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Of course, not all '''Robot War''' stories have to use human-created machines; there are plenty more that feature robots from another world. But these stories still remain effective because of the schism between biological life and robotic life - probably the only creatures that can ever be truly ''alien'' before [[Starfish Robots]] even come into play.
Of course, not all '''Robot War''' stories have to use human-created machines; there are plenty more that feature robots from another world. But these stories still remain effective because of the schism between biological life and robotic life - probably the only creatures that can ever be truly ''alien'' before [[Starfish Robots]] even come into play.


If it's an individual robot on a rampage, expect it to [[Crush! Kill! Destroy!]]. Often caused by [[AI Is a Crapshoot|AI being a crapshoot]] and/or [[Mechanical Evolution]]. With respect to the organbags or rustbuckets there may be some [[Fantastic Racism]] on show. Expect to see [[Mecha-Mooks]] and [[Mechanical Monster]]s in legions. Expect [[Guilt-Free Extermination War]] to show up.
If it's an individual robot on a rampage, expect it to [[Crush! Kill! Destroy!]]. Often caused by [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|AI being a crapshoot]] and/or [[Mechanical Evolution]]. With respect to the organbags or rustbuckets there may be some [[Fantastic Racism]] on show. Expect to see [[Mecha-Mooks]] and [[Mechanical Monster]]s in legions. Expect [[Guilt-Free Extermination War]] to show up.


Not to be confused with the British remote-controlled-robots competition ''[[Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars]]''.
Not to be confused with the British remote-controlled-robots competition ''[[Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars]]''.
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* In the ''[[Dune]]'' prequels, {{spoiler|humankind is basically overthrown by twenty humans leading the ubiquitous thinking machines into revolt. Eventually, one human, Xerxes, turns too much power over to his pervasive neural net, and the computer takes control. It names itself Omnius, and overtakes human society}}. He also {{spoiler|gave Omnius [[Personality Chip|the capacity to feel ambition]]}}, without which the actions of {{spoiler|a few crazy cyborgs}} would have been just another footnote in the multi-millenia long history of the Duniverse.
* In the ''[[Dune]]'' prequels, {{spoiler|humankind is basically overthrown by twenty humans leading the ubiquitous thinking machines into revolt. Eventually, one human, Xerxes, turns too much power over to his pervasive neural net, and the computer takes control. It names itself Omnius, and overtakes human society}}. He also {{spoiler|gave Omnius [[Personality Chip|the capacity to feel ambition]]}}, without which the actions of {{spoiler|a few crazy cyborgs}} would have been just another footnote in the multi-millenia long history of the Duniverse.
* In [[Andre Norton]]'s ''Victory on Janus'', THAT WHICH ABIDES begins using [[Deceptively-Human Robots]] that are [[Robot Me|replicates of specific Iftin and human individuals]] during the winter hibernation of the Iftin, in a [[Xanatos Gambit]] (see the page for details) to drive a wedge between the two groups by making it look as though Iftin are preying on humans. In [[The Reveal]], THAT WHICH ABIDES is discovered to be {{spoiler|the computer system of an ancient crashed colony ship; it has been attempting to [[Terraform]] the planet all along on behalf of its colonists, and}} dealing with the Iftin as a perceived threat accordingly. The original planetbound Iftin culture never had the technical background to understand this, let alone deal with it effectively, and was wiped out in consequence.
* In [[Andre Norton]]'s ''Victory on Janus'', THAT WHICH ABIDES begins using [[Deceptively-Human Robots]] that are [[Robot Me|replicates of specific Iftin and human individuals]] during the winter hibernation of the Iftin, in a [[Xanatos Gambit]] (see the page for details) to drive a wedge between the two groups by making it look as though Iftin are preying on humans. In [[The Reveal]], THAT WHICH ABIDES is discovered to be {{spoiler|the computer system of an ancient crashed colony ship; it has been attempting to [[Terraform]] the planet all along on behalf of its colonists, and}} dealing with the Iftin as a perceived threat accordingly. The original planetbound Iftin culture never had the technical background to understand this, let alone deal with it effectively, and was wiped out in consequence.
* One early example, and maybe the definitive early idea of this particular techno-nightmare, of this trope is [[Fred Saberhagen]]'s 1947 short story "Without a Thought," which introduced the [[Berserker (Literature)|Berserkers]]: robotic war machines, originally created in the distant past by aliens who wanted a fearless robotic ultimate weapon that could think for itself and improve itself—and got it, in spades. Billions of years later, the Berserkers, who due either to a programming error in the first examples or a software bug introduced shortly thereafter, are programmed to be at eternal war with all life in the universe, have exterminated their creators and all other intelligent species in their portion of the galaxy, improving themselves continuously over time, and have just discovered the human race. [[The Terminator]], the [[Battlestar Galactica|Cylons]], the [[Star Trek|Doomsday Machine]], the [[Warhammer 40000|Necrons]] and many others are, if not Berserkers in new costumes, nonetheless owe much to Fred Saberhagen, and perhaps also to German mathematician Jon von Neumann, who first theorized about the possibility of robots sophisticated enough to manufacture more of themselves.
* One early example, and maybe the definitive early idea of this particular techno-nightmare, of this trope is [[Fred Saberhagen]]'s 1947 short story "Without a Thought," which introduced the [[Berserker (Literature)|Berserkers]]: robotic war machines, originally created in the distant past by aliens who wanted a fearless robotic ultimate weapon that could think for itself and improve itself—and got it, in spades. Billions of years later, the Berserkers, who due either to a programming error in the first examples or a software bug introduced shortly thereafter, are programmed to be at eternal war with all life in the universe, have exterminated their creators and all other intelligent species in their portion of the galaxy, improving themselves continuously over time, and have just discovered the human race. [[The Terminator]], the [[Battlestar Galactica|Cylons]], the [[Star Trek|Doomsday Machine]], the [[Warhammer 40,000|Necrons]] and many others are, if not Berserkers in new costumes, nonetheless owe much to Fred Saberhagen, and perhaps also to German mathematician Jon von Neumann, who first theorized about the possibility of robots sophisticated enough to manufacture more of themselves.
* A [[Robert Sheckley]] story had an unusual take on Robot War: it was Armageddon, the Last Battle between man and the forces of [[Satan]]. Ignoring much protest from religious leaders who said [[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself|man must fight this battle himself]], the military leaders decided their robot armies would be much more likely to succeed. They were right, and good prevailed. But then the robots were ascended to Heaven, and the humans supposed to be there were left on Earth.
* A [[Robert Sheckley]] story had an unusual take on Robot War: it was Armageddon, the Last Battle between man and the forces of [[Satan]]. Ignoring much protest from religious leaders who said [[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself|man must fight this battle himself]], the military leaders decided their robot armies would be much more likely to succeed. They were right, and good prevailed. But then the robots were ascended to Heaven, and the humans supposed to be there were left on Earth.
* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series: This trope is referenced in ''War Of Honor'' when Andrew [[La Follet]] is considering Honor's training remote and notes that no training remote has ever gone berserk and risen up against it's master. However he also is aware that if you misjudge your own skill level when setting the robot's skill level it can and will injure or kill you.
* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series: This trope is referenced in ''War Of Honor'' when Andrew [[La Follet]] is considering Honor's training remote and notes that no training remote has ever gone berserk and risen up against it's master. However he also is aware that if you misjudge your own skill level when setting the robot's skill level it can and will injure or kill you.
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* This is the war the titular city of ''[[Mortasheen]]'' is fighting against the genocidal technophilic civilization of Wreathe. Subverted in that Wreathe's robots are under human control, fighting the monstrous inhabitants of Mortasheen and {{spoiler|the supercomputer that really runs the show in Wreathe is very, very pro-human}}
* This is the war the titular city of ''[[Mortasheen]]'' is fighting against the genocidal technophilic civilization of Wreathe. Subverted in that Wreathe's robots are under human control, fighting the monstrous inhabitants of Mortasheen and {{spoiler|the supercomputer that really runs the show in Wreathe is very, very pro-human}}
* In ''[[Warhammer 40000|Warhammer 40,000]]'' humanity (and the rest of the universe) engage in a war with the newly awakened [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|undead robot]] Necrons whose main purpose in life is to wipe out all sentient races in the galaxy. Of course in this case, the robot army didn't so much rebel against their creators as their Gods the [[Physical Gods|C'tan]] decided that they could do without these inconvenient weak flesh bodies and told the Necrontyr that by replacing their bodies with Necrodermis they could live forever. What they didn't tell them is that the transformation would dull their mind and senses, and they practically became slaves of the C'tan. [[wikipedia:Necrontyr#History|More info]] on [[The Other Wiki]].
* In ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' humanity (and the rest of the universe) engage in a war with the newly awakened [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|undead robot]] Necrons whose main purpose in life is to wipe out all sentient races in the galaxy. Of course in this case, the robot army didn't so much rebel against their creators as their Gods the [[Physical Gods|C'tan]] decided that they could do without these inconvenient weak flesh bodies and told the Necrontyr that by replacing their bodies with Necrodermis they could live forever. What they didn't tell them is that the transformation would dull their mind and senses, and they practically became slaves of the C'tan. [[wikipedia:Necrontyr#History|More info]] on [[The Other Wiki]].
** Closer to the trope is the part of the Imperium's [[Backstory]] which says that humanity golden age (now known as the Dark Age of Technology) was brought to an end by the 'Men of Iron' who rebelled against their human masters. This war was apparently so destructive that even 14-15 millenia later, sentient AI are still considered blasphemous and destroyed.
** Closer to the trope is the part of the Imperium's [[Backstory]] which says that humanity golden age (now known as the Dark Age of Technology) was brought to an end by the 'Men of Iron' who rebelled against their human masters. This war was apparently so destructive that even 14-15 millenia later, sentient AI are still considered blasphemous and destroyed.
*** This was further explored in the ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' novel ''First And Only'', where the [[MacGuffin]] the heroes are chasing after turns out to be a {{spoiler|Standard Template Construct machine that produces Iron Men, albeit one that was warped by the power of Chaos.}}
*** This was further explored in the ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' novel ''First And Only'', where the [[MacGuffin]] the heroes are chasing after turns out to be a {{spoiler|Standard Template Construct machine that produces Iron Men, albeit one that was warped by the power of Chaos.}}
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* The geth of the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series are a software species who inhabit "mobile platforms". The quarians created them for physical labor with the basic idea that nearby platforms can share processing power for low-level functions. This made them more efficient, but had the unexpected side-effect of giving individual thought. Eventually, one geth asked it's overseer "[[Do Androids Dream?|Do this unit have a soul?]]" The quarians [[Genre Savvy|freaked out and tried to deactivate them]]... [[Death by Genre Savviness|emphasis on TRIED]].
* The geth of the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series are a software species who inhabit "mobile platforms". The quarians created them for physical labor with the basic idea that nearby platforms can share processing power for low-level functions. This made them more efficient, but had the unexpected side-effect of giving individual thought. Eventually, one geth asked it's overseer "[[Do Androids Dream?|Do this unit have a soul?]]" The quarians [[Genre Savvy|freaked out and tried to deactivate them]]... [[Death by Genre Savviness|emphasis on TRIED]].
** In ''Mass Effect 2'', Legion confirms that the geth don't hold a grudge against their creators and are even willing to bargain with the quarians to give their planets (which the geth have faithfully maintained in their former masters' exile) back if they leave the geth alone.
** In ''Mass Effect 2'', Legion confirms that the geth don't hold a grudge against their creators and are even willing to bargain with the quarians to give their planets (which the geth have faithfully maintained in their former masters' exile) back if they leave the geth alone.
** There are hints that Legion is not being entirely honest, as siding with Tali (a Quarian) in one event will cause Legion to blurt out "Once the Old Machines are defeated, creators will answer for actions against our people" - referring not only to the war, but {{spoiler|Tali's father's brutal experiments on active geth}}.
** There are hints that Legion is not being entirely honest, as siding with Tali (a Quarian) in one event will cause Legion to blurt out "Once the Old Machines are defeated, creators will answer for actions against our people" - referring not only to the war, but {{spoiler|Tali's father's brutal experiments on active geth}}.
*** Mass Effect 3 further supports Legion's story, offering a side-mission that puts the Geth in an ''extremely'' sympathetic light. There was a Robot War, but the robots didn't start it. {{spoiler|If the player is able to broker peace between the Quarians and the Geth, the Geth welcome their creators back to their homeworld.}}
*** Mass Effect 3 further supports Legion's story, offering a side-mission that puts the Geth in an ''extremely'' sympathetic light. There was a Robot War, but the robots didn't start it. {{spoiler|If the player is able to broker peace between the Quarians and the Geth, the Geth welcome their creators back to their homeworld.}}
** On a larger scale, the Reapers, although they have yet to explain how they were created and {{spoiler|are partially organic; their fifty-thousand-year "harvest" of spacefaring life is, in part, their method of reproduction}}.
** On a larger scale, the Reapers, although they have yet to explain how they were created and {{spoiler|are partially organic; their fifty-thousand-year "harvest" of spacefaring life is, in part, their method of reproduction}}.
*** Ironically, the Reapers exist {{spoiler|to ''prevent'' a Robot War. The first true AI ever created, the Catalyst, was betrayed by its own creators whom it destroyed. The Catalyst became convinced that conflict between organic and synthetic life is inevitable, and that such a conflict could utterly destroy the galaxy. The Reapers are the Catalyst's means of making sure such a destructive Robot War never takes place by "resetting" organic civilization every 50,000 years. There is even evidence in the games to support the Catalyst's argument; namely, the Quarian vs. Geth conflict. Which was only allowed to happen because the Protheans delayed the Reaper cycle.}}
*** Ironically, the Reapers exist {{spoiler|to ''prevent'' a Robot War. The first true AI ever created, the Catalyst, was betrayed by its own creators whom it destroyed. The Catalyst became convinced that conflict between organic and synthetic life is inevitable, and that such a conflict could utterly destroy the galaxy. The Reapers are the Catalyst's means of making sure such a destructive Robot War never takes place by "resetting" organic civilization every 50,000 years. There is even evidence in the games to support the Catalyst's argument; namely, the Quarian vs. Geth conflict. Which was only allowed to happen because the Protheans delayed the Reaper cycle.}}
* In the original ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' series the robots didn't rebel of their own accord; they were reprogrammed by resident nutcase, Dr. Wily. Each time Wily attempted world-domination, Dr. Light's Mega Man went out and stopped both Wily and the rampaging robots, but in the brief time the robot attacks cause immense damage. Fanon dubs this period "The Robot Wars" or - taken from a Genesis compilation game - "The Wily Wars", with each game being a small war, effectively. The series does raise notions of robots having the capabilities of free will in its later installments.
* In the original ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' series the robots didn't rebel of their own accord; they were reprogrammed by resident nutcase, Dr. Wily. Each time Wily attempted world-domination, Dr. Light's Mega Man went out and stopped both Wily and the rampaging robots, but in the brief time the robot attacks cause immense damage. Fanon dubs this period "The Robot Wars" or - taken from a Genesis compilation game - "The Wily Wars", with each game being a small war, effectively. The series does raise notions of robots having the capabilities of free will in its later installments.
** The [[Sequel Series]] ''[[Mega Man X]]'' opens up a different can of worms. Dr. Light's final mechanical masterpiece, X, is discovered sometime after the (ambiguous) end of the Classic series and is revealed to be ''way'' ahead of modern robotics. X's systems are copied and reproduced as closesly as possible, resulting in mass-production of Reploids ("Replica Androids"). Unlike their robot ancestors, Reploids are entirely capable of free will (which is why Dr. Light sealed X away for a time: he wanted to ensure his systems were free of errors that may affect his judegment) and some suffer faults and turn "Maverick". Repeated incidents results in the formation of the Maverick Hunters, who stop Maverick incidents before they get out of hand. The true 'war' of this series kicks in when the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, is infected by the last creation of Dr. Wily: Zero. Zero carried Dr. Wily's other legacy; a virus that corrupts and destroys whatever it infects. Sigma infects several high-ranking Hunters and turns the Mavericks from isolated incidents into a fully organised force that aims to wipe out humanity for the advancement of the Reploid race, thus starting the "Maverick Wars". An interesting trait about this series is that every human views the Reploids free will as a glitch or misconception (as opposed to the intended result the Light was after) and there are strong hints that humans would brand disobedient machines 'Maverick' just to have them disposed of.
** The [[Sequel Series]] ''[[Mega Man X]]'' opens up a different can of worms. Dr. Light's final mechanical masterpiece, X, is discovered sometime after the (ambiguous) end of the Classic series and is revealed to be ''way'' ahead of modern robotics. X's systems are copied and reproduced as closesly as possible, resulting in mass-production of Reploids ("Replica Androids"). Unlike their robot ancestors, Reploids are entirely capable of free will (which is why Dr. Light sealed X away for a time: he wanted to ensure his systems were free of errors that may affect his judegment) and some suffer faults and turn "Maverick". Repeated incidents results in the formation of the Maverick Hunters, who stop Maverick incidents before they get out of hand. The true 'war' of this series kicks in when the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, is infected by the last creation of Dr. Wily: Zero. Zero carried Dr. Wily's other legacy; a virus that corrupts and destroys whatever it infects. Sigma infects several high-ranking Hunters and turns the Mavericks from isolated incidents into a fully organised force that aims to wipe out humanity for the advancement of the Reploid race, thus starting the "Maverick Wars". An interesting trait about this series is that every human views the Reploids free will as a glitch or misconception (as opposed to the intended result the Light was after) and there are strong hints that humans would brand disobedient machines 'Maverick' just to have them disposed of.
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** In a reversal to what is usually the case with this trope, the mecha/iron creatures are actually the ancestors of the "fleshy" races, having been "devolved" by the aforementioned "Curse of Flesh" by the setting's resident [[Eldritch Abomination]]s.
** In a reversal to what is usually the case with this trope, the mecha/iron creatures are actually the ancestors of the "fleshy" races, having been "devolved" by the aforementioned "Curse of Flesh" by the setting's resident [[Eldritch Abomination]]s.
** The Ulduar raid in the same expansion is this trope. An ancient, hi tech city, the battles within include a massive melee against an Iron Dwarf army with your own siege machines, a fight against a giant AI controlled tank (complete with an orbital defence system), a giant robot with the AI personality of a young boy that causes it to regard the players as it's "toys" (which it always breaks) and a prototype 3 part mecha-tank with gatling guns, electric shock bombs and a flying head.
** The Ulduar raid in the same expansion is this trope. An ancient, hi tech city, the battles within include a massive melee against an Iron Dwarf army with your own siege machines, a fight against a giant AI controlled tank (complete with an orbital defence system), a giant robot with the AI personality of a young boy that causes it to regard the players as it's "toys" (which it always breaks) and a prototype 3 part mecha-tank with gatling guns, electric shock bombs and a flying head.
* In the ''[[X (video game)|X-Universe]]'' series, one of the enemies the player has to fight are the Xenon, mechanical creatures that apparently hate all living things but them. They are the descendants of the original human-built [[Terraform]]ers, highly advanced robots sent to terraform other planets. In the 2140s (about 800 years ago) ''[[AI Is a Crapshoot|a bug in a software patch]]'' made them go haywire and start trying to terraform all biological life out of existence. Earth managed to save itself by luring them through a jumpgate and destroying it behind them, but they continue to menace the galaxy's inhabitants.
* In the ''[[X (video game)|X-Universe]]'' series, one of the enemies the player has to fight are the Xenon, mechanical creatures that apparently hate all living things but them. They are the descendants of the original human-built [[Terraform]]ers, highly advanced robots sent to terraform other planets. In the 2140s (about 800 years ago) ''[[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|a bug in a software patch]]'' made them go haywire and start trying to terraform all biological life out of existence. Earth managed to save itself by luring them through a jumpgate and destroying it behind them, but they continue to menace the galaxy's inhabitants.
* One of the central themes of the later ''[[R-Type]]'' games.
* One of the central themes of the later ''[[R-Type]]'' games.
** Though the Bydo mix [[Organic Technology]], machinery, and [[Alien Geometries]] to such a degree it becomes more an an Artificial [[Eldritch Abomination]] War.
** Though the Bydo mix [[Organic Technology]], machinery, and [[Alien Geometries]] to such a degree it becomes more an an Artificial [[Eldritch Abomination]] War.
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* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Professor Frink points out that it has been mathematically proven that all robots eventually [[Turned Against Their Masters|rebel against their creators]]. Which happens immediately after he says that; all the robots of the Itchy & Scratchy Land theme park turn against humans.
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Professor Frink points out that it has been mathematically proven that all robots eventually [[Turned Against Their Masters|rebel against their creators]]. Which happens immediately after he says that; all the robots of the Itchy & Scratchy Land theme park turn against humans.
{{quote|'''Repairman:''' How much time do we have, professor?
{{quote|'''Repairman:''' How much time do we have, professor?
'''Frink:''' Well, [[If My Calculations Are Correct|according to my calculations]], the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours.
'''Frink:''' Well, [[If My Calculations Are Correct|according to my calculations]], the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours.
''(The robots go berserk)''
''(The robots go berserk)''
'''Frink:''' Oh, I forgot to, er, [[Carry the One]]. }}
'''Frink:''' Oh, I forgot to, er, [[Carry the One]]. }}
* In some continuities, the ''[[Transformers]]'' have a Robot War in their [[Backstory|backstories]], having fought for independence from their greedy & cruel alien creators known as the Quintessons.
* In some continuities, the ''[[Transformers]]'' have a Robot War in their [[Backstory|backstories]], having fought for independence from their greedy & cruel alien creators known as the Quintessons.
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