being'' the machine. His brain, eyes, heart and lungs are still organic, but almost everything else consists of cyborg implants, leading many to assume he is a droid on the first encounter.
* Alex Murphy, aka ''Franchise/RoboCop'', is almost completely mechanical. He doesn't even have a full organic head, just a case for his brain and spinal cord which his face is grafted onto. The [[Film/RoboCop2014 remake's version]] is has ''slightly'' more organic parts, but how little is graphically demonstrated (to the audience [[TomatoInTheMirror and Murphy himself]]) when his machine parts are taken off, leaving just a head, a plastic shell with a few organs (including lungs), and one hand.
* ''Film/SourceCode:'' [[spoiler:The original fate of Cptn. Colter Stevens]]

* Dr. Hephaestus from ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars.'' "When you're on my {{s|paceStation}}tation, you're [[GeniusLoci in my presence.]]"

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* In ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'', this sadly is the Ψiioniic's ultimate fate, having become the Helmsman. He is forced to use his psionics to move The Battleship Condescension and is being kept alive far longer than a troll of his blood color should be able to survive.

** For orks, the process is treated with the usual humorous relish- When a Gretchin is wired into a killa kan, its first act is often to seek revenge on some of the orks who pushed around when it was weak flesh, much to the paternal-like pride of the mekboy who stuffed him in there. Being Gretchins though, a killa kan will flee from a fight despite the punishing firepower the mek has. If an Ork is placed in a Deff Dread (a "Death Dreadnought", so to speak) is less likely to run than a Killa Kan but much more likely to use his power to boss everyone else, including the Mekboy who put them there.

* Dr. Hephaestus from ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars.'' "When you're on my [[SpaceStation station,]] you're [[GeniusLoci in my presence.]]"

* Sergej Luk'yanenko's novel set in the ''Master of Orion'' universe feature the Meklon (error by Luk'yanenko, as in-game the race is called Meklar, Meklon is their homeworld ) - a lizard-like species who almost completely mechanized themselves. Among humans, the mechanist sect attempts to become less bound by flesh in much the same way, to the extreme of willingly becoming powered armors with [[BrainInAJar minimal organic components]]. Although cybernetics and prosthetic cyborg limbs are well-known, the A-Tan technology has greatly reduces the acceptance of cyborgs.
* In [[Creator/AlastairReynolds Alastair Reynold's]] ''[[Literature/RevelationSpaceSeries Revelation Space]]'' series, the BlackBox [[spoiler:Conjoiner drives]] are revealed to be controlled by disembodied [[spoiler:Conjoiner]] brains.

* Max Barry's ''Literature/MachineMan'' features Dr. Charles Neumann, who spends some time in an exceptionally powerful robot body [[spoiler:before eventually just {{Brain Uploading}}]].

* Hybrids in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' are humanoid cylons suspended in tanks of water and wired into Basestars. [[spoiler:Sam becomes a more typical example of this trope late in the series]].

** Even worse, Raiden in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots MGS4]]'', whose only organic parts are (most of) his head and spine.
** In the ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Revengeance]]'' [[{{AnotherSideAnotherStory}} DLC story]] ''Bladewolf'', there's Khamsin, who's encased in a massive war mech from the waist down.

* Tali'Zorah, one of the main party members in all ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games, is from a species with such debilitatingly weak immune systems that none of them can safely remove their space suits outside of clean rooms.

* [[spoiler:Porky]] from ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' is so old that he must spend all his time within a mechanical bed.

* The Templars, one of the most hated enemies from ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}.'' They are members of The Order whose bodies have decayed so much that they can't live without being hooked to the life support in their [[PoweredArmor powered armors]].

* Desolators from ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' are terminally-ill patients placed in MiniMecha

[[/folder]]

->''Faster than a bullet\\

He's half man and half machine''

[[quoteright:330:[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SamGetsFreeBroadband2_817.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330:[[EmergencyTransformation Becoming]] a [[SpaceshipGirl Spaceship Boy]] [[MadOracle isn't]] [[UnusualUserInterface necessarily]] [[InstantOracleJustAddWater fun]].]]

* The Templars, one of the most hated enemies from ''{{Strife}}.'' They are members of The Order whose bodies have decayed so much that they can't live without being hooked to the life support in their [[PoweredArmor powered armors]].

A type of ClingyCostume. Strongly related to MobileSuitHuman and WeCanRebuildHim. Compare WetWareCPU and DarkLordOnLifeSupport.

* Big Daddies from ''VideoGame/BioShock'' are spliced up humans whose bodies have been grafted into huge mechanized diving suits outfitted with [[ThisIsADrill one of]] [[NailEm several]] [[TheTurretMaster weapon]] [[FrickinLaserBeams loadouts]]. The FlawedPrototype Alpha Series Big Daddies are not grafted, and can take their suits off, but in order to be big enough to fill them they have to be spliced up so heavily that [[BodyHorror it's probably better for everyone if they kept them on]].

* One episode of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' had the crew tracking down a cult leader who was encouraging his followers to commit suicide. Eventually, what they discovered was, [[spoiler: the cult leader they were searching for was merely a false identity. The true mastermind behind this was a teenaged hacker who was turned into a vegetable and used his life-support machines to contact the outside world.]]
* Zone, from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds''.
* [[spoiler: Ein Dalton]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is merged with his own mecha after a fatal injury, the treatment was to keep him alive while being able to avenge his fallen allies, the end result is what essentially can be said as ''the pilot himself'' becoming ''the'' AceCustom.

* Comicbook/IronMan in some continuities. For example, the ''ComicBook/EarthX'' universe has him wired into an entire Stark Enterprises factory, controlling various armors remotely. He's also [[spoiler: the only remaining non-Terrigen'd human]] due to this particular behavior.

* Max Barry's ''Literature/MachineMan'' features Dr. Charles Neumann, who spends some time in an exceptionally powerful robot body [[spoiler: before eventually just {{Brain Uploading}}]].

* Hybrids in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' are humanoid cylons suspended in tanks of water and wired into Basestars. [[spoiler: Sam becomes a more typical example of this trope late in the series]].

* In ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid'', Grey Fox is this. His body is [[WeCanRebuildHim grafted surgically]] to his robotic exoskeleton, and he has to constantly take anti-rejection drugs or suffer extreme pain. It's artistic license on Kojima's part, though.[[note]]In RealLife people had to take anti-rejection drugs when they have ''organic'' transplants that don't perfectly match their antibody profiles and are thus rejected by their immune systems. That's why transplants from close relatives are usually preferred -- there's less immunologic differences. In case of cybernetic implants on the other hand the only thing to worry is the matter of allergy and biological compatibility. There's plenty of such materials, one of which, titanium, actually has one of the best strength/weight ratios known.[[/note]]

** Also from [=StarCraft=] are the [[SpaceMarines Marines]]. They are mostly resocialized convicts who are permanently bolted into their powered armor. Tychus Findley in the sequel is an escaped con who is still stuck in his armor.
*** Actually, most marines ''are not'' permanently bolted into their armor. Findley is a very special case.
*** This is of little difference, since in-game, marines are rarely supposed to survive the first battle.
* Yoshimitsu from ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' might be considered one of these.

* [[spoiler: Mr. House]] from ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas''. For the first half of the game, the player is left wondering how someone from the pre-War days could still be alive. When the player eventually meets him, they have the option to break into his security vault and find a massive life-support machine. Furthermore, in one of the endings, it is hinted [[spoiler: that if the player sides with Mr. House, s/he can also receive this life-support treatment and be effectively immortal, if they desire it.]]

* Alcatraz from ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2''. Later on, it is revealed that [[spoiler: all wearers of the N2 nanosuit eventually become this.]] Toward the end of the game, [[spoiler: Jacob Hargeave]] is revealed to also be one.

* [[spoiler: The golems]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', who [[spoiler: were dwarves who were transformed into 10-foot-tall rock creatures, a process that involved having molten rock poured over them and their free will removed. Some volunteered; some didn't.]]

* An [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_lung iron lung]] is a machine which enables a person to breath, when the muscle control of the lungs is lost. Simply put, it's a steel cylinder with a person fully inside, except from the head, that keeps the person alive. For some it is a FateWorseThanDeath.

* In ''[[Literature/DreamPark The Moon Maze Game]]'', one of the players is a champion gamer crippled by an illness. To allow her to play in the steampunk-themed adventure, she's equipped with a robotic life-support capsule which, in-story, was supposedly crafted by Captain Nemo.

* Skulker from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' counts, as he is actually an apple sized, tooth shaped ghost inside a ghostly mecha the size of a tall human.
** Technus also counts. A ghost that fuses with technology to form a much bigger mecha. Although not quite big enough to count as a HumongousMecha.
* White Knight from ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' plays with this. Technically, he does not need his containment suit nor his HumongousMecha, he instead utilizes them to completely seal off himself from the rest of the world, and thus the Nanites which infect all living things. Besides of course himself.
** This has made him become quite paranoid, due to the random creation of Evos from Nanite-infected life being the main issue in his universe (and main plot to the show). The possibility of a normal, mundane businessman turning, at any moment, into a giant, rampaging cancer-cyclops has lead him to believe that he can only trust himself, because he is the last "clean" being alive.
* This eventually happens to [[spoiler:Silas]] in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. He seems thrilled with his new life. Nobody else seems to like it. Maybe if the machine in question weren't the corpse of a MechanicalLifeform, things would be different.