Powered Armor: Difference between revisions

'''Powered Armor''' typically amplifies the movements of its wearer, adding its strength to theirs in a sort of purely mechanical [[Synchronization]]. As the page quote says, they also tend to be a self-contained environment, allowing the user to exist comfortably in space, underwater, or in other areas that would kill unprotected humans. They can often fly, at least for [[Not Quite Flight|short distances]] or via [[In a Single Bound|rocket-assisted jumps]]. If this gives them good mobility and speed then the users often join the [[Lightning Bruiser]] camp. And most importantly and as the name implies, the amplified sturdiness and strength allows the wearer to don thick slabs of armor rendering them at least highly resistant to small arms with little encumbrance or exertion.

'''Powered Armor''' is distinct from [[Clothes Make the Superman]] in that it is specifically designed for combat and is clearly armour rather than clothing. Distinct from [[Humongous Mecha]] in that '''Powered Armor''' is a suit worn on the body, while [[Humongous Mecha]] are vehicles that are controlled, either from a cockpit or with some [[Unusual User Interface]]. There are, however, [[Mini-Mecha|the occasional mecha that sit on the line]] between [[Humongous Mecha]] and '''Powered Armor'''. A really advanced set of powered armor will usually be made of [[Nanomachines]] that make the hero into a [[Chrome Champion]]. The change may even be [[Instant Armor|Instant]].

Note that unlike [[Humongous Mecha]], '''Powered Armor''' actually could be useful, especially in urban battles where tanks (or four-story robots) would be limited in movement. There's also a number of different civilian uses for a suit that makes you strong enough to lift a car.

The usage of '''Powered Armor''' in fiction is famous enough for [[That Other Wiki]] [[wikipedia:Powered exoskeletons in fiction|to have an article on the subject]] (though its examples list makes it look more like aan [[TVAll The Tropes]] page). Currently, the US military is conducting experiments with equipment similar to power armor, perhaps making this a future [[Truth in Television]].

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]'', featuringfeatures both the Knight Sabers' "[[A Mech by Any Other Name|Hardsuits]]" and the bulkier Battlemover suits other factions use.

* In order to combat fully-cyborg individuals (like the protagonists), paramilitary organizations in ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' occasionally requisition Power Armour. They're exceedingly rare, however.

* The Tekkamen from ''[[Tekkaman Blade]]'' appear to wear powered armor, but in fact ''become'' metallic life forms when they transform. However, the Sol Tekkaman units ("Teknosuits" in ''Teknoman'') are actual powered armors.

* The Robes from ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', although the designs are so non-armour-ish that they lean more heavily towards [[Clothes Make the Superman]].

* Non-micronised Zentradi in ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'' and its sequels wear Powered Armor the size of a [[Humongous Mecha]]. They kind of ''have'' to, given that they're the ''size'' of [[Humongous Mecha]].

** ''[[Macross Frontier]],'' gives us the Debut of the EX-Gear, a powered armour/exoskeletion (with built in [[Jet Pack]] and provision for a [[BFG]]) suit for use by VF pilots, granted it's not as well armored as some of the contemporaries (the waist, upper arms, and thighs are somewhat exposed, {{spoiler|as poor michel found out...}}) but you must take into account thats its main function is to serve as a linkup/ejection system for the new line of Variable fighters.

* B-Ko from ''[[Project A-ko]]'' breaks out a [[Stripperific]] mockery of one for her showdown with A-Ko... at least, it would be a mockery if it did not enable her to fight a running battle with the [[Humongous Mecha]]-wrecking titular lead.

** Unfortunately, in the sequel, B-Ko's father (Whowho may or may not be an [[Expy]] forof [[Iron Man|Tony Stark]]) wears a similar suit... [[Nightmare Fuel|And doesn't bother to alter the design for a male body!]]

* {{spoiler|Chao Lingshen}} claims the outfit she wore during the [[Story Arc|festival arc]] of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' was merely a somewhat upgraded version of a standard battlesuit from her homeland, but even without the built in time-travel device it straddled the line with [[Clothes Make the Superman]].

* Bonta-Kun in ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]: Fumoffu'' is a Theme Park mascot converted into the cutest miniature death machine since [[Metal Slug]] by Sousuke Sagara. Oddly enough, he marketed it to various police forces around the world, with limited success.

* The ''[[Ranma ½]]'' manga presents Do-chan (for dogi, a martial arts uniform, plus an affectionate suffix.) It is an ancient, sentient (and utterly perverted) suit of armor that looks like a puffy Chinese blouse, black leggings, and a yin-yang belt. It can move around independently, has limited senses (sight, hearing, and touch, at least) and can fight to defend itself. It will only accept a female owner, but those who wear it will find that their speed, power, and agility have been increased to match their own ultimate potential. Thus, when Akane wears it, she can punch enormous craters into asphalt, [[Roof Hopping|leap over buildings]], and generally outclass Ranma to the point of utter humiliation.

** A more straight-up example is the Battle Armor which [[The Woobie|Gosunkugi]] purchased [[Charles Atlas Superpower|off a mail-order ad]]. It promises amazing strength and incredible combat skills for defeating one's foes... and it certainly delivers, except that it locks into place as soon as you put it on and only activates when said foe comes along. And ''then'', you have a very limited time to defeat him before the suit self-destructs.

* One of the more bizarre powered armors comes from ''[[Kemeko Deluxe]]''. The titular Kemeko is a [[Super-Deformed]], borderline [[Gonk]]-ish power suit that nonetheless provides its wearer, MM, with enhanced battle capabilities. MM herself wears a [[Latex Space Suit]] and has to have some form of [[Hammerspace]] inside that thing - she's bigger than it is.

* ''[[Gantz]]'' gives the hunters particularly [[Sufficiently Advanced|hypertech]] powered armour that provides superstrength, [[Roof Hopping]] jumping powers and apparently some kind of forcefield. In typical Gantz style the big black ball doesn't bother telling anybody these facts, or that the suits' protection does not extend to [[Sword Fight|swords]] or lasers.

* The Gold Cloths in ''[[Saint Seiya]]'' certainly qualify. Although Bronze and Silver Cloths, as well as rival gods' distinctive suits of armor, can protect the wearer to a supernatural degree, the Zodiac-based Cloths of Athena's Gold Saints provide notable increases in strength, speed, and defensive power, far beyond any other Cloth, Scale, or Surplice. They can even survive absolute zero and being hit with earth-shattering attacks.

** Also, the anime presented a [[Power Trio|three-man squad]] called the Steel Saints, created by the Kido Foundation as assistants to the heroic Bronze Saints. Their "Cloths" are [[Magitek|mechanical]] and crammed with gadgets that can emulate a Saint's supernatural abilities. They were [[Put on a Bus]] as soon as they could...

* In ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'', Cyborg Guy has a suit of "Ultimate Armor". He graduates to "ID Armor" when he becomes an Evoluder. It's not clear whether the armor is enhancing his natural strength and speed, enabling it, or is just there to [[Rule of Cool|look cool]]. That said, the ID armor has one important part in it (the GaoBrace and Will Knife), and Evoluder Guy probably at least needs the ID Armor to pilot GaoFar and GaoFighGar.

* The Figures in ''[[Figure 17]]'' are a kind of sentient powered armor, and Hikaru is an accientally-created [[Artificial Human]] derived from a broken Figure, who can still revert to Figure form when necessary. The aliens D.D. and Oldina also use Figures to fight.

* ''[[Guyver]]: Bio-Boosted Armour'', a manga from the late 80's, along with a one shot OVA from '86, a twelve part mini-series released by studio L.A. Heroes released from 89 to about 92-93 and also a twenty six episode series that expanded more on the manga than the twelve episode one, that was released in 2005 by [[FUNimation]] Studios. This series uses this concept to its fullest extent. It starts out with a high schooler named Sho Fukamchi walking in the woods near the school with his friend Tetsuro Segawa. There they hear and see the aftermath of a huge explosion and see something hurdling through the sky towards them. Sho picks it up to and points out that it's alien looking, when he all of sudden trips and smacks his face against it and it starts to encompass him. Later when Tetsuro is in immediate danger from a secret world government style organization known as Chronos, Sho clad in this "bio" metal armor then destroys the ones troubling Tetsuro. Afterward he seemingly regains consciousness while still in the armor and notes that it is DEFINITELY alien.

* ''[[Appleseed]]'' has two classes of Powered Armor: "Protectors", which are fairly standard suits; and "Landmates", which border on being [[Mini-Mecha]] and suspend the wearer in the torso of the armor. The Landmates' main outer "Slave Arms" follow the movements of the arms of the pilot, placed in smaller, form-fitting armored gauntlets which dangle outside the main body.

* ''[[Steamboy]]'' has one of the least impressive examples of Powered Armor on this list. They're basically full-plate armor with steam backpacks ([[Fridge Logic|how they're not cooking with that setting]], I'm not sure), showing immunity against small arms fire and not much else.

* One interesting variation in ''[[Pokémon Special]]'' is what Koga wears during the Silph Co. siege. His armor is made out of ''his Pokemon''. His Muk forms a shoulder and chest plate while his Golbat rests on his arm for a tonfa-like weapon. His other arm has an Ekans wrapped around it.

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' [[Alternate Continuity]] manga ''Suzaku of the Counterattack'' turns the Lancelot from a [[Humongous Mecha]] into a ''[[Kamen Rider]]''-like costume that actually gets treated like a comic book superhero by the common folk.

** Meanwhile, in ''[[Nightmare of Nunnally]]'', the other spinoff manga: ''Lelouch, of all people'', gets this treatment. Although, in his case, it's not tech-based but a special type of wired Geass which allows him to fight in a similar manner to Suzaku's suit. By the end of the manga, he had faced off against hordes of [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frames]] and other Geass-related pheomena, and always came out on top. There's a reason why fans [[Memetic Mutation|like to say]] that [[Clothes Make the Superman|Zero's Geass let's him fight on par with]] [[G Gundam|Master Asia]].

** In its higher forms, Sasuke and Itachi's Susano'o falls more into [[Mini-Mecha]] in their size and power. Same with Madara's in its 'complete' (full skin form) {{spoiler|but it turns into a [[Humungous Mecha]] in his 'Perfect' Form.}}

* Tony Stark aka [[Iron Man|Tony Stark]] first built his powered armour in the Vietnamese jungle and has since made countless upgrades, redesigns and variants to stay ahead in the [[Powered Armour]] arms race with villains like Titanium Man and the Crimson Dynamo. To make matters worse, villains are constantly trying to steal his designs, and the first Spymaster ''succeeded''. His sale of Tony's blueprints on the black market sparked the Armor Wars, a storyline in which Iron Man goes about attacking armored villains ''and'' heroes in a fit of paranoia over misuse of his inventions.

** Why, [[Fantasticnone Fourother (Comicthan Book)|Dr.[[Doctor Doom]].! Contrary to its almost medieval-industrial revolution aesthetic, being covered in visible rivets and displaying no apparent electronics, itDoom's armor is actually a nuclear-powered, ultra-sophisticated walking tank that stands up next to Tony Stark's best designs. ItSince Doom is also a mage, he can use a combination of [[Magitek|magic and science]] that makes him strong and tough enough to go toe-to-toe with the Thing, discharge an array of devastating energy attacks, enables him to fly and control his vast arsenal of external technological devices. (Some versions even have a device that renders him immune to direct assault by mutant powers, so Magneto's victory over him in a fight isn't as assured as it would be against Tony.) He can basically beat the tar out of any non-"cosmic" character short of the Hulk and [[Squirrel Girl]].

** * Doom also has on occasion created stronger variants of the armor, powered by draining some of the above-mentioned "cosmic" characters and thus rendering Doom's power [[A God Am I|almost as God-like as his ego]]. Since Doom is also a mage, he can use a combination of [[Magitek|magic and science]].

** * In one notable issue of ''[[Mighty Avengers]]'' (just before [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]), Doom and Iron Man go one-on-one after the rest of the Avengers were subdued by an army of [[Mecha-Mooks|Doombots]] and array of traps. Their suits are so well matched that it comes down to whose suit's battery can last longer. {{spoiler|It's Doom's.}}

** In ''[[Batman vs. Predator]]'', Batman resorts to this in order to continue the fight {{spoiler|while recovering from the asskicking the Predator gave him earlier on}}. Also uses {{spoiler|sonar}} to beat the Predator's cloak.

* Even [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] got in on the armored action in the mid-90s, as he was forced to wear an armored version of his familiar red-white-and-blues, due to the Super-Soldier Serum breaking down in his body and rendering him paralyzed. Naturally, it didn't take.

* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|''Sonic the Hedgehog]]'''s comics]] have Rotor Walrus, haswho takentook up wearing Powered Armor when he decided to return to active duty.

* In the ''[[Firefly]]'' fanfic ''[[Forward]]'', the [[Those Two Bad Guys|Hands of Blue]] wear blue bodysuits underneath their normal suits that turn out to be a "low profile" suit of powered armor. It allows them to resist bullets and crossbow bolts, as well as allowing them to move with surprising speed and to hit extremely hard. With these suits, they are fast enough and strong enough that even [[Super Soldier|River]] proves unable to match them in hand-to-hand combat. Fortunately, they aren't invincible, but it takes a lot of abuse to bring one down, unless you're [[Wrench Wench|Kaylee]]. {{spoiler|Kaylee just squishes them with a power loader.}}

== Film ==

* ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]'' is unique in that it [[Deconstruction|shows the trials and tribulations]] that would logically have to go with actually creating and testing such a device. The sound of Tony Stark screaming in terror as his suit(s) malfunction at inopportune moments almost becomes a [[Running Gag]].

* ''[[Alien (franchise)|Aliens]]'', albeit that the powered armor in question was more or less an [[Improvised Weapon]] as Ripley was using a heavy cargo loader which ''looked'' a lot like powered armor. It gave her enough protection to avoid some of the Alien Queen's attacks and augmented her physical strength so she could go toe-to-toe with something about ten feet tall. "''[[Mama Bear|Get away from her]], you [[This Is for Emphasis, Bitch|BITCH!!!]]''"

** The video game ''Aliens vs Predator'' gave us a military version nicknamed Alice. It looks like the aforementioned loader with some weapons strapped on and according to the manual, it could take on an infantry platoon or lightly armored vehicles.

* ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', by the same director as ''Aliens'', has AMP suits, which are made in both utilitarian and military models.

* The (sized more like [[Mini-Mecha]]) combat suits of the humans from ''[[The Matrix]]: Revolutions'' that carried big guns but provided very little protection. Word of God has said this is because the Sentinels could easily tear through any armor they put up, making it more efficient to simply leave them unarmored. It has been shown in ''Animatrix'' that the armored suits go down just as easily as their descendants, but [[An Arm and a Leg|prolong the suffering of the pilot.]]

* In ''[[Batman and Robin]]'', Mr. Freeze wears a powered armor that allows him to toss people around. The suit was, of course, powered by diamonds.

* ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra|G.I. Joe the Rise of Cobra]]'' features the "Delta-6 Accelerator suit", a powered armour that allows the wearer to outrun cars, leap over speeding commuter trains in a single bound, dodge missiles and climb buildings like a hyperactive monkey. Oh yes, and it's armed (quite literally) with an on-board [[Gatling Good|Gatling gun]] and mini-missile launcher. They're used in a single scene by the two newest recruits; the story goes that the script was originally for a [[Halo]] movie or rip-off and that scene is an artifact.

* In the grand tradition of ''Aliens'', a suit of prawn [[Powered Armour]] serves as [[Chekhov's Gun]] in ''[[District 9]]''.

* ''Dominant Species'' by Michael E. Marks centered on a Marine Rapid Assault Team in powered armor; the depiction took a serious (rather than fantasy) approach to the depiction of powered armor capabilities and vulnerabilities.

* The "living-brain" Martians in H. G. Wells' ''[[War of the Worlds]]'' came very close; their war-machines straddle the line between this trope and [[Humongous Mecha]]. They also had smaller non-combat work-machines into which they strapped themselves.

* The powered suits in [[Diane Duane]] and Peter Morwood's ''Space Cops'' books.

* [[John Ringo]]'s [[Posleen War Series]] has the main character design and then command units of ACS against the invading [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Posleen]], powered at one point by actual [[Green Rocks|Glowing Green Rocks]] (appropriated alien heavy plant power cells).

* The marines in [[David Weber]]'s ''[[In Fury Born]]'' uses powered armor, as do the marines of ''[[Honor Harrington]]''.

* The titular armor from [[John Steakley]]'s excellent [[Bug War]] novel, ''[[Armor]]''.

* Joe Haldeman's classic, ''[[The Forever War]]'', although in this case the suits had little armour.

* From ''The Tin Man'' onwards, some of [[Dale Brown]]'s books have featured the eponymous armours. They are noted as being resistant to bullets and eventually having limited jumpjet capability and railguns, but vulnerable to knives and missiles.

* In [[C. J. Cherryh]]'s [[Alliance Union]] science fiction series, the Earth Company Marines (and, presumably, their Union equivalents) wear Powered Armor. The only really detailed description is in ''Rimrunners'' where ex-Marine Bet Yeager, late of the carrier ''Africa'', has to repair and recondition a pair of suits and then teach a neophyte to use it.

* Odd subversion in Peter F. Hamilton's ''Fallen Dragon'': Skin suits are largely biological suits powered by the wearer's ''blood''.

* Space and combat suits in the ''[[Perry Rhodan]]'' universe tend to come with basic comm gear, flight capability and some kind of force field for protection at a minimum; additional sensors, life support, fairly sophisticated built-in computers, and stealth features like invisibility are also found more often than not. Perhaps ironically, one thing that these suits are ''not'' primarily intended to function as is actual body armor; that's what the force field is for. Likewise, weapons tend to be external (and frequently hand-held) rather than integrated into the suit.

* [[Vorkosigan Saga|Miles ("Mr. Naismith") Vorkosigan]] was too short to use the average powered armor suits of his universe, but acquired a "petite" size in his first mercenary venture. He had to have the techs adapt the plumbing to fit, though, as it was originally for a female.

** Later in his career he's worn powered armor so often that the equipment's left a mark on his forehead.

* In [[Iain Banks]]' [[The Culture]] novels, powered, intelligent armor features in ''Matter''.

* In Ian Douglas's Heritage/Legacy/Inheritance trilogies, the USMC has these. They start out as glorified spacesuits and end up being a combination starfighter/power armor/drop pod with enough features to make the Mjolnir VI look like a Model T.

* The protagonist of Gary Gibson's ''Stealing Light'' has some sort of [[Latex Space Suit]] [[Instant Armour]] [[Powered Armour]] she stole from some aliens. If they knoew about it, they'd want it back. Alas, it's implanted in place of one of her lungs (at least).

* The novel ''[[Revelation Space]]'' by [[Alastair Reynolds]] features powered armor suits that can fly to a planet's surface and back to orbit, extrude powerful weapons, and change their shape; oddly, they aren't mentioned in later books, even if they would be useful.

* Max Barry's ''Machine Man'' makes use of this when {{spoiler|Carl the security guard needs an exo-suit to hold up his titanium sledgehammer arms}}.

* The Daleks from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' are basically evil lumps of flesh encased in salt-shaker-shaped personal tanks that function the same way Powered Armor does for humanoids.

** The Cybermen, both the original and the [[Alternate Universe]] version in the new series, were originally designed as a suit to increase the vitality and lifespan of the wearer. And then [[It Got Worse]].

* On ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', the Lost Tribe faction of {{spoiler|the Asgard}} wear humanoid-shaped power armor suits that provide them with mobility, protect them from hazardous environments, and come equipped with blasters and built-in energy shields. They're also conveniently designed to automatically adjust to the wearer, so other races that aren't bigger than the armor's maximum size can wear them.

** According to [[The Other Wiki]], the Rider Gears from ''[[Kamen Rider Faiz|Kamen Rider 555]]'' also count. Especially the Delta Gear, which can be used by humans, but has [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|drastic side-effects]] if you use it frequently.

* "The Suit" in ''[[Super Force]]''. In the first episode, an advanced spacesuit serves this purpose, though by the climax, they've switched to a purpose-built urban assault system based on the space suit.

* ''[[The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog]]''

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' ''loves'' Powered Armor. Every species from the humans ([[Space Marine]]s, [[Amazon Brigade|Sisters of Battle]], Inquisition and whoever can afford a lesser commercial version - which is much like Sororitas armor, but not quite as good and doesn't come with reactor backpack) and be extension [[Spikes of Villainy]]-loving Chaos [[Space Marine]]s turned [[Face Heel Turn|evil]]([[Humans Are the Real Monsters|er]]) to the [[Black and Gray Morality|not-quite-as-evil-as-everyone-else]] Tau Empire to the [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orkz]] (warlike [[Plant Aliens|Space Fungi]]) will wear these into battle. However, this armour is generally reserved for the elite forces of the species. Naturally, [[Crapsack World|being Warhammer 40000]], the less-fortunate tend to be [[Cannon Fodder]].

** Worth mentioning about the Tau Empire is that their standard power armour makes their soldiers about as big, strong and resilient as your average human dude. Albeit a bit more bulletproof. And their big suits are actually [[Mini-Mecha]].

** The Eldar have an interesting variation, Exarch armor doesn't make the wearer stronger or faster, but instead gives him or her access to the skills and memories of previous wearers of the suit. The [[Legacy Character|Phoenix Lords]] operate on the same principle.

* [[Iron Kingdoms|WARMACHINE]] features military commanders wearing technomagical suits called Warcaster Armor. Additionally, the empire of Khador reserves valuable robot cyberbrains for only their largest war robots, with the role of light armor being filled by soldiers sturdy enough to wear Man O' War suits. There's even a soldier wearing this bulky powered armor ''on horseback''.

** And the horse gets its own powered armor to compensate.

* Rackham's AT-43 features suits of powered armor for nearly every army (including Space Gorillas).

* ''[[Rifts]]'' sings "The Girl is Mine" with Warhammer every Saturday on the subject. It also enjoys playing with the trope to a degree usually not seen. Many units that one might classify as powered armor from their size, like the Triax Ulti-Max and Coalition States Terror Trooper, are in fact very small piloted combat robots instead of worn suits, while some worn suits such as the Glitterboy are simply so powerful as to intrude on combat robot territory. The Lunar Colony's VRDS system takes it [[Up to Eleven]] by allowing one to wear a combat robot like it was power armor.

** The books even state (at least for the Terror Trooper) that such suits blur the line between Power Armor (Rifts doesn't use the -ed) and [[Humongous Mecha|Giant Robots]]. The defining characteristic seems to be that Power Armor is one man, while Giant Robots need a crew of 2-5.

* ''[[Traveller]]'' had "Battle Dress" armor, which was pretty much an Iron Man suit for every G.I. in the Imperial forces. Besides its protective function, the powered armor was the only way to handle the recoil and backblast from the awesome FGMP-15.

** FGMP-14. FGMP-15 was the model with the anti-grav recoil module, which meant you *didn't* have to wear Battle Dress to wield it. However, the FGMP-15 costs almost as much as an FGMP-14 and Battle Dress put together.(though the cost of the avionics suite that went into the Battle dress dwarfed the cost of the FGMP - it made economic sense to run a xray lazer or two as point defense )

* While ''[[BattleTech]]'' is best known for its 'Mechs, there's also Powered Armor down there, ranging from simple suits worn by special-forces troopers, to one-ton monsters capable of taking down a 'Mech in teams and withstanding their weaponry, to two-ton four-legged machines more piloted than worn, with enough firepower to shame an infantry company.

** The Clan genetics program has culminated in the birth of huge humans to pilot their massive Powered Armor; the Elementals. Even one outside of the likewise-named armor can dismember an armored opponent with their bare hands, and the massive brutes top seven or even eight feet tall. Elemental armor fits above into the 'one-ton monster' variety, a sizable fraction being the pilot itself.

* Given ''[[Exalted]]'''s attitude towards the [[Rule of Cool]] (namely, if the concept exists and is sufficiently awesome, put it in the game), it should come as no surprise that there are many, many examples of this to be found in Creation.

** They're called Warstriders. The Abyssals call them Bonestriders. Which they make [[Memetic Mutation|IN A CA-]] in the Underworld. [[Overly Long Gag|WITH A BOX OF SCR-]] [[Squick|With spare body parts]].

** Warstriders are arguably closer to a [[Mini-Mecha]]. There is also powered armor, from Gunzosha (which can even be worn by mortals, at the cost of a mere half their lifespan) to Celestial Battle Armor (which is as tough as Superheavy Plate armor, far less restrictive, and can usually fly).

* ''[[Cyberpunk 2020]]'' introduced an entire subclass of Solo called 'PA Trooper' who's only reason for existence was using various heavily-armed suits of Powered Armor. The supplement 'Maximum Metal' was mostly devoted to their design.

* Pretty much every side in ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' is a big fan of powered armour. Of course, how dangerous they are is entirely dependent on what they're up against. They're basically invincible to infantry level firepower, requiring specialist anti-armour weapons to scratch, while carrying guns which can kill a normal human/Migou/Deep One with a single shot. On the other hand, up against anything larger, they're the [[Glass Cannon]], who tend to get crippled if they get hit at all.

** And the Exelixi axiom for super-strength... a good suit tends to be an expensive investment for a veteran Genius. But oh so worth it.

* Powered Armor characters are common in ''[[Champions]]''. One of the most powerful human villains in the official game universe is Doctor Destroyer, who wears a suit of powered armor that lets him take out (spelled "kill") whole teams of superheroes.

* A fair number of powered armor suits survived the Last War in '[[Deadlands]]: Hell on Earth.' The trick isn't so much finding one as getting it to work for more than fifteen minutes in the [[Scavenger World]] left [[After the End]].

* ''[[GURPS]]: Ultra-Tech'' has a slew of them. The most powerful is the [[Technology Levels|TL12]] "Warsuit" which, just for starters, is armored with layers hyper dense regenerating metal alloy and multiplies an ordinary person's strength 25 times over. There's also the clever "Exo-Field Belt" which is Powered Armor made out of nothing but forcefields.

* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'': while the Device power can be used to represent anything from the hammer Mjolnir to a [[Green Lantern Ring]], the battlesuit is one of the coolest uses. (Especially since there are no restrictions on what you can give a battlesuit save the points available, meaning that it's not impossible to build a suit that lets you ''warp time''.)

** To expand, there are two types of device. Those you can remove with a disarm check (weapons) and those you can only remove from someone only when he's unconscious. This include powered armors.

* It is technically possible to do this in ''[[Shadowrun]]'' by combining multiple levels of Mobility Upgrade, Strength Upgrade, and Hydraulic Jacks on a suit of milspec or modern Samurai armor, but your GM will not be pleased.

* The Golden Armour from ''[[Bionicle]]'', although it's more of a fantasty variant than most of the science fiction examples on this page. {{spoiler|It has the power to incinerate Antidermis, including all the [[Wetware CPU|Kraata]] inside Rahkshi, and permanently transfers the Kraata's powers to the user}}. The Toa Nuva's [[Adaptive Armor]] also develops different characteristics to enhance the wearer's performance depending on the environment.

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Halo|]]'' has Master Chief's]] MJOLNIR armor, which is one of the most well-known video game examples. ''Halo'' also has the Arbiter, who wears power armor that's functionally the same as Master Chief's, but with a cloaking device and the added bonus of being a legendary religious artifact. Minus the artifact status, every other Elite in the series wears armor pretty much identical to it.

* ...alongThen withthere's ''[[Metroid]]''{{'}}s Samus Aran, who did it [[Older Than They Think|a long, long time before hethe Chief did]]. The [[The Federation|Galactic Federation]] [[Space Marine|Marines]] probably got the idea from her.

* ''[[Section 8 (video game)|Section 8]]'' has players using Powered Armor - whichthat allows them to 'burn in', that is,(i.e. [[It's Raining Men|rain themselves]]) from 15000 feet in the air to the ground. In ten seconds. Among other things.

* The ''[[Killzone]]'' and ''Killzone2''series givegives us the Heavy Assault troops (Abrreviated to just "Heavies" in the second game) who wear big bulky Faceless suits of powered armour, often ccarry some of the heavy hitting weaponry, and soak up tonnes of punishment before finally dying (especially in the second game).

* ''[[Shining Force]]'''s: Guntz is a Steam-Powered Armor-dillo.

** The Nanosuit 2 in the sequel takes this trope and kicks it into orbit. The suit is more of a ''symbiote'' that can fully integrate with the user on a ''molecular'' level, growing its nanofabric into wounds and replacing vital functions, essentially keeping a ''corpse'' not only alive, but in combat capacity far beyond that of a normal soldier. It also features an advanced AI that can link up with your brain {{spoiler|and [[Brain In a Jar|save a copy of your personality]] if you actually kick the bucket}}. All of the previous functionality is ported over and improved as well.

* Rush [[Transforming Mecha|turns into]] several variants in the ''[[Mega Man (video game)|''Mega Man]]'' classic series]]. In ''[[Mega Man 6]]'', Oneone confers a [[Power Fist]], while the other flies. In ''7'', the Super Mega Man form splits the difference, granting a [[Rocket Punch]] and short jet boosts. Treble can also do this for Bass, though his is primarily a flight mode. It's debatable whether ''[[Mega Man X]]'s'' various armors are powered, thought the Ultimate Armor from ''Command Mission'' almost certainly is.

** ''[[Mega Man ZX]]'': Thehas [[Artifact of Doom|Biometals]]?, Thewhich Biometal envelopsenvelop the [[Chosen One]]s with a Powered-Armor based on the previous character the Model wasderives based onfrom. Of course, this is a topic of contention among several fans.

* Depending if you consider it powered or not, the Big Daddies of ''[[BioShock (series)|Bioshock]]'''s Big Daddies wear armored diving suits. The game does state that they require certain circuit boards (R-34s) to run properly, that and the drill needs fuel, as well as the helmet lights. Obviously the power has to come from somewhere, and it certainly doesn't come from the guy inside...

** ''Jedi Academy'' addsbrings in Hazard Troopers, who are typically armed with one of the game's two [[BFG]]s, armored enough to take multiple lightsaber strikes, and can [[Punched Across the Room|smack the player away]] if they get too close. They previously appeared in the first game ''[[Dark Forces Saga|Dark Forces]]'', where the main mission of the game is to destroy the factory making the armor for droid Dark Troopers - the final stage is power armor for the General in charge.

** The most common variety is [[Latex Space Suit|form-fitting]] low-profile armor, which can deflect small arms fire, increase strength, [[Collapsible Helmet|deploy helmet-cowl]] providing breathable air, and has [[Artificial Gravity|inertiics]] to compensate for impacts (and [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-12-28 explosions]) and fly. Many (such as [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-09-29 UNS] and [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-10-02 Celeschul], and Toughs after the latter) use it as uniforms.

** [[Mechanical Lifeforms|The Esspererin]] with their "[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2016-05-24 battle suits]" introduce yet another twist of the concept: not only the lines between ''suit'' and ''[[Mini-Mecha|vehicle]]'' can be blurred, but after you throw in enough of robotics, the lines between automated vehicle, [[Animated Armor]] and ''[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2016-06-22 armored cavalry]'' aren't quite clear either.

** Later another concept that pushes it: "[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2017-11-14 fragsuit]", a heavy shell worn over light armor, designed for "establish a foothold" job: its parts are [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2018-01-21 semi-autonomous drones] with their own gravitics that can be quickly detached and converted to light fortifications, though proper use requires some training. Also borders on [[Instant Armor]], since it can be [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2019-08-18 donned] the same way in reverse. Also, since it has more gravitics than normal hardsuits, augmented with expensive exotic materials and built for boarding, it allows delivery [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2019-11-16 via launch tubes] — this seems to involve an additional propulsion module, but this in turn shows the suit can take close proximity to high-powered gravitics; speaking of which it [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2020-03-26 useful] in case ship's [[Inertial Dampening|drive-tide compensation]] gets shaken somewhat loose. Oh, and they are equipped [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2019-12-28 with] [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2020-01-28 fabbers], to build things that can be made from whatever materials are available on the battlefield.

* In ''[[SSDDS.S.D.D.]]'' Tessa and the rest of her squad of [[Super Soldier|super soldiers]] are field-testing experimental powered armor that is controlled using [[Nano MachineNanomachines|Nanomachine]] implants as of the current{{when}} arc (which is backstory), she has been seen using the armor in other story arcs that take place later (from her perspective).

* In ''[[The Batman]]'', everyone's favorite vigilante dons a power suit similar to the larger one from ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' in order to tangle with Bane. It allows him to survive, but that's about it.

* Gizmoduck of ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' and ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' fame wore Powered Armor that was almost reminiscent of [[Inspector Gadget]], with mechanical arms and gadgets coming out of every panel. In the new ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' comic series, {{spoiler|[[Little Miss Badass|Gosalyn]] controlled the Gizmoduck suit for a while, since it responded to her [[Catch Phrase]].}}

* Believe it or not, it's coming. Utah-based company ''Sarcos'' has already developed a functional powered exoskeleton called "XOS" that increases the strength of the wearer ''significantly''. As one person put it, "From enough grace to gently play ball, to enough super-power to load a missile on an aircraft". And indeed, from [http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/11/video-fix-super/ the footage], it seems surprisingly mobile. The main problems being that A) Currently, it doesn't have the covering to act as armor, but they fully intend to add an outer shell when the kinks are worked out. And B) they're still working out how to power it as a self-contained unit. The scary part? ''Sarcos'' has been bought up by a defense contractor called ''Raytheon'', meaning we may be seeing elite soldiers in these things in a decade or so.{{when}} Indeed, the US Army already field tested it in 2009.

* The US military model [http://www.ted.com/talks/eythor_bender_demos_human_exoskeletons.html HULC] has graduated from testing to production, - while it still nolacks arms though, butit has the added bonus of being useful for those suffering from spinal cord injury sufferers. [http://www.ted.com/talks/eythor_bender_demos_human_exoskeletons.html\]

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}Tropes in Shining Armor]]