Artificial Limbs: Difference between revisions

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[[File:~~Ed_Cool_Arm~~.jpg|link=Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|frame|[[Rule of Cool|Definitely]].]]

[[File:Ed Cool Arm.jpg|link=Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|frame|[[Rule of Cool|Definitely]].]]

{{quote|''A [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw]] can [[An Arm and a Leg|remove a limb]],

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Quite fortunately, this is also a case of [[Truth in Television]]. While they can't give you superhuman powers, prosthetic limbs are becoming more and more advanced, allowing people who've lost a limb a chance to live more normal lives. As a real-life example of artificial limbs being better in some ways than biological ones, the International Association of Athletics Federations has banned certain artificial limbs in competitions it governs, including the Olympics, due to [[wikipedia:Oscar Pistorius|a runner who had lost both of his legs having had them replaced with springs that give back more momentum than ankles do]].

The darker the setting, the more likely cyber-bits are to cause [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|loss of humanity of some sort]]~~--sometimes~~ it's actually called "[[Our Souls Are Different|soul]]", but you often get workarounds like "essence" or "vitality", and magic wielders, in settings that have both, generally can't have too much cyberware. Especially common in roleplaying games, as a [[Competitive Balance|balancing measure]] so that rich characters can't just have their whole bodies replaced.

The darker the setting, the more likely cyber-bits are to cause [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|loss of humanity of some sort]]—sometimes it's actually called "[[Our Souls Are Different|soul]]", but you often get workarounds like "essence" or "vitality", and magic wielders, in settings that have both, generally can't have too much cyberware. Especially common in roleplaying games, as a [[Competitive Balance|balancing measure]] so that rich characters can't just have their whole bodies replaced.

See also [[Unusual User Interface]] for characters getting "jacks" implanted to connect to computers via cable (or even LAN!), and [[Swiss Army Appendage]] for characters who hot-swap their [[Artificial Limbs]]. Often a result of the [[We Can Rebuild Him]] style of [[Emergency Transformation]]. If the limb is awesome enough, it might be a [[Badass Transplant]], and is usually an example of [[Fashionable Asymmetry]].

See also [[Unusual User Interface]] for characters getting "jacks" implanted to connect to computers via cable (or even LAN!), and [[Swiss Army Appendage]] for characters who hot-swap their '''Artificial Limbs'''. Often a result of the [[We Can Rebuild Him]] style of [[Emergency Transformation]]. If the limb is awesome enough, it might be a [[Badass Transplant]], and is usually an example of [[Fashionable Asymmetry]].

Specific types of Artificial Limbs include:

* [[Anatomy Arsenal]] ~~-- Replacing~~ limbs with weapons.

* [[Anatomy Arsenal]]—Replacing limbs with weapons.

* [[Hook Hand]] ~~-- The~~ old-fashioned version so beloved of [[Pirates]].

* [[Hook Hand]]—The old-fashioned version so beloved of [[Pirates]].

* [[Spider Limbs]] ~~-- Spider~~ legs used for mobility.

* [[Spider Limbs]]—Spider legs used for mobility.

* [[Super Senses]] ~~-- Artificial~~ eyes, ears, etc.

* [[Super Senses]]—Artificial eyes, ears, etc.

* [[Swiss Army Appendage]]: Multiple functions for multiple needs

* [[Unusual User Interface]] ~~-- A~~ built in LAN or WiFi connection.

* [[Unusual User Interface]]—A built in LAN or WiFi connection.

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* Gobber from [[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|How to Train Your Dragon]] has an artificial arm and leg, the arm which he exchanges for a hammer, axe, tankard for his booze, etc. Toothless has an artificial half tail fin and {{spoiler|Hiccup gets an artificial leg after fighting Green Death.}}

* Silver from ''[[Treasure Planet]]'', who has an artifical leg and arm ([[My Friends and Zoidberg|and]] [[Electronic Eyes|eye]]). Although his leg seems to give him a bit of gyp at times {{spoiler|(especially after Jim stabs it)}}, his arm has [[Swiss Army Appendage|a lot of things in it]], including a cutlass, a gun, several different tools for cooking, and part of an [[Arm Cannon]] (with the other part being stored in his leg).

* {{spoiler|Dr. Gordon}} has one after {{spoiler|he escapes from the bathroom}} in [[Saw]]. It is of the realistic variety, with {{spoiler|Dr. Gordon}} needing a cane to walk with the prosthetic foot. Also, {{spoiler|the woman who survives the opening trap from [[Saw|Saw VI]]}} has a prosthetic arm and complains of needing to use handicapped parking because of it. Because this is [[Saw]], both of these characters have these [[Artificial Limbs]] because of a [[Life or Limb Decision]].

* {{spoiler|Dr. Gordon}} has one after {{spoiler|he escapes from the bathroom}} in [[Saw]]. It is of the realistic variety, with {{spoiler|Dr. Gordon}} needing a cane to walk with the prosthetic foot. Also, {{spoiler|the woman who survives the opening trap from [[Saw|Saw VI]]}} has a prosthetic arm and complains of needing to use handicapped parking because of it. Because this is [[Saw]], both of these characters have these Artificial Limbs because of a [[Life or Limb Decision]].

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*** That depends. Did they specify that it was a ''full-grown'' rancor's arm?

*** If the above is about Tsavong Lah, it wasn't a rancor arm, it was a radank (a creature from the Vong's galaxy) arm.

* Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodsman from ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''. For those who don't know his [[Secret Origin]], his axe was cursed by a witch, and one by one, he chopped off his own limbs. Every time he lost one, he had it replaced with a prosthetic made by a local ~~tinsmith -- up~~ to and including ''his head and torso''... but not, alas, his heart.

* Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodsman from ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''. For those who don't know his [[Secret Origin]], his axe was cursed by a witch, and one by one, he chopped off his own limbs. Every time he lost one, he had it replaced with a prosthetic made by a local tinsmith—up to and including ''his head and torso''... but not, alas, his heart.

** For an extra dose of [[Mind Screw]], [[Land of Oz|a sequel]] reveals someone later reassembled and ''reanimated'' the discarded body parts with use of some magic glue... creating a whole new character.

*** [[Fridge Logic|Why didn't he dump the stupid axe?]]

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** Later in the book, he meets a fellow officer who lost [[Half the Man He Used To Be|the entirety of his body below the waist]] and recieved metal and plastic replacements, rendering him asexual.

* In Max Barry's ''Machine Man'', the protagonist Dr. Charles Neumann accidentally crushes one of his legs in an industrial accident. Being an engineer, he designs a better replacement. Then he realizes he wants his legs to match...

* In Clive Cussler's ''Oregon Files'' series, the protagonist Juan Cabrillo has an advanced prosthetic leg that conceals a small pistol, a block of C4, a throwing knife, and a [[Arm Cannon|built-in single-shot leg cannon that can ]][[BFG|blow a hole the size of a dinner plate through your chest.]]

* In Clive Cussler's ''Oregon Files'' series, the protagonist Juan Cabrillo has an advanced prosthetic leg that conceals a small pistol, a block of C4, a throwing knife, and a [[Arm Cannon|built-in single-shot leg cannon that can]][[BFG|blow a hole the size of a dinner plate through your chest.]]

* In [[The Chronicles of Professor Jack Baling]], a character is described as having blade-like prosthetic legs. Probably something similar to Oscar Pistorius’s. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius\]

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** Also series regular Joe Dawson had two prosthetic legs, having had his own blown off in Vietnam. This is because Jim Brynes who played Joe lost both his legs in a car accident as a teenager. [[Handicapped Badass|This has never stopped either of them from being completely badass.]]

* In [[The X-Files]], Krycek loses his arm in Season 4 and in all subsequent appearances has a prosthetic. This ultimately is his undoing, as he is unable to grab his gun when his other arm is injured.

* The [[Kamen Rider]] franchise in the Showa era is all about this. [[Kamen Rider Stronger|One of them]] has electric coils for hands and [[Rider Man|another]] has a prosthetic [[Swiss Army Weapon|arm/hook/grappling hook/machine gun/drill/mini-laboratory/etc]]. The rest of them do not show outward signs of being cyborgs. They are still pure, undiluted [[~~Badass|badasses~~]].

* The [[Kamen Rider]] franchise in the Showa era is all about this. [[Kamen Rider Stronger|One of them]] has electric coils for hands and [[Rider Man|another]] has a prosthetic [[Swiss Army Weapon|arm/hook/grappling hook/machine gun/drill/mini-laboratory/etc]]. The rest of them do not show outward signs of being cyborgs. They are still pure, undiluted [[badass]]es.

* Nina Sharp on ''[[Fringe]]'' has a bionic arm that replaces the one she lost due to cancer. {{spoiler|[[Portal Cut|Which she actually lost in an interdimensional portal]], but you don't tell that to everyone you meet.}}

* [[Truth in Television]] example: Dr. Albert "Al" Robbins of ''CSI'' lost both legs in a childhood accident, so uses prosthetic legs and crutches to move about. This mirrors a [[Real Life]] accident which Robert David Hall, the actor who plays Dr. Robbins, suffered as a grown man.

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== Tabletop Games ==

* The Space Marines of ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' often make use of artificial replacement limbs. Most notably the Iron Hands chapter, who are often seen sporting several bionic limbs and favor them over flesh and blood. This belief leads the Iron Hands marines to replace their right hand with a mechanical one upon initiation via religious ceremony.

** '''Everybody''' use bionic prostheses in 40K, if they have the money or influence to afford it. It's a ''voluntary'' replacements and additions that turn ~~heads -- cyborgs~~ are not rare or surprising in the Imperium, but generally just aren't much welcomed.

** '''Everybody''' use bionic prostheses in 40K, if they have the money or influence to afford it. It's a ''voluntary'' replacements and additions that turn heads—cyborgs are not rare or surprising in the Imperium, but generally just aren't much welcomed.

** Also, considering the partially poor understanding of technology, implants may work somewhere between phantastically (cortex implants from several thousand years ago that grant [[Dune]] Mentat-like intelligence), operational (bionic limbs for average soldiers that ''mostly'' work as they should, as long as the Tech-priests observe the necessary rites) and clumsy (bionic eyes that produce grainy and black/white pictures). Finally, there are servitors, lobotomized humans or animals stuffed full with bionics to serve essentially as robots.

** Curiously for such an otherwise over-the-top setting, in [[Dark Heresy]] it's explained that human bionics don't impart superhuman strength, exactly because it would tear the user apart. It's not entirely impossible, though - but the money needed for that kind of expert gear could buy you a much more effective suit of [[Powered Armor]].

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** ''[[Wild ARMs 5]]'' had Kartikeya, a.k.a., the man with a [[A Mech by Any Other Name|Golem]] arm.

* {{spoiler|Ocelot's}} artificial arm in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' doesn't provide absurd amounts of [[Super Strength]], but it still ''really hurts'' when he manages to punch you with it. Total-conversion cyborgs such as Grey Fox and {{spoiler|Raiden}} do have inhuman strength and reflexes, as well as [[Implausible Fencing Powers]].

* ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' is set in a world where everyone is born with "[[Winged Humanoid|wings of the heart]]", which appear on the body at ~~will--except~~ for Kalas, the main character, who was born with only a single wing. His foster father made an artificial wing for him as a replacement.

* ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' is set in a world where everyone is born with "[[Winged Humanoid|wings of the heart]]", which appear on the body at will—except for Kalas, the main character, who was born with only a single wing. His foster father made an artificial wing for him as a replacement.

* Major Jackson Briggs a.k.a. "Jax" in [[Mortal Kombat]] has ''bionic implants'' covering his arms that give him enhanced strength. Unlike most cybernetic arms, these can be removed, and he retains his natural arms underneath.

** [[Fridge Logic|Wouldn't that make them ''explants''?]]

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== Visual Novels ==

* For a [[Visual Novel]] that deals with the protagonist losing an arm, suprisingly only one of the four routes in ''[[Brass Restoration]]'' has Ryo get an ~~[[Artificial Limbs|~~artificial arm]]. Maybe not so surprisingly, the route it happens in is {{spoiler|Yoshine's. After all, artificial arms can be rather expensive, so if you're not rich yourself, you do kinda need a [[Ojou|rich girl]] who likes you enough to pay for it herself.}}

* For a [[Visual Novel]] that deals with the protagonist losing an arm, suprisingly only one of the four routes in ''[[Brass Restoration]]'' has Ryo get an artificial arm. Maybe not so surprisingly, the route it happens in is {{spoiler|Yoshine's. After all, artificial arms can be rather expensive, so if you're not rich yourself, you do kinda need a [[Ojou|rich girl]] who likes you enough to pay for it herself.}}

* In [[Fate/stay night|Fate Stay Night]]'s final arc, Heaven's Feel {{spoiler|Shirou gets a replacement arm from Archer, but as that's organic it doesn't really count. However, in the good ending, he gets a replacement body doll which becomes a normal body as long as he possesses it. He needed it due to having died destroying the true Grail and being resurrected as a spirit by Ilya's sacrifice.}}

* Emi of ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' has these, probably not surprisingly. Having lost her legs below the knee in a car accident, she uses prosthetics. This does not impede her ability to [[Crash Into Hello|run in the hallways]] in the slightest.