History Main / Superweapon

* ''Videogame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' sees the [[HigherTechSpecies Protoss]] on the run from their {{Abusive Precursor|s}}, Amon. To stand a chance, they activate TheArk made by their ancestors - [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture sealed away]] until the DarkestHour was upon their descendants. This Arkship, known as ''The Spear of Adun'' is slow to reenergize over the course of the campaign, but as it slowly powers up, it becomes clear that this is much more than a mere Arkship: The weaponry it sports can glass planets, and even fleets of capital ships cannot withstand that kind of firepower, it's got the production capabilities to rival entire planets as well, which means it can construct and launch capital ships itself, holds a legion of Protoss warriors who willingly entered stasis to fight in the DarkestHour, is an {{Arcology}} InSpace thanks to its miniature Dysonsphere powercore which not only provides it with power for all its functions, but also allows it to feed its Protoss occupants as they [[BizarreAlienBiology photosynthesize]], is extremely maneuverable for its size, and is nigh-MadeOfIndestructium - the only thing that did any significant damage were entire fleets of ships weaponizing RammingAlwaysWorks, and it still survived that in a repairable state, while the attackers did not survive at all. This is a ship that, once fully powered, is completely unrivalled by anything InUniverse - to the point where even the CustomBuiltHost Amon built for himself couldn't stand up to it. The caveat is that because it is LostTechnology, it [[GatheringSteam takes a long while to get to this stage]], and while this process can be sped up by feeding the powercore a mineral known as Solarite, [[{{Unobtanium}} Solarite is a lot more limited now than it was back when the Spear of Adun was created]], leaving an instant-energizing beyond the capabilities of current-day Protoss; The Spear of Adun used to be one amongst three sister Arkships, but the other two were activated in the defense of Protoss homeworld during an AlienInvasion by the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg Swarm]] - these Arkships did not have the time to energize at all, and were taken out by the Zerg through copius amounts of [[TropeNamers literal]] ZergRush: The Spear of Adun only survived this fate because it was left inactive, and the HordeOfAlienLocusts settled for infesting it, rather than destroying it.

* ''Videogame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' sees the [[HigherTechSpecies Protoss]] on the run from their {{Abusive Precursor|s}}, Amon. To stand a chance, they activate TheArk made by their ancestors - [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture sealed away]] until the DarkestHour was upon their descendants. This Arkship, known as ''The Spear of Adun'' is slow to reenergize over the course of the campaign, but as it slowly powers up, it becomes clear that this is much more than a mere Arkship: The weaponry it sports can glass planets, and even fleets of capital ships cannot withstand that kind of firepower, it's got the production capabilities to rival entire planets as well, which means it can construct and launch capital ships itself, holds a legion of Protoss warriors who willingly entered stasis to fight in the DarkestHour, is an {{Arcology}} InSpace thanks to its miniature Dysonsphere powercore which not only provides it with power for all its functions, but also allows it to feed its Protoss occupants as they [[BizarreAlienBiology photosynthesize]], is extremely maneuverable for its size, and is nigh-MadeOfIndestructium - the only thing that did any significant damage were entire fleets of ships weaponizing RammingAlwaysWorks, and it still survived that in a repairable state, while the attackers did not survive at all. This is a ship that, once fully powered, is completely unrivalled by anything InUniverse - to the point where even the CustomBuiltHost Amon built for himself couldn't stand up to it. The caveat is that because it is LostTechnology, it [[GatheringSteam takes a long while to get to this stage]], and while this process can be sped up by feeding the powercore a mineral known as Solarite, [[{{Unobtanium}} Solarite is a lot more limited now than it was back when the Spear of Adun was created]], leaving an instant-energizing beyond the capabilities of current-day Protoss; The Spear of Adun used to be one amongst three sister Arkships, but the other two were activated in the defense of Protoss homeworld during an AlienInvasion by the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg Swarm]] - these Arkships did not have the time to energize at all, and were taken out by the HordeOfAlienLocusts that was invading the homeworld through copius amounts of literal ZergRush: The Spear of Adun only survived this fate because it was left inactive, and the HordeOfAlienLocusts settled for infesting it, rather than destroying it.

* ''Videogame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' sees the [[HigherTechSpecies Protoss]] on the run from their {{Abusive Precursor|s}}, Amon. To stand a chance, they activate TheArk made by their ancestors - [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture sealed away]] until the DarkestHour was upon their descendants. This Arkship, known as ''The Spear of Adun'' is slow to reenergize over the course of the campaign, but as it slowly powers up, it becomes clear that this is much more than a mere Arkship: The weaponry it sports can glass planets, and even fleets of capital ships cannot withstand that kind of firepower, it's got the production capabilities to rival entire planets as well, which means it can construct and launch capital ships itself, holds a legion of Protoss warriors who willingly entered stasis to fight in the DarkestHour, is an {{Arcology}} InSpace thanks to its miniature Dyson Sphere powercore which not only provides it with power for all its functions, but also allows it to feed its Protoss occupants as they [[BizarreAlienBiology photosynthesize]], is extremely maneuverable for its size, and is nigh-MadeofIndestructium - the only thing that did any significant damage were entire fleets of ships weaponizing RammingAlwaysWorks, and it still survived that in a repairable state, while the attackers did not survive at all. This is a ship that, once fully powered, is completely unrivalled by anything InUniverse - to the point where even the CustomBuiltHost Amon built for himself couldn't stand up to it. The caveat is that because it is LostTechnology, it [[GatheringSteam takes a long while to get to this stage]], and while this process can be sped up by feeding the powercore a mineral known as Solarite, [[{{Unobtanium}} Solarite is a lot more limited now than it was back when the Spear of Adun was created]], leaving an instant-energizing beyond the capabilities of current-day Protoss; The Spear of Adun used to be one amongst three sister Arkships, but the other two were activated in the defense of Protoss homeworld during an AlienInvasion by the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg Swarm]] - these Arkships did not have the time to energize at all, and were taken out by the HordeOfAlienLocusts that was invading the homeworld through copius amounts of literal ZergRush: The Spear of Adun only survived this fate because it was left inactive, and the HordeOfAlienLocusts settled for infesting it, rather than destroying it.

----

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has Numidium, a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]] crafted HumongousMecha designed to be powered by the [[CosmicKeystone heart]] of a [[GodIsDead "dead" god]] (and ultimately powered by what is believed to be that god's ''soul''). It is a MechanicalAbomination that [[RealityWarper distorts reality]] around it merely by being ''activated'' and is prone to causing {{Time Crash}}es when used. The Dwemer intended to turn it into a new god, but [[RiddleForTheAges mysteriously disappeared]] before they could use it. Thus, it fell into the hands of their longtime rivals, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmer (Dark Elves)]] of Morrowind, led by a trio of PhysicalGod [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deities of Human Origin]], the Tribunal (who "stole" their godhood from the intended power source of Numidium). After a few thousand years, however, their reformed ancient enemy, Dagoth Ur (BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''), returned and cut them off from their source of divine power. Without it, the Tribunal knew that they could not stop [[FounderOfTheKingdom Tiber Septim]] as his Imperial Legions came to conquer Morrowind. One of the Tribunal, Vivec, met with Septim and offered the [[VoluntaryVassal Voluntary Vassalization]] of Morrowind. As tribute, he also offered Numidium in exchange for special privileges for Morrowind that other provinces did not receive (such as the continued rule of the Tribunal and the practice of slavery, which was outlawed in the rest of the empire). Septim accepted and immediately put him mages to work devising a power source for Numidium. There are several competing stories of exactly what happened next (some considered heretical by Imperial historians), but his [[CourtMage Imperial Battlemage]] Zurin Arctus would manage to capture the soul of Wulfharth Ash-King, a renowned [[EternalHero Shezzarine]] (essentially the soul of a [[GodInHumanForm god in mortal form]]), inside of the Mantella, a soul gem of incredible power. The act would cost Arctus his life as well, but Septim would use the Mantella to power Numidium and complete his conquest of Tamriel. In particular, he used it to deal a CurbStompBattle to the Altmer (High Elves) of the Summerset Isles, a WitchSpecies race with armies of {{Magic Knight}}s who had never been conquered by an outside force, ''in less than an hour'' of fighting. A mysterious entity known as the Underking (presumed to be an undead merger of Arctus and Wulfharth), would later dismantle Numidium and hide the Mantella in Atherius, a SpiritWorld outside the mortal realm. Finding it and determining which regional power would get to use the reactivated Numidium is a main quest plot point in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]''. Numidium would turn up yet again in former series writer Creator/MichaelKirkbride[='s=] LooseCanon web comic script ''Script/{{C0DA}}'' as the BigBad intent on refuting the entire world out of existence.

*** the Stonehenge was built as a series of rotating cannons capable of shooting down the Ulysses meteor and any other fragments from it. For the first half of the game, it serves as a long-range anti-air weapon against the ISAF forces that forms a perimeter that prevents them from advancing. It can shoot down any bombers attempting to get too close. One mission tasks you with destroying the solar farms that provide power to it, but then you have to avoid getting shot down by it by staying below a certain altitude and flying through a series of canyons just to escape its range.
*** Once Stongehenge was destroyed, the Eruseans fall back to the Megalith, which was capable of firing ballistic missiles anywhere across the Usean continent. Failure to blow it up before it activates is an instant game over.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' has the SOLG. It's a KillSat that can launch nukes. Should it lose contact from whoever is controlling it on the surface, it is programmed to [[ColonyDrop fall from orbit and destroy a pre-determined city]].

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' features the Arsenal Birds, two gigantic AI-controlled airborne carriers that are able to dispense dozens of {{Attack Drone}}s to do its fighting. They also have DeflectorShields that prevents damage from conventional weapons. All throughout the story, their arrival on the battlefield forces the Osean forces into retreating, because the two of them form a perimeter around the SpaceElevator that is key to winning the war. [[spoiler:It takes the final cannon from Stonehenge that wasn't destroyed in ''Ace Combat 4'' to pierce through the shields and destroy one of them]].

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has Numidium, a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]] crafted HumongousMecha designed to be powered by the [[CosmicKeystone heart]] of a [[GodIsDead "dead" god]] (and ultimately powered by what is believed to be that god's ''soul''). It is a MechanicalAbomination that [[RealityWarper distorts reality]] around it merely by being ''activated'' and is prone to causing {{Time Crash}}es when used. The Dwemer intended to turn it into a new god, but [[RiddleForTheAges mysteriously disappeared]] before they could use it. Thus, it fell into the hands of their longtime rivals, the [[OurElvesAreBetter Dunmer (Dark Elves)]] of Morrowind, led by a trio of PhysicalGod [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deities of Human Origin]], the Tribunal (who "stole" their godhood from the intended power source of Numidium). After a few thousand years, however, their reformed ancient enemy, Dagoth Ur (BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''), returned and cut them off from their source of divine power. Without it, the Tribunal knew that they could not stop [[FounderOfTheKingdom Tiber Septim]] as his Imperial Legions came to conquer Morrowind. One of the Tribunal, Vivec, met with Septim and offered the [[VoluntaryVassal Voluntary Vassalization]] of Morrowind. As tribute, he also offered Numidium in exchange for special privileges for Morrowind that other provinces did not receive (such as the continued rule of the Tribunal and the practice of slavery, which was outlawed in the rest of the empire). Septim accepted and immediately put him mages to work devising a power source for Numidium. There are several competing stories of exactly what happened next (some considered heretical by Imperial historians), but his [[CourtMage Imperial Battlemage]] Zurin Arctus would manage to capture the soul of Wulfharth Ash-King, a renowned [[EternalHero Shezzarine]] (essentially the soul of a [[GodInHumanForm god in mortal form]]), inside of the Mantella, a soul gem of incredible power. The act would cost Arctus his life as well, but Septim would use the Mantella to power Numidium and complete his conquest of Tamriel. In particular, he used it to deal a CurbStompBattle to the Altmer (High Elves) of the Summerset Isles, a WitchSpecies race with armies of {{Magic Knight}}s who had never been conquered by an outside force, ''in less than an hour'' of fighting. A mysterious entity known as the Underking (presumed to be an undead merger of Arctus and Wulfharth), would later dismantle Numidium and hide the Mantella in Atherius, a SpiritWorld outside the mortal realm. Finding it and determining which regional power would get to use the reactivated Numidium is a main quest plot point in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]''. Numidium would turn up yet again in former series writer Creator/MichaelKirkbride[='s=] LooseCanon web comic script ''Script/{{C0DA}}'' as the BigBad intent on refuting the entire world out of existence.

* GreyGoo: Set on nanobot on a world, tell it to make 10 copies of itself out of any available material, and then wait. Eventually, the entire planet is EatenAlive as the nanobots consume even the weapons used to fight it.

** ''Videogame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'' is the only one of the three main series to use anything beyond range and deadliness of its superweapons; while they certainly have that, they also feature the [[TeleportersAndTransporters Chronosphere]], the [[MadeOfIndestructium Iron Curtain]], and the [[BeehiveBarrier Nanoswarm Barrier]], the former providing instant relocation of a sizeable group of vehicles, while the latter two makes anything within their targetting area ''completely'' indestructible - while the Iron Curtain targets a smaller area than the Nanoswarm Barrier, the nanoswarm barrier marks the targetted area in which nothing can be damaged, while the iron curtain makes the targetted ''units'' indestructible, leaving them free to run rampant against a helpless opposition.

Superweapons are weapons for which there is no practical counter. Whenever one enters a setting, their mere presence and scale overshadow any conventional weaponry available. Whether that be through:

* [[AntiArmor The ability to punch clean through armor]] and DeflectorShields in a setting where those are tried, tested and true.
* Having an enormous range that enables them to fire outside any hopes of retaliation.
* Being the ultimate example of FriendlyFireproof and [[PhlebotinumBomb only targetting your enemies]].
* Turning their targets [[MadeOfIndestructium invulnerable]][[note]]Or being inpervious to harm itself[[/note]]
* Providing an InvisibilityCloak to allow operation with impunity.
* A WorldWreckingWave [[note]]Conversely, something creating a WorldHealingWave might also be considered a superweapon[[/note]].
* WrongContextMagic that no one knows how to deal with.
* [[TimeMaster Being able to manipulate time itself]].
* A SyntheticPlague that immune systems cannot fight and for which medicine doesn't exist.
* Turning your garden-variety {{Mooks}} into SuperSoldiers.
* or simply dialing the destructive power so far [[UpToEleven past eleven]] that nothing is left in their wake.

Whatever the specifics, superweapons are game changers exactly because conventional means of fighting is completely negated by their in-universe {{Game Break|er}}ing abilities[[note]]in much the same way that an army of {{muggles}} usually serve as nothing more than CannonFodder if there's a DifferentlyPoweredIndividual around[[/note]], to the point that conflicts are often decided by who controls them or whether or not they can be destroyed/disabled before they can be used. Usually the superweapon's mere existence means any conventional [[GodzillaThreshold rules go out the window]], but it can also be the case that ''firing'' it might not be considered an option until no other recourse is left[[note]]This is especially the case if the weapon in question is indiscriminate and leaves a lot of collateral damage, or if [[PowerAtAPrice there is some cost to its activation]][[/note]].

Sometimes the only counter to a superweapon [[TakesOneToKillOne is another superweapon]] and in these situations the superweapons might end up becoming the object of a LensmanArmsRace and suffer UniquenessDecay as a result (as was the case throughout history), while relegating conventional fighting to theaters of battle without their presence.

** The ''Videogame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'' prominently feature [[UnitedNationsIsASuperpower GDI]]'s [[KillSat Ion Cannon]], and it is mentioned InUniverse that it became really easy for GDI to outlaw their own nukes and shame the use of such when they possessed a [[LoopholeAbuse different]] weapon of that was otherwise just as devastating and unblockable.
** ''Videogame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'' is the only one of the three main series to use anything beyond range and deadliness of its superweapons; while they certainly have that, they also feature the [[TeleportersAndTransporters Chronosphere]], the [[MadeOfIndestructium Iron Curtain]], and the [[BeehiveBarrier Nanoswarm Barrier]], the former providing instant relocation of a sizeable group of vehicles, while the latter two makes anything within their targetting area ''completely'' indestructible - while the Iron Curtain targets a smaller area than the Nanoswarm Barrier, the nanoswarm barrier marks the targetted area in which nothing can be damaged, while the iron curtain makes the targetted ''units'' indestructible, leaving them free to run rampant against a helpless opposition.

Whatever the specifics, superweapons are game changers exactly because conventional means of fighting is completely negated by their in-universe {{Game Break|er}}ing abilities[[note]]in much the same way that an army of {{muggles}} usually serve as nothing more than CannonFodder if there's a DifferentlyPoweredIndividual around]][[/note]], to the point that conflicts are often decided by who controls them or whether or not they can be destroyed/disabled before they can be used. Usually the superweapon's mere existence means any conventional [[GodzillaThreshold rules go out the window]], but it can also be the case that ''firing'' it might not be considered an option until no other recourse is left[[note]]This is especially the case if the weapon in question is indiscriminate and leaves a lot of collateral damage, or if [[PowerAtAPrice there is some cost to its activation]][[/note]].

Superweapons are weapons for which there is no practical counter. They're to normal weapons what "Superhumans" is to regular humans. Whenever one enters a setting, their mere presence and scale overshadow any conventional weaponry available. Whether that be through:

Whatever the specifics, superweapons are game changers exactly because conventional means of fighting is completely negated by their in-universe {{Game Break|er}}ing abilities, to the point that conflicts are often decided by who controls them or whether or not they can be destroyed/disabled before they can be used. Usually the superweapon's mere existence means any conventional [[GodzillaThreshold rules go out the window]], but it can also be the case that ''firing'' it might not be considered an option until no other recourse is left (especially the case if it is indiscriminate and leaves a lot of collateral damage, or if [[PowerAtAPrice there is some cost to its activation]]).

Sometimes the only counter to a superweapon [[TakesOneToKillOne is another superweapon]] and in these situations the superweapons might end up becoming the object of a LensmanArmsRace and suffer UniquenessDecay as a result (as it was in history), while relegating conventional fighting to theaters of battle without their presence.

Superweapons are weapons for which there is no practical counter. Whenever one enters a setting, their mere presence and scale overshadow any conventional weaponry available. Whether that be through:

Sometimes the only counter to a superweapon [[TakesOneToKillOne is another superweapon]] and in these situations the superweapons might end up becoming the object of a LensmanArmsRace and suffer UniquenessDecay as a result, while relegating conventional fighting to theaters of battle without their presence.

* In the early 20th century, the invention of machineguns practically rendered conventional battle tactics moot; the reason why so much of Usefulnotes/WorldWar1 was resigned to trench warfare and artillery shelling was that there was no effective way to challenge an entrenched machinegun -- Artillery was not powerful (or accurate) enough to breach the entrenched positions, and any attempt to charge was [[SelfDestructiveCharge self-destructive]] at best and only the suicidal (or those erroneously believing in the MarkedBullet propaganda) would do so. This sheer dominance directly led to the accelerated invention of the {{Tank|Goodness}}, which never held superweapon status as the first incarnations moved so slowly they could be outpaced by walking, which -- coupled with their size -- made them really easy to hit with direct artillery strikes. By the time they were moving at a speed that didn't make them easy targets for artillery, personnel-carried and truck-hauled anti-tank weaponry had been invented.

* The ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' has the Infinity Gauntlet, an armored gauntlet designed to harness the energies of the six [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Gems]]. While the individual infinity gems that power it are powerful, none of them are insurmountable in a {{Superhero}} setting -- but the gauntlet can harness all six ''at once'' for ''universe''-spanning effects with absolutely no means of defending against it - the wielder, in essence, becomes TheOmnipotent. Once the gauntlet enters play, the goals of everyone else become "Keep the infinity gems far away from it", and once it [[spoiler: is [[Film/AvergersInfinityWar used to wipe out fully half of all sentient life]], the goal [[Film/AvengersEndgame immediately shifts to using it to undo the devastation]].]]

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[[folder: Real Life]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': The StoryArc of Season 1 is built around the search for a LostSuperweapon called Project Domination, an ultimate weapon created by a rogue Meekrob MadScientist, which was then cast out into the stars by the rest of his disgusted species to be lost forever. When finally found, it turns out to be a WaveMotionGun so powerful that at minimum power it unleashes streams of energy the size of double-decker buses, and at maximum power is projected to be capable of punching holes into a planet the size of ''Lithuania''.

* In the early 20th century, the invention of machineguns practically rendered conventional battle tactics moot; the reason why so much of Usefulnotes/WorldWar1 was resigned to trench warfare and artillery shelling was that there was no effective way to challenge an entrenched machinegun -- Artillery was not powerful enough to breach the entrenched positions, and any attempt to charge was a SelfDestructiveCharge at best and only the suicidal (or those erroneously believing in the MarkedBullet propaganda) would charge it. This sheer dominance directly led to the accelerated invention of the {{Tank|Goodness}}, which never held superweapon status as the first incarnations moved at a pace that could be outpaced by walking, which - coupled with their size - made them really easy to hit with direct artillery strikes. By the time they were moving at a pace that didn't make them easy targets for artillery, personnel-carried and truck-hauled anti-tank weaponry had been invented.

* Giving them an InvisibilityCloak to allow operation with impunity.

[[/folder]]

Indices: OlderThanFeudalism, WeaponsAndWieldingTropes, ThisIndexHitsForMassiveDamage

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