Military Mashup Machine: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

== Land Battleship ==

 

== [[Anime]] & [[Manga]] ==

** The ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' spinoff ''[[Gundam SEED Astray]]'' shows that that universe's land battleships are ''amphibious''; though designed specifically for land combat, they use an exotic "scale system" that works just as well on water as on land. ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' reverts to the relatively more conventional "giant tank" with tracked propulsion in the form of the [http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/seed-destiny/hannibal.htm Hannibal class].

* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' goes typically overboard, by making the [http://www.gurren-lagann.net/mecha/images/daigurren.gif featured land battleship] a literal ''battleship on legs'' and a [[Humongous Mecha]] to boot (ironically, it requires special adjustments to cross water). General Guame's Dai-Gundo is more typical of this kind of thing. {{spoiler|Ignore the phallic connotations of its design.}}

* The ''Rhinoceros''-class ships in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]: Original Generation''.

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' gives us [http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/Vehicles#G-1_Base several] [http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/Vehicles#Longdan types] of land bases, which are basically airships on the ground (until they perfect the float systems, anyway). The actual development of Knightmares themselves were stated to be a result of this, since the 1st and 2nd "Generations" were the result of cobbling together existing technology (Factspheres, Landspinners, emergency cockpits, legs, etc.) together [[For Science!]]. The 3d generation Ganymede was the first true unique advancement in the technology.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

** The SheVa unit "Bun-Bun" has added weapons and equipment to arguably make count as a land battleship, but it still isn't quite on the same level as the Tiger IIIs. Other SheVa units, however, are more akin to just really big mobile artillery pieces.

* [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s short novel ''[[If This Goes On|If This Goes On...]]'' has the major land force of the USA be Land Battleships.

* Spoofed in the [[Harry Harrison]] short story ''Navy Day''. The US Army declares their waterbourne rivals obsolete after developing a technology that enables vehicles to drive on the ocean. Naval scientists work frantically while Congress debates whether to abolish the Navy once and for all -- just as they are about to vote in favor the Admiral points to the battleship now 'sailing' down Constitution Avenue.

** At the same time, they have the word "cruiser", which is a naval term, despite the Race hailing from a [[Single Biome Planet|desert world]] with no oceans or any other major bodies of water. In fact, it's specifically mentioned that our battleships and aircraft carriers are a mystery to them. They also call their spacecraft "ships", and it's not just [[Translation Convention]] either. A Chinese woman who has studied their language wonders why "planes that never land" are called "ships". The Race obviously can't think of space travel in terms of [[Space Is an Ocean]] because they never had an [[Age Of Sail]].

 

** ''Metal Slug 2'' - The [http://metalslug.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Shiee Big Shiee], the boss of mission four.

** ''Metal Slug 5'' also has the boss of Mission four, which is a Land ''Submarine'' that can [[Sand Is Water|submerge itself in the desert]].

** In the sequel, all of the Cybran ships can do that, with the right research.

* ''[[Command and Conquer]]'s'' Global Defense Initiative is ''in love'' with Land Battleships, typically in the form of their Mammoth Tanks, which are so huge and durable they can run over ''other'' tanks. In the ''Kane's Wrath'' expansion, GDI also gains the MARV, which is an even ''bigger'' mobile treaded deathmobile with ''three'' railguns, garrissionable infantry bunkers, and the ability to consume entire Tiberium fields instantly.

** ''Red Alert 3'' does one better, with ''amphibious battleships.'' Not a battleship-sized tank on treads, but a literal [http://portal.commandandconquer.com/portal/site/redalert/template.MAXIMIZE/factions_en/?javax.portlet.tpst=887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_viewID=proxy_view_secondary&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_wcproxyurl=http%253A%252F%252Flocalhost%253A8080%252FSiteAssets%252Ffactions%252FAssault_Destroyer.html battleship on treads.]

* The Marmotah from ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' fits this trope to a T.

** So does the Batomys.

* ''[[Noitu Love|Noitu Love 2]]'' has one as its [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK37gN7kCwQ very first boss]. Humorously, when defeated, it sinks despite being fought ''on a city street''.

* ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' gives us a literal land dreadnought, the Tartarus.

* ''[[Area 88|U.N. Squadron]]'' - Land carriers are used for a few bosses.

* The ''Call to Power'' series has Leviathans, enormous, heavily armed with most weapons of that particular period in that game, but extremely slow moving. In game, the unit is more powerful in every combat statistic than every other unit, but can only move one square per turn, even on roads. Fusion tanks in the same series might also apply.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' has had a number of these in toy form, although they rarely appeared in the cartoons. One of them, the General ([[wikipedia:General (G.I. Joe)|The Other Wiki link]]) did recieve the focus of an entire episode. Driven by the Russian guy no less. Go peristrokia.

 

== Submersible Carrier ==

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Gundam]]'' and its multiple continuities had several of these serving to launch both aerial and amphibious mobile suits.

* ''[[Macross Zero]]'' had the Auerstadt as the Anti-UN forces' home base, launching both variable fighters and transforming mini-sub OCTOS.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** And a fan-made [http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Rifts/Rifts-Earth-Vehicles/REEF_SSCR-1_Narwhal.htm thing].

* The "arsenal subs" of ''[[Transhuman Space]]'', though it helps that the aircraft are unmanned.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* ''[[Ace Combat]]'' 5 had a pair of these on the Yuktobanian side, although they were actually ballistic missile platforms that happened to be able to launch their own fighters for air defense. The first one, ''Scinfaxi'', had a rear takeoff area for Harriers and F-35s, while the Hrimfaxi had unmanned aircraft in vertical launch tubes (it can even launch them while submerged!).

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 2'' gives us Arsenal Gear, a submersible [[Humongous Mecha]] carrier.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** Preceding the Fatboy were the "Crock" and "Triton" tanks of ''[[Total Annihilation]]'', which also had hovercraft of its own.

** The Cybrans even have a battleship that ''sprouts legs'' and walks onto land.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* On ''[[G.I. Joe]]'', Cobra had a couple, the most notable being the [http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/90/hammerhead/hammerhead_title1.jpg Hammerhead], which was not only a submersible tank, but also a submersible carrier for its own mini-fleet of smaller vehicles.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* The "SkyDiver" from ''[[UFO]]'' was a submarine whose entire front end was a JATO-boosted rocket plane called Sky One. At need, the SkyDiver would flood its rear ballast tanks until its bow pointed upward, and Sky One would launch...from ''under water''.

** However they required converting the cloaking field to a shield to operate at depth for prolonged periods of time, and the makeshift shields can very quickly drain the battery.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Almost all scrolling shooters allow the player's air or spacecraft to fly underwater without consequence.

* ''[[Command and Conquer|Red Alert 3]]'''s [http://www.ea.com/redalert/factions-empire.jsp?id=SeaWing Sea-Wing] is a submersible ambush jet fighter.

* ''XCOM: Terror from the Deep'', the second XCOM game, had the player fighting Unidentified Submersible Objects (ie, UFOs that could go underwater) with a small fleet of their own submarine-jets.

** SHARC was always intended to be strictly a submarine. In playtesting kids started treating the toy as an aircraft.

* ''The New Adventures of He-Man'' had a vehicle capable of submersion, atomspheric flight and space flight called Astrosub.

* Dr. Claw's [[Cool Car]] in ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' can turn into a jet or a submarine.

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

== Mobile Factory ==

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

** The civilian ships also had sewage treatment ships and mining ships.

** Conversely, in the original Galactica series, there seemed to be a shortage of shuttlecraft. Every shuttle in the original series had the same markings (GAL 356) even when the shuttle came from the Pegasus.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* The restored monolith from ''Dawn of War''. The Necron race is badass enough, but really takes the cake when their headquarters building is brought completely back online. It changes from an ominous black pyramid of doom into an evil floating pyramid of doom and green lightning that can suddenly materialize right in the middle of your base. While it holds the award for the single slowest unit in the entire game, it can teleport, has a gigantic cannon, and regenerates. As if that wasn't enough, it still maintains the ability to produce units. Combine it with the Necron Lord who can buy an ability to stealth units around him and your enemy is clueless what just decimatde his base.

** Although, to be fair, without proper support or preparation, a restored monolith can be ripped to shreds by a properly defended base, leaving you down quite a bit of energy.

* The Protoss Carrier in ''[[Starcraft]]'' manufactures and launches its own robotic interceptors. The Reaver similarly builds Scarab drones that are used as self-guided bombs.

** The Carrier returns in SC2, the Terrans gain the Raven, and the Zerg the Brood Lord. Could also be broadly applied to Terrans as a whole, since their major production buildings can move, although they can't produce units while doing so.

* Aircraft carriers in many [[Real Time Strategy]] games usually operate like this.

* All capital ships (and the carrier-class non-capital ships) are capable of constructing their own fighter escorts in ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]''. This is subverted (or averted?) for the Advent faction, as their fighters are merely psionic constructs.

** Partially justified in the first game's campaign, as the Mothership was supposed to be mobile, but {{spoiler|the destruction of Kharak}} forced it to begin its journey before the engines were complete (it uses hyperspace jumps to go from one mission to the next). The resulting inability to avoid even slow-moving threats becomes a major plot point.

* The carrier Antaeus in ''[[Hostile Waters]]'' has a large number of nanobots that can create a helicopter, tank, or a few similar things in about a second. You can only have a dozen or so tanks/helicopters/whatever active at a time but when you lose one you can replace it very quickly.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

== [[The Battlestar]] ==

 

== [[Anime]] ==

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' the Go'a'uld standard heavy Ha'tak class exemplifies this. The humans get in on the action with the ''Prometheus'', a small flying space carrier with eight fighters and a notable array of its own weapons, designed to be capable of challenging Goa'uld motherships. The larger ''Daedalus'' class ramps it all up further, particularly when the ''Odyssey'' gets state-of-the-art Asgard beam weapons, fully qualifying it as a battle-carrier.

** The Wraith also get in on the action with their ridiculously-massive Hive ships that spew hundreds of Dart fighters while firing powerful batteries of energy blasts.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The last part is easily justified: the setting is known to have gravity control, which inertial dampers are generally an outgrowth of.

** More standard M1 carriers are a lesser example. They have lots of guns and fighters, but don't have the stamina or resilience of dedicated M2 destroyers.

* Many large capital ships in the ''[[Free Space]]'' series (for example the ''GTD Aquitaine'' in Freespace 2) carry dozens, if not hundreds of strikecraft. They're fully fledged warships that make mincemeat out of smaller capitals and have dozens of anti-fighter and anti-warship turrets to boot.

* In ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]'', direct combat capital craft, whilst incapable of supporting strikecraft initially (unlike the specialized carrier capital craft), can gain strikecraft support slots as their combat experience increases.

* The [http://imgur.com/NGKH6.jpg Titans] of [[Eve Online]] (yes, that is to scale) don't just have their own wing of drones, don't just carry, rearm and refit player ships, but also the clones of the players themselves! Its not enough to have a jump drive but it can also jump bridge entire fleets making it a logistical wet dream. Top it all off with enough defenses to shrug off anything but a major fleet attack. Oh, and a [[Wave Motion Gun|Doomsday Device]] that's enough to make [[Super Dimension Fortress Macross|Captain Gloval]] eat his enormous hat.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Most ships in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' of heavy cruiser size and upwards are either battleships with a fighter complement, or carriers with potent weaponry of their own, but some dedicated assault carriers exist, mostly in the Imperial Navy.

** Speaking of Warships: Biggest guns in the game, anywhere from 2-10 times as powerful as their Aerospace/Battlemech equivilants. Carries more guns than a battalion of battlemechs. ''Often transports Dropships.'' That's right, it's a carrier that carries other carriers. Mercifully rare, as most were lost or destroyed during the Succession Wars.

 

* At some point, most silly works will include efforts to make a flying tank. Sometimes this will be to just slap wings on that ever-so-aerodynamic thing, the main battle tank.

** That would include the A-Gears in ''[[Air Rivals]]'', which are not so much an aircraft but a ''flying hovercraft tank'' that's capable to not only traverse land and aquatic terrains, but also ''latch itself onto edges of ravines and cliffs''. To hammer the point home, one of the equippable armors had wings on it. Predictably though, its survivability drops down once it actually does take to the air, especially when pitted against other, more fighter-oriented Gears...

** The Soviets attempted to build a flying tank during [[World War II]] as an attempt to bring a tank very quickly into battle. Basically a tank with wings and tail strapped to it, it's more of a glider - a bomber would tow it into the air, then it would sail into the battle field, land, ditch its wings and tail, and start blasting away at the enemy. It was cancelled because they didn't have a towing plane with enough engine power to haul the hulking thing into the air fast enough.

** Imperial tanks in [[Empire From the Ashes]] use a fully-functional gravitonic drive, and can hit Mach 2 in atmosphere. [[Lightning Bruiser|They are also heavily shielded]], and capable of deploying more conventional tracks for increased stability and decreased power budget.

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* ''Blackhawk'' comics were in love with this trope. Along with the link to the flying submarine (above), there was an [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=60 underground fighter plane],[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=48 tornado-generating helicopter fortresses], [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=39 combat kites], the obligatory [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=25 flying aircraft carrier] , [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=19 helicopter pogo-sticks], [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=12 flying tanks], and some sort of [http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=52&limitstart=12 flying on-fire-spinny-thing]. And these weren't even all of them! ''Blackhawk'' comics had more fuzzy-science-derived plot devices than ''Star Trek''.

* ''G.I.Joe'' has the mashup machines; they tended to make a small appereance or two, then explode.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* [[Dale Brown]]'s EB-52 Megafortress and other machines that fall into the [[Cool Plane]] category are essentially mash-ups of heavy bombers and fighters. Since in real-life the most difficult changes would involve changing some programming lines in a radar's software and adapting the bomb bay to carry an ''[[Macross Missile Massacre|obscene]]'' [[Macross Missile Massacre|amount air-to-air missiles]], this concept [[wikipedia:B-1 Lancer#B-1R|just might]] become [[Truth in Television]] as well.

{{quote| The vehicle, while slow, could go -- literally -- anywhere. It had a cigar-shaped body of magnalloy; it had big, soft, tough tires; it had cleated tracks; it had air- and water- propellers; it had folding wings; it had driving, braking, and steering jets. It could traverse the deserts of Mars, the oceans and swamps of Venus, the crevassed glaciers of Earth, the jagged, frigid surface of an iron asteroid, and the cratered, fluffy topography of the moon; if not with equal speed, at least with equal safety.}}

* Similar to the ''Lensman'' example above, the ''[[Perry Rhodan]]'' universe gives us the so-called 'Shift' -- an amphibious, flight-capable, yet still tracked tank usually equipped with [[Deflector Shields]] and energy weapons that can operate and fight in pretty much any environment, including some of the more extreme alien ones.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The Carrier-class ships from the first game also functioned as factory/carriers, but weren't able to build the larger ships (like Carriers) and were much faster and more maneuverable than the Mothership.

** In the ''Cataclysm'' expansion, it's possible to add "battleship" to the number of roles it fills. While still fairly vulnerable, it was much more capable of fending off fighters and small capital ships on its own. With a particular upgrade, they could even wipe out enemy fleets.

* ''[[Command and Conquer]] Red Alert 3'' is pretty much in love with this trope, especially the gadget-heavy Empire. Between the examples listed and others, there are very few units that don't qualify. Even most buildings can be planted in the water, so long as the unit they produce can exist on water. The Empire don't even have an air factory, since every single flier they field transforms from a vehicle, ship, or infantry.

* To a lesser extent, the Sonic the Hedgehog titles. The easiest example being the Egg Carrier, having a runway on the front of it, robot construction rooms in the interior (complete with "training" areas), as well as a couple entire stages within it.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'''s ''Shagohod'' was a tank/hovercraft/ICBM launcher hybrid. With legs. They were just forelimbs, meaning it couldn't walk upright like the titular Metal Gear, so it compensated with a pair of Archimedes' screws. Have we mentioned it was rocket-boosted?

* ''[[Strange Journey]]'''s unique model of dimensional-hopping warship model definitely counts. It has fabrication labs for weapons and technology development, outer weapons systems, plasma shields, hospital sectors, an AI navigator, and, oh, yes, ''rocket-boosted VTOL capabilities''.