History Main / SympatheticSentientWeapon

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* Literature/{{Discworld}}'s [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' were an entire species of this in their BackStory. They're {{Super Soldier}}s, they're descended from modified humans, and they didn't ''want'' to be fighting in the hordes of the Evil Empire. Unfortunately, nobody remembers this, and they're wrongly seen as AlwaysChaoticEvil. (Mr. Nutt, the major orc character in the present day, is also a {{woobie}} but not a weaponized one.)

* Alice the DarkMagicalGirl was raised by the overlord to be a lethal TykeBomb despite a kindhearted nature, leaving her a miserable BrokenBird who only fights the heroes because she is told to. The heroes ''know'' [[DefusingTheTykeBomb she can be saved]].

* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Once [[NebulousEvilOrganization The Jahana Group]] becomes aware of Satomi's [[TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne immense]] [[LifeEnergy spirit energy]], they pressure her into entering the VG Tournament by going after [[IllGirl her brother]]. [[TheDragon Damian]] causes his condition to relapse, then offers to cover the procedure needed to cure him... [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse on the condition that Satomi enter the tournament.]] She's left with no choice but to accept their terms and is subjected to the [[CodeName "Black Goddess"]] project, which turns her into a vessel for [[spoiler: [[BigBad Miranda Jahana]]]]'s disembodied spirit.

* This is revealed to be [[spoiler:[[AmnesiacHero Oz's]] sin and backstory]] in ''Manga/PandoraHearts,'' as well as the true secret behind [[CataclysmBackstory the Tragedy of Sablier]]. Played for both drama and horror with the reveal that [[spoiler:''he'' was the [[LivingWeapon Chain]] that, under the control of a madman with no regard for anyone's lives, slaughtered and sank the city of Sablier into the Abyss. [[AndIMustScream Entirely against his will.]] Oh, and those echoing tortured screams and pleadings to stop he heard in the ruins a century later? His own.]]
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this turns out to be the true nature of the Colossal, Armored, and Female Titans. [[spoiler: Their nation keeps their people in slavery, keeping them alive as fodder for their war machine and not even considering them human beings. Their families volunteered them for a TykeBomb program as small children, having been promised their freedom in exchange. The children were subjected to TrainingFromHell and extensive indoctrination, then given a power that will ''kill them'' in 13 years. They were sent on a mission to exterminate the people living within the Walls, based on false promises and a made-up threat against the world. Over the years, Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie all begin to psychologically fall apart under the strain of their mission....but are unable to disobey their superiors out of fear for their own lives and those of their families. In the end, only Reiner returned from the mission, becoming a ShellShockedVeteran forced to "prove" his usefulness and loyalty by fighting on the front lines of a major war. Even after getting back into his superiors' good graces, he is left simply waiting for his superiors to pick his replacement and kill him. In a private conversation, he breaks down and describes being one of Marley's Warriors as a cursed existence with a "black future"]].

* ComicBook/{{X 23}} is a textbook example. She was cloned from ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} to be a TykeBomb and has been forced to kill a number of people, including her mother and her sensei.

* In ''Series/{{Believe}}'', there is Sean, a TykeBomb from Project Orchestra who was being held in reserve because he lacked the emotional stability of the candidates ahead of him. Of course, with Bo having been rescued and Joshua stuck in a coma, Sean automatically moved to the head of the line, and it's clear that he's not happy about it.

-->'''Roga Danar:''' My improved reflexes have allowed me to kill eighty-four times. And my improved memory allows me to remember each of those eighty-four faces. Can you imagine what that feels like?"

* Most Valkyria in the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' series. They're highly sought-after by both sides of the Europan War due to the destructive powers they possess, but those that end up in an army's employ are treated more like weapons that human beings, often up to [[ItIsDehumanizing being referred to as "it"]]. And that's the best case scenario. At worst, they're experimented on in labs (often from childhood) or used as living batteries. It's no wonder most of them are downright broken: Selvaria from the first game is a LoveMartyr to the BigBad, while Crymaria from the 4th game suffers from severe self-worth issues and a desire to be praised, along with [[PowerIncontinence not being able to fully control her powers.]] NobleDemon enemy general Klaus Waltz is the only one to call out her superiors for their treatment of her, [[spoiler: and the two end up surviving and becoming a couple after the war]].

* Grace from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. She was created specifically to kill Damien (she has fireproof fur that makes her immune from his fire-based attacks, and special claws that reduce his healing factor), but is naiïve, "bubbly", and hates violence.

* Grace from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. She was created specifically to kill Damien (she has fireproof fur that makes her immune from his fire-based attacks, and special claws that reduce his healing factor), but is naive, "bubbly", and hates violence.

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this turns out to be the true nature of the Colossal, Armored, and Female Titans. [[spoiler: Their nation keeps their people in slavery, keeping them alive as fodder for their war machine and not even considering them human beings. Their families volunteered them for a TykeBomb program as small children, having been promised their freedom in exchange. The children were subjected to TrainingFromHell and extensive indoctrination, then given a power that will ''kill them'' in 13 years. They were sent on a mission to exterminate the people living within the Walls, based on false promises and a made-up threat against the world. Over the years, Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie all begin to psychologically fall apart under the strain of their mission....but are unable to disobey their superiors out of fear for their own lives and those of their families. In the end, only Reiner returned from the mission and becomes a ShellShockedVeteran forced to "prove" his usefulness and loyalty by fighting on the front lines of a major war. Even after getting back into his superiors' good graces, he is left simply waiting for his superiors to pick his replacement and kill him. In a private conversation, he breaks down and describes being one of Marley's Warriors as a cursed existence with a "black future"]].

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* The cyborgs in ''Series/GunslingerGirl'' have elements of this, considering that they're young girls who didn't consent to any of this, and the side of effects of cyberneticization and associated conditioning will eventually cost them their personalities and lives. Unusually for the trope, some of them have horrific enough backstories that this isn't the worst thing to ever happen to them.

* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Once [[NebulousEvilOrganization The Jahana Group]] becomes aware of Satomi's [[TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne immense]] [[LifeEnergy spirit energy]], they pressure her by causing [[IllGirl her brother's]] condition to relapse. Then had [[TheDragon Damian]] offer to cover the expenses for his treatment... [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse on the condition that Satomi enter the VG tournament.]] She's left with no choice but to accept their terms and is subjected to the [[CodeName "Black Goddess"]] project, which turns her into a vessel for [[spoiler: [[BigBad Miranda Jahana]]]]'s disembodied spirit.

* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Once [[NebulousEvilOrganization The Jahana Group]] becomes aware of Satomi's immense latent fighting potential, they pressure her by causing [[IllGirl her brother's]] condition to relapse. Then had [[TheDragon Damian]] offer to cover the expenses for his treatment... [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse on the condition that Satomi enter the VG tournament.]] She's left with no choice but to accept their terms and is subjected to the [[CodeName "Black Goddess"]] project, which turns her into a vessel for [[spoiler: [[BigBad Miranda Jahana]]]]'s disembodied spirit.

* ''VideoGame/ShiningResonance'': It's unknown exactly how long Marion and her twin brother, Ette, were subjected to Joachim's cruel experiments, she was the only one who survived the procedure. Joachim conditioned her to serve [[ChildSoldiers as his tool]], by giving her enhanced speed and analytical ability. Thankfully, she was eventually rescued by Yuma and his companions.

* Literature/{{Discworld}}'s [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' were an entire species of this in their BackStory. They're {{Super Soldier}}s, they're descended from modified humans, and they didn't ''want'' to be fighting in the hordes of the Evil Empire. (Mr. Nutt, the major orc character in the present day, is also a {{woobie}} but not a weaponized one.)

** The Cybermen in the new(er) series, who are essentially {{Muggles}} enslaved and forcibly made to {{Take a Level in Badass}}.
** In some ways, the Moment in "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]".

* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series the Hork-Bajir were peaceful, dopey race of herbivores that happened to be living incarnations of the LightningBruiser and AbsurdlySharpClaws tropes- making them the perfect shock troops for the Yeerks after being conquered and enslaved.

See also {{Tykebomb}} and HumanWeapon. Subtrope of MadeASlave. Compare IAmNotAGun, when this is {{lampshaded}}, and WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. HenchmenRace combined with WoobieSpecies results in an army of these. Related to FaceMonsterTurn which covers turning someone into something monstrous against their will with variety of reasons and methods.

Their enhancements make them formidable, perhaps even [[ImplacableMan nigh unstoppable]], but they're still under control of their masters and have no real way to refuse their commands, no matter how traumatizing or morally abhorrent. Because of the inherent risks of keeping traumatized {{Super Soldier}}s with multiple reasons to hate them, their masters often control them through some form of coercion, ranging from [[ShameIfSomethingHappened blackmail]], MindManipulation or by outright [[EmptyShell making them mindless]] - often by way of [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul cybernetic enhancements]].

!Examples

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* Played straight for many ChildSoldier characters in ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' - that includes adults that had been Child Soldiers in their youth, dating back to the very first Hokage's time. However, it is sometimes inverted - the character is purposefully made TheWoobie to increase his combat power through TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening.

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* When ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' ran into an evil CaptainErsatz version of ComicBook/TheAvengers, the Midnighter managed to talk the IronMan equivalent away by making him realize he was this ("you're just a weapon with a larynx"). In the epilogue, he writes a letter thanking Midnighter for saving him, having found a home and a family.

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* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''. The Winter Soldier turns out to be [[spoiler: Bucky Barnes, Steve's presumed-dead HeterosexualLifePartner]]. HYDRA turned him into an amnesiac cyborg super-assassin. And it gets even more tragic from there. Not only is he being (essentially) forced to serve the organisation he gave his life to stop, but ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' reveals that he's also [[spoiler:a ManchurianAgent - even once he's left HYDRA and assassination behind and regained enough of his memories to navigate his life, he's still forced to carry out whatever reprehensible acts the forces of evil want him to commit, so long as they know the correct trigger words. And activation appears to be something of a painful experience.]]

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* Marsh from ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''. Like all Inquisitors, he is inhumanly strong and fast, virtually unkillable, not to mention things like flying through the air thanks to [[FunctionalMagic Allomancy]]. But the process of gaining those powers was gruesome and while for some time he enjoyed autonomy, in later books he is controlled by cosmic entity Ruin, whose aim is basically [[MeaningfulName to bring the world to ruin]]. He can still think on his own but most of the time he is fully under control of Ruin - and when it is busy somewhere else, he just stands in the middle of a plain, being slowly covered by ash. He is, however [[spoiler: instrumental in bringing Ruin's ultimate downfall and in ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'' he is a legendary figure]].

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* ''Series/DoctorWho''

** In some ways, the Moment.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': ''[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E11TheHunted The Hunted]]'', Roga Danar
-->"My improved reflexes have allowed me to kill eighty-four times. And my improved memory allows me to remember each of those eighty-four faces. Can you imagine what that feels like?"

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* Grace from ''WebComic/ElGoonishShive''. She was created specifically to kill Damien (she has fireproof fur that makes her immune from his fire-based attacks, and special claws that reduce his healing factor), but is naive, "bubbly", and hates violence.
* Gunther in ''Webcomic/{{Collar 6}}'' was "Project Vojna," a SuperSoldier prototype who was being conditioned into a mindless, remorseless killer. Unfortunately for his handlers, they [[WouldntHurtAChild pushed him too far]], and he bolted.

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''. [[spoiler: The Winter Soldier turns out to be Bucky Barnes, Steve's presumed-dead HeterosexualLifePartner. HYDRA turned him into an amnesiac cyborg super-assassin.]]
** [[spoiler: and it gets even more tragic from there. Not only is he being (essentially) forced to serve the organisation he gave his life to stop, but ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' reveals that he's also a ManchurianAgent - even once he's left HYDRA and assassination behind and regained enough of his memories to navigate his life, he's still forced to carry out whatever reprehensible acts the forces of evil want him to commit, so long as they know the correct trigger words. And activation appears to be something of a painful experience.]]

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* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' Oreg is a slave who is bound by dark magic to do everything his master orders him to do. ''Everything''. Someone notices, after watching him fight, that he has been trained as assassin. Not so much a sentient weapon as a sentient swiss knife; he can do a lots of other things besides fighting. While he can materialize a seemingly human body, the dark magic his father inflicted on him turned him into the forsaken child in the PoweredByAForsakenChild castle Hurog.

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A more pitiable variant of the SuperSoldier or LivingWeapon, the Sympathetic Sentient Weapon is given increased combat ability by someone with power over them at the cost of their happiness and basic autonomy. The acquisition of their combat abilities is involuntary and often unpleasant or dangerous.

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