History Main / HumanWeapon

** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2'' has the rest of the world fearing that the US government would start utilizing these in politically motivated conflicts after Cap saves some hostages in the Middle East. Which is exactly what they do, crippling a nuclear program in Afghanistan.

* Many of the characters in both ''VideoGame/{{SUGURI}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{SORA}}'' are this, having had their bodies augmented to go fight in wars. The most notable examples are Sora and Nath (who were both given the title of "Ultimate Weapon"), and [[spoiler:Star Breaker, who is pretty much PersonOfMassDestruction incarnate]]. The one exception however is Suguri; while she may have had her body altered and is armed with enough weaponry to take on an invading army, her true purpose is to restore the planet after it was led to ruin by the ForeverWar. Presumably those weapons are for self-defense purposes...

* Many of the characters in both ''VideoGame/{{SUGURI}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{SORA}}'' are this, having had their bodies augmented to go fight in wars. The most notable examples are Sora and Nath (who were both given the title of "Ultimate Weapon"), and [[spoiler:Star Breaker, who is pretty much PersonOfMassDestruction incarnate]]. The one exception however is Suguri; while she may have had her body altered and is armed with enough weaponry to take on an invading army, her true purpose is to restore the planet after it was led to ruin by the ForeverWar.

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SubTrope of LivingWeapon. Compare TykeBomb where the Human Weapon is designed and bred from the start to be this and PersonOfMassDestruction where someone has the power to destroy the world without direct military help. Also see IAmNotAGun for when they decide themselves to not be used as a weapon. Compare/Contrast SuperSoldier where the HumanWeapon is treated as a human being (though there is some overlap if said Soldier works for an unethical army). Up the coercion factor and you have a SympatheticSentientWeapon.

** The same with her {{Expy}}, Golden Darkness, in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. Her conflict between being a weapon and a person is one of the main plots in the (restarted after CreatorBreakDown) sequel ''To Love-Ru: Darkness''.
* A variety of people in the ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' verse.
** The level 5 espers get this to varying degrees. Accelerator, Kakine, and Mugino are the big ones. Kakine and Mugino are the leaders of powerful black ops groups, where they serve in the "blaster" role. Accelerator is in many ways ''literally'' treated as a weapon, especially once he needs a special device to use his powers, which his superiors can turn off remotely if they don't like what he's doing.
** The Sisters Project started as an attempt to clone a level 5 ([[spoiler:Mikoto Misaka]]) for this purpose. When that didn't work, it was recycled into the Radio Noise project, which created a HiveMind of 20,000 espers for use as a military. That was scrapped as well, and the project turned into [[spoiler:LevelGrinding fodder for Accelerator, so that he could become a more effective weapon]]. And it turns out ''that'' was a smokescreen for the ''actual'' purpose [[spoiler:which involved using about 10,000 of them to blanket the world in AIM fields once triggered under the right circumstances would make it impossible to use magic. Yes, they made double the necessary numbers and killed half ''as a diversion''.]]

* Several examples in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' series such as the Combat {{Cyborg}}s of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' created by [[MadScientist Jail Scaglietti]], the [[ShroudedInMyth Dark King]] [[{{Necromancer}} Ixpellia]] of ''AudioPlay/StrikersSoundStageX'' who is depicted as more of a PuppetKing that her kingdom used to create an endless supply of zombies cyborgs, and the [[ViralTransformation Eclipse Drivers]] of ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'' that were created by the [[spoiler:[[EvilInc Vandein Corporation]]]] through [[YourHeadAsplode often fatal]] human experiments involving the Eclipse Virus. How evil a group is tends to be based on whether they treat their {{Super Soldier}}s as mere weapons, or as adopted family members.

* All the titular cyborgs in ''Anime/Cyborg009'' but especially 004.
* The Red Ribbon Army is a private military able to trounce the public armies that protect the towns and nations of ''Manga/DragonBall'' thanks to the technology of Dr. Gero. Gero's dilemma is that an enemy could get their hands on his weapons and turn them on the Red Ribbon Army, with his eventual solution being androids. At first the weapons are autonomous robots for all intents and purposes but these androids [[AIIsACrapShoot do not want to kill]]. After eight failures these [[ArtifactTitle androids]] become more so "cyborgs", modified soldiers and assistants who in theory should be willing to fight and kill for the Red Ribbon cause. In practice, beings with artificial {{ki|Manipulation}} prove difficult to control even after Gero wipes their memories, to the point when an assistant of Gero makes Gero himself into a cyborg he can't make the body too powerful for fear Gero will lose control of it. Eventually Gero decides to grow a completely biological "android" in a lab, but this "Cell" still becomes an OmnicidalManiac in the end.
* Kuma, one of the [[Characters/OnePieceSevenWarlordsOfTheSea Seven Warlords]] in ''Manga/OnePiece'', volunteered to become a human weapon for the World Government.

* The eponymous character of ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'', or: ''Saishuu Heiki Kanojo'', or: ''She, the Ultimate Weapon''. For reasons unknown, the JSDF took a high-school girl and, through means unknown, turned her into a super-weapon powerful enough to destroy humanity. Nobody, from the JSDF to the many invading armies, took any responsibility, with all involved parties going "it's like a rubber band that's been stretched too tight, nobody's at fault." [[spoiler:End result: ApocalypseWow, Earth tearing itself apart.]]
* The eponymous ''Literature/VioletEvergarden'' was one of these. She was too young to be a soldier in the Leidenshaftlich army so she was officially a Human Weapon owned by Major Bougainvillea. The story covered in the anime is about her growing out of this.

* Dr. Manhattan is treated as the ultimate nuclear deterrent and anti-nuclear weapon by the US government of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. He decides to go play god in another galaxy before things go that far.
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': ''Ultimates 2'' has the rest of the world fearing that the US Government would start utilizing these in politically-motivated conflicts after Cap saves some hostages in the Middle East. Which is exactly what they do, crippling a nuclear program in Afghanistan.
* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' has Franchise/{{Superman}} being nothing but an icon who reports directly to the President, who gives him orders that include waging a one-man war in a BananaRepublic, [[spoiler:stopping the nuclear strike that follows (he fails)]], and [[spoiler:assassinating Batman]], all of which he does without question. This is otherwise {{Averted}} with Superman though.
* The enhanced humans in ''Comicbook/{{Uber}}'' are manufactured and deployed as heavy weapons; they're even classed as "tanks" or "battleships" according to their power level.

* Marvel Comics's Weapon Plus program, which initially started off with creating a SuperSoldier and then often went one step further to make living killing machines like Weapon X. Superheroes that were made from Weapon Plus include ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, [[ComicBook/XMen Fantomex and the Stepford Cuckoos]].
* ComicBook/{{X 23}} (a.k.a. Laura Kinney) was born and raised to be a weapon, being a female ModifiedClone of Wolverine. Her mother did her best to ensure that she retained some humanity, and in her final moments bestowed her name upon her.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* The second book of ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has [[spoiler: Maddie Pryor, who was kidnapped at birth by Doctor Sinister]]. There's a slight twist in that she was intended as less of a weapon in the conventional sense and primarily to be a "Hound," tracking and capturing subjects for experimentation. Some of these subjects are intended to play the trope straight, but thankfully it never gets that far.
** The trope is played straight with [[spoiler: the Red Army, clones of Maddie, Harry, the other Red Room prisoners, and the Avengers, all of whom are given super-soldier bodies. Unfortunately for them, they're up against the Dark Phoenix, and so are more of a RedShirtArmy. As Harry later observes, the fact that they were completely stripped of their free will didn't help, as it crippled their PsychicPowers.]]
** Also of note are Captain America and Wolverine, while the latter's son Daken appears in a couple of scenes, and ComicBook/{{X23}} is mentioned.

* ''Film/ConAir'': {{Invoked}} by the HangingJudge who sentences [[TheHero Cameron Poe]] (a [[ReturningWarVet recently retired Army Ranger]] [[CrimeOfSelfDefense who killed a man to protect his wife]]) to justify giving him ten years in prison (with the possibility of parole in eight). [[ArtisticLicenseLaw It's as dumb as it sounds]].

* In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', it's implied that Snoke manipulated Kylo Ren since birth to turn him into his very own Force-Sensitive weapon.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': [[spoiler: The Operative activates River's programming to make her start a massacre so that he can find her.]]

** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s adamantium skeleton is the result of Colonel William Stryker trying to turn Logan into a military weapon, as shown in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''. This ended up backfiring when Logan overheard them talking about wiping his mind and broke free. So he used [[spoiler:Wade Wilson's body]] instead.

* The villain of the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' novel ''Silhouette'' is an ArmsDealer who creates Human Weapons, enhancing their talents to become PsychicPowers and then mind-controlling them through {{Power Crystal}}s. His ultimate weapon was turning a man who was mildly {{empath}}ic into an EmotionBomb capable of unleasing a HatePlague on London.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Vorlons used telepaths for their war with the Shadows. Most of the telepaths were of "regular" "read thoughts, cause headache" kind, and their only combat use was to disrupt the link Shadow battleships had with their pilots. However, (at least) one telepath, [[spoiler: Lyta Alexander]], was upgraded and became the equivalent of a DoomsdayDevice. Thankfully, [[InformedAbility we never learn what exactly they were capable of]].
* In ''Series/DarkAngel'', Max and the other X-5s were treated as though they were biological warbots rather than people.
* [[spoiler:Irisa]] of ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' is something like this, but the exact implications are not revealed in the first season finale.

** Season 2 expands on this. While [[spoiler: Irisa]] ''is'' extremely dangerous thanks to the nanotech in her body, her true purpose is to [[spoiler: act as a WetwareCPU for the [[AIIsACrapshoot Kaziri]], enabling it to destroy and reshape the planet.]]
* [[spoiler:River Tam]] in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' was engineered to kill people on order. Subverted because the crew of the ''Serenity'' seem to treat her rather well.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has Eversor Assassins, essentially a human weapon of mass destruction massively modified with augmetics and drug injection systems. They're kept in stasis at all times, and are mentally programmed with various targets for their next mission. Once activated, they will attempt to kill their assigned targets, but will also kill every living thing they see along the way, exploding upon death. Even once their mission is over, they won't stop looking for things to kill until their handlers show up and shut them down with a code word.
** The Eccliesiarchy also has Arco-Flagellants, which are heretics that have been [[UnwillingRoboticization forcibly converted into killing machines]] as a form of punishment and [[GoodIsNotNice redemption]].

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'': Cornelia is an ArtificialHuman, but she still looks and acts human enough to count. She was designed by her creator to be a heartless killing machine, and while he failed ''miserably'' with the “heartless” part of that, (she almost immediately defects to the heroes and becomes an {{Adorkable}} CuddleBug), he most certainly ''didn’t'' fail with the “killing machine” part. Many of her abilities are absolute [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]], especially once she’s been fully upgraded with one of her [[PowersAsPrograms Drives]].
* Shriekers in ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' are former Sourcerers the Magisters captured, purged of Source (which also wipes their personalities), crucified, and "modified" to drain Source from others. The Magisters being willing to do this is one of the big hints that something is ''very'' wrong with the order.

* He's not ''human'', but this is how the drell Thane Krios views himself and his chosen profession in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''.

** According to [[AllInTheManual supplementary materials]], the Ustanak in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' started out as such, being a human born with a very frail body who willingly subjected himself to experimentation to become a human weapon if it meant having a powerful body. He got what he wanted -- oh ''boy'', he got [[ImplacableMan what he wanted]] -- but [[MonstrousHumanoid he can hardly be called "human" anymore]]...
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'':
** Yuriko Omega is a young girl with immense psychic powers (as in, snatch a massive bomber or literal flying fortress from the sky in an instant, or crush a building in seconds, or levitate a tank the ''size'' of a building while crushing it, or instantly kill infantry near her by screaming). Not only that, but she can be cloned to power a superweapon or be used by multiple commanders. The original is even stronger (able to reflect all damage, mind control half a dozen enemies into willing bodyguards, or levitating objects and people to crash them into other targets, destroying both), and getting revenge on the people who put her through the training that gave her her powers is the focus of her mini-campaign in Uprising.
** Desolators are terminally-ill patients given mind-wipes and remade into cybernetic nightmares that pump hideous chemicals to melt their enemies. Their implants let them go without food or sleep... for about three years, which is when the cybernetic implants break down.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Furry|Fandom}} Webcomic ''Webcomic/Generation17'' by Ethan Qix (on extended hiatus since 2014) opens with FunnyAnimal characters called furrans kept caged in an automated facility. These furrans all have a cybernetic implant that will grant them extraordinary abilities. Once they escape from their containment, they witness a battle between mobile robot guns, a GiantMecha, and a huge AttackAnimal. It's clear the escapees were destined to become this trope.

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001 SCP-001]] ("[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/djkaktus-s-proposal djkaktus's Proposal]] - The Children"). The Children had their souls replaced by alien entities, turning them into {{Reality Warper}}s who could destroy a target at any distance away on command.
** In some canons, the Foundation's then primary funder, [[{{Eagleland}} US General Bowe]], convinced them to create MTF Omega-7 "Pandora's Box". The project intended to use humanoid [=SCPs=] like 073-2 "Able" and 105 "Iris" as Foundation agents. The project went pretty well, until Able got bored and killed the entire task force except for Iris. [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/resurrection O5-10 is currently looking to get the band back together...]]

* The FurryWebcomic ''Webcomic/Generation17'' by Ethan Qix (on extended hiatus since 2014) opens with FunnyAnimal characters called furrans kept caged in an automated facility. These furrans all have a cybernetic implant that will grant them extraordinary abilities. Once they escape from their containment, they witness a battle between mobile robot guns, a GiantMecha, and a huge AttackAnimal. It's clear the escapees were destined to become this trope.

* A variety of people in the ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' verse.

* The eponymous ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'' was one of these. She was too young to be a soldier in the Leidenshaftlich army so she was officially a Human Weapon owned by Major Bougainvillea. The story covered in the anime is about her growing out of this.

* [[BigBad Albert Wesker]] in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series was ultimately revealed to have been this, having been manipulated since birth to become the superhuman weapon of [[GreaterScopeVillain Ozwell E. Spencer]]. It worked perfectly, but with only one problem: Wesker realized there was no actual reason he had to take orders from a [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport crippled old man in a wheelchair]] and [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters did something about that]].
* ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'':

* According to [[AllInTheManual supplementary materials]], the Ustanak in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' started out as such, being a human born with a very frail body who willingly subjected himself to experimentation to become a human weapon if it meant having a powerful body. He got what he wanted, oh ''boy'' he got [[NighInvulnerable what]] [[ImplacableMan he]] [[HeroKiller wanted]], but he could [[MonstrousHumanoid hardly be called "human" anymore]]...

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001 SCP-001]] ("[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/djkaktus-s-proposal djkaktus's Proposal]] - The Children"). The Children had their souls replaced by alien entities, turning them into {{Reality Warper}}s who could destroy a target at any distance away on command.

A Human Weapon is someone who has been converted by military forces into a weapon for the purpose of warfare. The methods can range anywhere from {{Genetic Engineering|IsTheNewNuke}} to [[ILoveNuclearPower exposure to nuclear or atomic energy]], but the key result is that this person is now capable of [[PersonOfMassDestruction mass destruction]].

* ''Literature/IntoTheBrokenLands'': Nonee, a.k.a. "the weapon" is a LightningBruiser with SuperStrength, SuperToughness, augmented senses, and a magical keyword to [[IncapableOfDisobeying compel her obedience]]. A [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity power-mad]] mage originally created her as a bodyguard with {{Biomanipulation}} and a ''lot'' of donor mothers. By the time of the book, she's settled in a friendly community, but still has to contend with those who treat her as a tool.

* ComicBook/{{X23}} (a.k.a. Laura Kinney) was born and raised to be a weapon, being a female ModifiedClone of Wolverine. Her mother did her best to ensure that she retained some humanity, and in her final moments bestowed her name upon her.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Vorlons used telepaths for their war with the Shadows. Most of the telepaths were of "regular" "read thoughts, cause headache" kind, and their only combat use was to disrupt the link Shadow battleships had with their pilots. However, (at least) one telepath, [[spoiler: Lyta Alexander]], was upgraded UpToEleven and became the equivalent of a DoomsdayDevice. Thankfully, [[InformedAbility we never learn what exactly they were capable of]].

** The trope is played straight with [[spoiler: the Red Army, clones of Maddie, Harry, the other Red Room prisoners, and the Avengers, all of whom are given super-soldier bodies. Unfortunately for them, they're up against the Dark Phoenix, and so are more of a RedShirtArmy.]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' fanfic ''[[Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}} The Thing from Another World]]'', Tom isn't happy [[spoiler:when he's told that he's an estreen (someone naturally talented at morphing)]]; the [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] already made him into a weapon when they gave him the morphing power, and he's horrified by the idea that he was the ideal host all along.

* Marvel Comics's Weapon Plus program, which initially started off with creating a SuperSoldier and then often went one step further to make living killing machines like Weapon X. Superheroes that were made from Weapon Plus include ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Franchise/{{Wolverine}}, [[ComicBook/XMen Fantomex and the Stepford Cuckoos]].

* The otome from ''Anime/MaiOtome'' are a direct WMD analogy, and therefore fit perfectly with PersonOfMassDestruction as well. Not only can they not unleash their full powers without a master's approval, but if the otome dies, so does their master, which does help bring life-and-death decisions a bit closer to home.

* ''Literature/AuroraCycle'': [[spoiler:Auri O'Malley was [[TouchedByVorlons transformed]] during her time as a HumanPopsicle in the Fold into the Trigger for a weapon left behind by the [[{{Precursors}} Eshvaren]], intended to combat the [[BotanicalAbomination Ra'haam]]. Among other things, she has powerful PsychicPowers, most prominently {{telekinesis}}, although the full extent of her power is currently unknown. She did, however, turn a highly dangerous predator into LudicrousGibs.]]
* The villain of the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' novel ''Silhouette'' is an ArmsDealer who creates Human Weapons, enhancing their talents to become PsychicPowers and then {{Mind Control}}ling them through {{Power Crystal}}s. His ultimate weapon was turning a man who was mildly {{empath}}ic into an EmotionBomb capable of unleasing a HatePlague on London.

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'': Cornelia is an ArtificialHuman, but she still looks and acts human enough to count. She was designed by her creator to be a heartless killing machine, and while he failed ''miserably'' with the “heartless” part of that, (she almost immediately defects to the heroes and becomes an dorkable CuddleBug), he most certainly ''didn’t'' fail with the “killing machine” part. Many of her abilities are absolute [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]], especially once she’s been fully upgraded with one of her [[PowersAsPrograms Drives]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[Characters/SCPFoundation [=Characters/SCPFoundation=]]], [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001 SCP-001]] ("[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/djkaktus-s-proposal djkaktus's Proposal]] - The Children"). The Children had their souls replaced by alien entities, turning them into {{Reality Warper}}s who could destroy a target at any distance away on command.

* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': ''Ultimates 2'' has the rest of the world fearing that the US Government would start utilizing them in politically-motivated conflicts after Cap saved some hostages in the Middle East. Which is exactly what they do, crippling a nuclear program in Afghanistan.

* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': [[spoiler: The Operative activated her programming and she started a massacre so that he can find her.]]

* The Red Ribbon Army is a private military able to trounce the public armies that protect the towns and nations of ''Manga/DragonBall'' thanks to the technology of Dr. Gero. Gero's dilemma is that an enemy could get their hands on his weapons and turn them on the Red Ribbon Army, with his eventual solution being androids. At first the weapons are autonomous robots for all intents and purposes but these androids [[AIIsACrapShoot do not want to kill]]. After eight failures these [[ArtifactTitle androids]] become more so "cyborgs", modified soldiers and assistants who in theory should be willing to fight and kill for the Red Ribbon cause. In practice, beings with artificial {{ki|manipulation}} prove difficult to control even after Gero wipes their memories, to the point when an assistant of Gero makes Gero himself into a cyborg he can't make the body too powerful for fear Gero will lose control of it. Eventually Gero decides to grow a completely biological "android" in a lab, but this "Cell" still becomes an OmnicidalManiac in the end.

* The eponymous character of ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'', or: ''Saishuu Heiki Kanojo'', or: ''She, the Ultimate Weapon''. A young woman who was converted into a {{Cyborg}} WMD by the JSDF, resulting in a weapon powerful enough to destroy humanity.
* ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'' provides the page image. For reasons unknown, the JSDF took a high-school girl and, through means unknown, turned her into their super-weapon. Nobody, from the JSDF to the many invading armies, took any responsibility, with all involved parties going "it's like a rubber band that's been stretched too tight, nobody's at fault." End result: ApocalypseWow, Earth tearing itself apart.

A Human Weapon is someone who has been converted by military forces into a weapon for the purpose of warfare. The methods can range anywhere from {{Genetic Engineering|IsTheNewNuke}} to [[ILoveNuclearPower Exposure to nuclear or atomic energy]], but the key result is that this person is now capable of [[PersonOfMassDestruction mass destruction]].

* Shriekers in ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSin2'' are former Sourcerers the Magisters captured, purged of Source (which also wipes their personalities), crucified, and "modified" to drain Source from others. The Magisters being willing to do this is one of the big hints that something is ''very'' wrong with the order.

[[caption-width-right:300:The JSDF turned her into the ultimate WMD. They came to regret it.]]