# Coolest sci-fi weapons?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 20, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763 "2004-12-20T08:38:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/101 "2004-12-23T04:13:23Z")
I like the Sun Beam (Doc Smith). And even more I like how it reappears in Ringworld. Lucky guess or brilliant prediction?
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### Author:  [@Ninja\_Pizza\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ninja_Pizza_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/102 "2004-12-23T04:33:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Whaddaya mean, “plug”? Got one for sale?
Requires a Class 666 Federal Firearms License. Launch system not included. 😃
Whipped it up when I was fleshing out the background for a SF book I’m working on.
> [@](#):
>
> At present, only _Armageddon, Victory, City_, and _Final Sanction_ class ships are Shiva-capable.
Waaaay too much time on my hands.
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### Author:  [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/103 "2004-12-23T04:33:54Z")
Since Ice-Nine’s already been mentioned, I’ll list a few of my favorites from _Transmetropolitan_.
The bowel disruptor. I _so_ want one of these. “Now, what setting? Watery, loose…_prolapse._”
The Marr Special-Issue Nervebreaker. Kinetic burst, concussion wall and flamethrower all in one.
And the good old-fashioned low-tech Chair Leg Of Truth.
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### Author:  [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/104 "2004-12-23T13:27:30Z")
> [@Ogre](#):
>
> I’ve always wondered if the Jedi didn’t just fort up against Darth’s purge, and if not, why they didn’t. A ton of Jedi in one place with Obi Wan, Mace Windu, Yoda, and other super-powerful “enlightened” Force wielders there as well could probably have detected and destroyed/repelled anything coming at them from any direction, at any practical distance.
“Nuke 'em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
Of course, if you take all the books into account, that wouldn’t work, either.
And I’d thought of the Weapon Shops of Isher… but if we’re speaking of general coolness factor of a weapon, who wants one that can only be used defensively? Man, I want one I can use to carve manhole covers out of steel bulkheads, shoot out the guy wires on the main communications tower, and then flip it upside down, hop on, and RIDE AWAY TO GLORY!
Hm.
Perhaps Larry Niven’s “Slaver Weapon” is what I really want. Depending on what setting it was adjusted to, it fired bullets, neutralized nearby energy fields, fired a total-conversion energy beam, and sprouted footrests so you could skate to safety on the thing…
…of course, it was notoriously picky about who was trying to wield it…
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/105 "2004-12-23T14:44:57Z")
Er, that’s the “Soft Weapon”–a Tuncnip (or turnip or however it’s spelled–I’m on the road with no access to books) spy weapon. It does match your requirements pretty closely. To keep it happy you have to convince it you are **not** a slaver.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/106 "2004-12-23T17:30:44Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#):
>
> Er, that’s the “Soft Weapon”–a Tuncnip (or turnip or however it’s spelled–I’m on the road with no access to books) spy weapon. It does match your requirements pretty closely. To keep it happy you have to convince it you are **not** a slaver.
Which is harder than it might appear on first blush: Slavers were telepathic, so you didn’t have to be a Slaver to be aligned to them. What was worse was that the one Soft Weapon found was paranoid, by ‘modern’ standards. (Relics of ancient, genocidal wars tend to be that way, don’t you know?) So, since it never met a species like yours, you’re screwed.
My favorite SF weapon is the ‘warp grenade’ and ‘warp cannon’ from David Weber’s Dahak books. Taking your target and leaving it in hyper space, without a spaceship. Just a faint ‘poof’ and no more target.
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### Author:  [@iggy\_popov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iggy_popov)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/107 "2004-12-23T18:11:00Z")
As far as coolest-looking sci-fi weapon I would have to go with Han Solo’s blaster pistol.
Here is one version
[http://www.swtroopers.com/props/props\_hanblaster.jpg](http://www.swtroopers.com/props/props_hanblaster.jpg)
and another
[http://assall.de/movie-prop/sw1/sw1\_51.jpg](http://assall.de/movie-prop/sw1/sw1_51.jpg)
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### Author:  [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/108 "2004-12-23T21:00:08Z")
The Tar-Aiym Krang was a pretty nasty one from memory (from the book of the same title). Nothing like a collision with a black hole to dampen your enemy’s day.
Of course that reminds me of the short story “The Hole Man” where a black hole from an ancient communication device was used similarly.
I seem to recall some books with a C+ missile/cannon something where the missiles would accelerate to near C (or slightly over) so their relativistic mass was tremendous on impact.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/109 "2004-12-23T21:23:45Z")
In the 1973 made-for-TV movie _Genesis II_ (your basic scientist-goes-into-suspended-animation-and-wakes-up-in-the-future plot – see [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070101/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9Z2VuZXNpc3xodG1sPTF8bm09b24\_;fc=17;ft=55;fm=1](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070101/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9Z2VuZXNpc3xodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=17;ft=55;fm=1)), the ruling mutant caste (they have two hearts and two navels) of the city of Tyrania control their human slaves with a baton called a “stem,” which, touched to the subject’s skin, can induce intense physical pain – or pleasure, depending on how the wielder sets it. Very versatile, no? Not exactly a “weapon,” of course. It would need more range (like a Puppeteer tasp) to be useful in combat.
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### Author:  [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/110 "2004-12-23T23:11:53Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Of course that reminds me of the short story “The Hole Man” where a black hole from an ancient communication device was used similarly.
**emarkp** Would that be anything like Acme’s Instant Hole, once used by Wiley Coyote in his nwever ending pusuit of Road Runner?
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/111 "2004-12-23T23:37:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> a baton called a “stem,” which, touched to the subject’s skin, can induce intense physical pain – or pleasure, depending on how the wielder sets it. Very versatile, no? Not exactly a “weapon,” of course. It would need more range (like a Puppeteer tasp) to be useful in combat.
Blatant ripoff of the Agonizer in the alternate-universe Star Trek where Spock had a beard.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/112 "2004-12-24T00:21:44Z")
The Improbability Drive. Not a weapon per se, but if it can turn incoming missiles into a bowl of petunias and a sperm whale, imagine what else you could do with it.
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### Author:  [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/113 "2004-12-24T02:12:51Z")
Space Ghost’s [Power Bands](http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/spacgost.htm) Those two bracelets give him at least twelve types of offensive and defensive capabilities:
> [@](#):
>
> Powers/Abilities: Space Ghost’s powers seem to stem from his costume and the power bands he wears on his wrists. With it he can fly, and is able to travel underwater and in outer space without requiring further equipment. His belt hides an “inviso button” which can turn him invisible or generate a protective force field. He can fire a viso penetron beam from his eyes, and has a communicator located in the silhouette on his chest. His power bands seem to be able to harness the electromagnetic spectrum to enable him to fire a wide variety of different types of energy blasts, including, but not limited to: force ray, destructo ray, stun ray, heat ray, freeze ray, somic ray, electro ray, magnetic ray, anti-matter ray, force shields, hypno force ray, and straghtforward lasers. Multiple types of ray can be combined to increase his firepower. The bands also grant him superspeed, and the ability to create time warps. Probably his single most impressive power is his ability to teleport, transforming himself into pure thought and energy through concentration and will power, so that he can teleport elsewhere and reassemble there.
_And_ he has one of the coolest battle cries ever!
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### Author:  [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/114 "2004-12-24T02:21:32Z")
Another great Space Ghost [site](http://www.tntie.com/ashleys4jc/)
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/115 "2004-12-24T05:20:29Z")
[QUOTE=The Vorlon]
I do have a soft spot for Wunderland’s answer to the Slaver disintergrater…
QUOTE]
[The Wunderland Treatymaker!](http://technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=208) I was just thinking about the disintegrator/digging tool as a weapon being pretty cool, but the Treatymaker was a great idea!
This page:
[http://technovelgy.com/ct/Science\_List\_Detail.asp?BT=Weapon](http://technovelgy.com/ct/Science_List_Detail.asp?BT=Weapon)
has a list of pretty cool science fiction weapons and descriptions.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [December 25, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/116 "2004-12-25T01:46:36Z")
“Activate Interlock! Dynatherms Connected! Infracells Up! Megathrusters are GO!”
Not to forget “FORM BLAZING SWORD!”
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [December 25, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/117 "2004-12-25T02:40:42Z")
A couple superhero weapons:
The Sandman’s gasgun - or, more specifically, the gas itself. Puts the victim into a state of semi-conciousness, where they’re vaguely aware of the world around them (albeit often filtered through a dream-state), and incapable of lying.
Green Lantern’s ring. More a tool than a weapon, its ability to do pretty much anything the weilder wants renders it a really impressive weapon when that’s called for.
And, my final suggestion:
The Composite Superman/Batman robot. Just for the sheer demented creativity for it.
Take the [Composite Superman](http://hometown.aol.com/brainiacfive/composite.html), combine him with [Mazinger](http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~miya/mazinger.JPG), and build the whole thing out of metallo (the metal, not the psycho-cyborg also built out of it). Moved that whole story-arc from ‘Pretty darn good’ to ‘freakin’ brilliant’.
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [December 25, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/118 "2004-12-25T07:08:24Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> “Activate Interlock! Dynatherms Connected! Infracells Up! Megathrusters are GO!”
Bah, Predaking would pimp-smack Voltron inside of three minutes… Though calling them “weapons” wouldn’t help _your_ life expectancy any. 😉
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### Author:  [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)
#### Post date: [December 25, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/119 "2004-12-25T07:44:05Z")
Dude, it’s all about [Go](http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010617) [fo](http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010711) [tron](http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010715).
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### Author:  [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-sci-fi-weapons/280763/120 "2004-12-26T02:18:35Z")
I like the Cohe wand from Christopher Hinz’s _Liege-Killer_ and its sequels. It’s a hand-held slice-n-dice energy weapon like a lightsaber, but the beam is flexible like a whip so the wielder can get you even if you’re not in his line of sight.
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