Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Difference between revisions

Once upon a time, superheroes inevitably gained their superpowers from [[I Love Nuclear Power|radiation]], the latest and most mysterious-yet-powerful fad of the 50s and 60s.

 

 

God only knows what superheroes will be getting their powers from twenty years from now - [[Nanomachines|nanotechnology]], perhaps? (It's certainly very fashionable in [[Cyberpunk]] these days.) [[Quantum Mechanics Can Do Anything|Quantum mechanics]] is another good excuse - anything can happen [[Discworld|because of quantum]].

 

{{examples}}

** The Ancient Kings of Belka qualified too. They altered their own genetics to transform themselves into [[Person of Mass Destruction|persons of mass destruction]] as part of a [[Lensman Arms Race]], and they ensured that their descendants would [[Superpowerful Genetics|inherit these abilities]].

* Euphorics in ''[[Speed Grapher]]'' gain super powers based on their fetishes after being carriers to a virus that is activated by contact with Kagura's bodily fluid.

* ''[[Gundam Seed]]''

* In the second season of ''[[Birdy the Mighty]]'' ''Decode'', {{spoiler|it's revealed that DNA taken from the [[Human Alien]] race, the Altirrans, was used to genetically engineered [[Super Soldiers]] for the Space Federation's [[Space Police|law enforcement]] and [[Space Marines|military divisions]], with one of the ones used for law enforcement being the title character.}}

 

== Comic Books ==

** Knuckles the Echidna's origin has a combination of this and [[I Love Nuclear Power]] in the [[Archie Comics]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comics; his father, Locke, did genetic and radiation experiments on himself, then irradiated his son's egg with Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald.

* Taken to pretty literal extremes in ''[[Daredevil]]'', where the government's secret genetic experiment is ''named'' Nuke, to give an indication that, yeah, he ''was'' as deadly as a walking megaton bomb.

** To quote [[Nick Fury]]: "The next war will be a genetic one."

* The [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] have always been mutants, but interestingly, the earliest issues of the X-Men comics refer to them as "children of the atom" and say that Xavier is a mutant because of radiation his parents were exposed to before he was born. Current X-Men comics have abandoned the nuclear angle in favor of pure genetics.

* Similar to the above, Spider-Man's origin's have moved from being bit by a radioactive spider in the original to being bit by a genetically enhanced superspider in Spectacular, Ultimate, and Movie. 90's Animated Spider-Man actually went half way, being bit by a spider that was hit by "neogenic" radiation.

** A lot of improbable origins, including many of the 'radiation is magic' type, have been retconned as [[Precursors|Celestial]] experiments resulting in people who would gain powers from things that would kill most people. Before this, it was often theorized by fans that maybe these people were mutants with a 'get powers instead of cancer from radiation/toxic waste' power, or latent mutations triggered by the [[Freak Lab Accident]]; this seems to say [[Sure Why Not]] without making ''everybody'' an X-Man. [[DC Comics]] has a "metagene" explanation that's similar.

 

 

== Film ==

** In the 2008 movie Bruce's research was specifically to recreate the super soldier serum, playing this trope as straight as possible since the original comic origin has Bruce developing a nuclear bomb using gamma radiation for the military.

* Pretty much any modern remake of a long-lived superhero is doing this.

* In the original ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' movies the apes simply [[Hollywood Evolution|"evolved"]] greater intelligence. In the remakes, they're genetically engineered.

 

 

* The virus in the ''[[Wild Cards]]'' series.

* ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'' is a prime example: In the 1896 science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, Moreau [[Humanity Ensues|transforms animals]] on his island into [[Petting Zoo People]] called the Beast Folk and gives them intelligence, by a gruesome prolonged surgical vivisection process that is left deliberately vague, because the author wanted among other things to make a point against animal vivisection, common during his time, so the "how" wasn't the point of the novel. In the 1996 movie remake ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'', set in 2010 and starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, however, Moreau uses genetic engineering to create transgenic human/animal hybrids, some of whom look almost perfectly human, while others are humanoid but covered in fur and have snouts, hooves, horns, fangs and claws; without regular injections of Moreau's [[Applied Phlebotinum|serum]], however, these creatures lose their intelligence and slowly regress to their animal forms.

* ''[[Maximum Ride]]''- Max and her friends are all bird-human hybrids, complete with [[Winged Humanoid|wings]]. The laboratory that created them specializes in animal-human hybrids. In the sister books, (When the Wind Blows and The Lake House) Max is even more bird-like, even to the point of laying eggs and aging faster.

* Parts of the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] involve "Sith alchemy", which does pretty much [[Applied Phlebotinum|whatever the writers want it to do]]. In the [[Jedi Academy Trilogy]], Exar Kun spent the four thousand years since his death using it to breed monsters.

* The whole point of ''[[Oryx and Crake]]''.

* The Shongili family in the [[Petaybee]] books.

 

 

* New ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has a tendency to use genetics and DNA as a sort of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], especially for the Daleks.

* ''[[Dark Angel]]'': The superhuman abilities of X5 supersoldiers and other Manticore transgenics are the result of mixing genetic material from various humans (generally people who were very strong, smart, or talented) and animals, with some serious tweaking, into DNA cocktails. Genetic engineering is also the explanation for their attractiveness (the ones that don't look half-man half-beast or covered in huge bumps).

** Genetic engineering was also a main cause of [[World War III]] (2026-2056), a genocidal conflict that killed 600 million, destroyed many of the planet's major cities and governments, and irradiated the atmosphere causing several nuclear winters. Recovery as a species was perhaps only possible through the help of the Vulcans, whom we made First Contact with in 2063, shortly after the official end of the war.

** Once upon a time, a primate family hid a gravely injured Founder from pursuers. The Founder expressed its gratitude by promising that they will, one day, be transformed into a superior form and rule a vast galactic empire. The primate species is now known as the Vorta, advisers, scientists and policy makers of the Dominion.

** The Jem'Hadar, super soldiers of the Dominion, are noted to qualify at least dozens of recommendations of the [[Evil Overlord List]] in their biological design. To be more specific, they wear no helmets(1, 130), wear carapaces that have no semblance to Nazi uniforms(21, 130), have superior eye sight that makes them expert marksmen(4, 56), possess exceptional strength and hand-eye coordination(236) are asexual in design(33, 43, 51, 84, 153), gain sustenance from a single source the Founders have absolute control over and require nothing else to function(127, 200, fark-9), require no sleep or rest(172, fark-9), work for the pleasure of obeying the "order of things" imprinted in their instincts(44, 48, 94, fark-9), have no fear or qualms using human wave attacks for the "order of things"(75, 234), memorize the entire manual with eidetic memory(57), and finally, can camouflage themselves to match the surroundings(237). And that's just the "design" part, not including their equally [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] training.

== Tabletop Gaming ==

* Palladium setting ''After The Bomb'' can be summarized by this trope, and this trope alone. Basically, it's a postapocalyptic setting brought about by genetic modification becoming so commonplace that literally everybody and their little kid could buy a kit from the store to do it, and the consequences of that coming back to bite everyone in the ass (a program to breed a better chicken accidentally produces theropod dinosaurs, for instance).

 

 

== Video Games ==

* The twisted monstrosities of ''[[Fallout]]'', which in spite of being set in a 1950s-esque retro post-nuclear wasteland, the [[Universe Bible]] credits largely to a mutated bioweapon.

* The Trigen of ''[[Far Cry]]''.

* The subjects of ''Les Enfants Terribles'' in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' and its sequels. They use the 'genetically engineered from before birth' ''and'' 'nanomachine enhanced' versions.

* The entire premise of the ''Geneforge'' series was the creation and alteration of new life-forms with magic and 'essence'. Indeed, all of the game's plots consist of one side trying to keep irresponsible people from creating life and others trying to stop the other from hoarding their power. Two of the more obvious examples are massive, fast-breeding bugs that are equally likely to eat your crops and yourself, or canisters that make spellcasting part of your DNA.

* This is also the entire premise of ''GEM: Genetically Engineered Monsters''.

* In the ''Compilation of [[Final Fantasy VII]]'', genetic engineering in the form of the Jenova Project and its side-projects is responsible for producing Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, the Tsviets, and most of the series' other [[Super Soldiers]].

* In ''[[Evolva]]'', your Genohunters will change their physical appearance (change colors, develop spikes or horns) based on the DNA (acquired from your enemies) they've used to mutate themselves.

 

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In [[The Kenny Chronicles]] one can guess why a bunch of pirates scientists would create the Tarnekis, though they probably didn't intend them to rebel and form a "nation" of ships on the Pacific.

* ''Urgent Transformation Crisis'' uses this as the central plot element.

* The Krakow Studios comic ''[[Spinnerette]]'' lampshades and double-subverts it. The title character gains her powers from a [[Freak Lab Accident]] involving a "genetic infusion chamber" used to study spider heredity. This occurs soon after the head researcher [http://www.krakowstudios.com/spinnerette/archive.php?date=20100218 berates a reporter] for suggesting such nonsense.

** In-universe, this is known as the "Cherenkov-Kirby Reaction". It was being studied by Dr. Universe before he turned evil as a clean source of power.

* The second chapter of ''[[Mushroom Go]]'' involves a piranha plant genetically engineered to be intelligent. 

* All over the place in ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'', first the [[Precursors|Rumuah]] created the [[Petting Zoo People|immigrant Cyantians]], then the [[Abusive Precursors|Squids]] enslaved the Cyantians and augmented some as pit fighters, forming the first generation of Elites. Finally Exotica Genoworks has been creating new species of Cyantians ranging from skunks designed as air fresheners to psionic raccoons.

 

== Western Animation ==

** Almost invoked the trope by name when the man scientist claimed that metal was the past, the material for the future being human flesh.

* During his [[Freak Lab Accident]], ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' had his genetic makeup modified with with ectomplasmic DNA, thus making him half-ghost. Who knew ghosts had DNA? 

[[Category:Tropes On Science and Unscience]]

[[Category:Artistic License Biology]]