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Standard Starship Scuffle: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:StarTrekIIBattle_6679.jpg|link=Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan (Film)|right]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Yarr! Firin' a broadside of [[Frickin' Laser Beams]], captain!<ref>A scene from ''[[Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan (Film)|Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan]]'', as digitally rendered by [http://wolf359a.anet-stl.com/jim.html Jim Varner].</ref>
{{quote|''Space battles are always [[This Is Reality|a lot more exciting on TV]] than they are in real life...''|'''Col. John Sheppard''', ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''}}
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This is the [[Super Trope]] for many [[Tropes in Space|tropes]] and clichés concerning ship-to-ship combat... [[Ship to Ship Combat|the ]]''[[Ship to Ship Combat|literal ]]''[[Ship to Ship Combat|kind]]. <small>IN SPAAAAACE!!!</small>
[[Space Fighter|Space Fighters]] have [[Old School Dogfighting]]. [[Standard Sci Fi Fleet|Capital ships]] get this trope instead, and you can think of it as "''[[History of Naval Warfare|Very]]'' [[History of Naval Warfare|Old School Sea Fighting]]." Founded on the idea that [[Space Is an Ocean]], it harks back to the age of [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men]], when large warships, [[More Dakka|making up in fire-power]] [[Mighty Glacier|what they lacked in manoeuvrability]], pounded each other with cannon fire until one finally took enough damage to be forced to withdraw (or until a [[Attack Its Weak Point|lucky shot]] [[One
It may be [[The Climax]] of a tense [[Mexican Standoff|standoff]], the conclusion of a [[Stern Chase]], or the outcome of a [[With Catlike Tread|cunning surprise attack]]. Two [[Cool Starship|Cool Starships]] from opposing [[Space Navy|Space Navies]] will park [[See the Whites of Their Eyes|within arm's reach of each other]], and proceed to fire [[Space Is an Ocean|broadsides]] of [[Beam Spam]] and [[Macross Missile Massacre|Macross Missiles]] at each other's [[Attack Its Weak Point|Weak Spots]]. The [[Point Defenceless|Close In Weaksauce System]] -- if it ''exists'' -- will valiantly try to intercept enemy attacks, and fail. [[Deflector Shields]] will [[Some Kind of Force Field|flash and crackle]] as they slowly drop [[Hit Points|percentage point by percentage point]]. [[The Engineer]] will rush to prevent [[Phlebotinum Overload|Phlebotinum Overloads]] while avoiding the inevitable [[Stanley Steamer Spaceship|torrents of burning steam]], providing essential [[Techno Babble]] all the way. On [[The Bridge]], [[Bridge Bunnies|Bunnies]] will shout out [[Subsystem Damage|damage reports]] while [[Explosive Instrumentation]] claims the life of many a [[Red Shirt|Redshirt Ensign]]. Everyone flails about as each enemy hit brings on a [[Star Trek Shake]]. [[The Captain]] will sit stoically at the centre of it all, providing important [[Hollywood Tactics|tactical guidance]], such as "[[Reverse the Polarity]]!" or "[[Tim Taylor Technology|Give me more power]]!"
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To see the different kinds of ship likely to be involved, inspect the [[Standard Sci Fi Fleet]]. If the ships are [[The Battlestar|Battlestars]], this trope may occur side-by-side with [[Old School Dogfighting]]. This trope is not to be confused with [[Space Battle|Space Battles]], though there is certainly overlap.
{{examples
== Anime & Manga ==
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* The various ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' films, nach. ''[[Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan (Film)|Wrath of Khan]]'', ''[[Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country (Film)|The Undiscovered Country]]'', ''[[Star Trek First Contact (Film)|First Contact]]'', ''[[Star Trek Insurrection (Film)|Insurrection]]''... ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' is essentially the [[Trope Codifier]], after all.
** In the 2009 ''[[Star Trek (Film)|Star Trek]]'' film, we see some beautiful examples, though aversions of [[Point Defenceless]] and a general reduction in the amount of [[Techno Babble]] from previous Trek incarnations make it a less straight example than most.
* ''[[Star Wars]]'' gives ''far'' more focus to [[Old School Dogfighting]] between [[Space Fighter|small fighters]] than to this trope. Usually when capital ships engage each other it is a brief fight. One side will be attempting a [[Hyperspeed Escape]] from the very start, or the fight will be a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] with one side at a huge disadvantage, and in either case there will be little time for a [[Standard Starship Scuffle]]. For example, we see many of the elements of this trope brought out in ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' when the protagonists' [[Shiny
** ''[[Star Wars]]'' plays this trope straight in the opening battle of ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]''. Among other things it lets us take a look at the starships' broadside cannons. The only thing they lack is that they're not muzzle-loaded.
** The Battle of Endor from ''[[Return of the Jedi (Film)|Return of the Jedi]]'' starts out more as a Battle of Midway-style melee, with snub fighters attacking the enemy capital ships, but once the Death Star cranks up its superlaser the Rebel cruisers have no choice but to go in and engage the Imperial Star Destroyers toe-to-toe so that at least the Death Star can't get a clear shot at them. The novelization sort of lampshades it; there's a line to the effect that the opposing capital ships are now exchanging broadsides at point-blank range like the oceangoing vessels of another time and place.
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