The Spartan Way: Difference between revisions

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

* Ninja in ''[[Naruto]]'' begin their training at a very young age, to the point that each one is (theoretically) a ruthless assassin and a superhuman martial artist by age twelve - and that's at the ''lowest'' ninja rank. Not everyone survives the yearly examination/[[Tournament Arc|martial arts tournament]] to attain the next-highest ninja rank, and only a small percentage actually passes the test each year.

** While they do begin Ninja Academy at a young age in Konoha, it is shown to be more of a basic skills course. More training is received after graduation through personal instruction by their team's mentor and fairly low-risk missions, as far as the good guy's Leaf village is concerned, anyway. The Mist (and possibly the Sand) village is a different story.

* It's become a joke among fans that [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Nanoha Takamachi's]] method of parenting is all about the Spartan Way.

** Don't forget the actual training. Considering the fact that {{spoiler|Subaru is a [[Hollywood Cyborg]]}} and Teana is a [[Badass Normal]] whose magic levels exceed that of the standard TSAB mooks, and they look like they can barely stand after training, I fear for the lives of Nanoha's new pupils.

* A similar situation arose when the mutant Morlocks were [[Trapped in Another World]] by a mad [[Reality Warper]] Mikael Rasputin; they fought their way up "The Hill", and those tough enough to survive found favor with Rasputin and became the fanatical Gene Nation.

* In the [[DC Universe]], Doomsday was raised by Kryptonian scientists by {{spoiler|sending an infant into the cruel wilderness of Krypton, getting it killed, harvesting its DNA, cloning it so that it [[Genetic Memory|kept the memory of how it was killed]], then repeating the cycle over and over and over and et cetera until it became one of the ultimate killing machines in the universe, able to beat [[Superman]] ''to death''}}. (This blurs the line between this trope and just [[Training From Hell]], depending on your view of [[Cloning Blues]].)

* Among the [[G.I. Joe]] action figures (whose backgrounds and file cards were written by Larry Hama, primary author of the comic series), most Cobra soldier types from the Strato-Viper onward were given intense training. Alley-Vipers (urban troopers) had to take a full burst of automatic fire across their body armour and run down a gas-filled corridor without a gas-mask. Night-Vipers were raised from a young age in unlit, windowless bunkers. Rage-Vipers (jungle troopers) were not given any supplies or rations and had to live off the land and steal ammunition from enemy ammo dumps. Night Vultures (aerial recon troopers) were given no formal training before being dropped over shark infested waters with their hang gliders at least five miles from land. Most Cobra Vipers also received some form of physiological augmentation. When questioned in the letters pages of the [[G.I. Joe]] comic, Hama said: "Cobra has no ethical limitations on research and no lack of willing volunteers."

* GIs in ''[[Rogue Trooper]]''.

* Judges in ''[[Judge Dredd]]'', with the severity of the training varying by jurisdiction. In Mega-City One, training begins at the age of 5, and the cadets face live-fire exercises at 14.

== [[Fanfic]] ==

== [[Film]] ==

** But then, in a universe where one can shrug off alien pincers through the shoulder blades, a mere knife to the hand probably counts barely above a slap.

* The commandos in the film ''[[Soldier]]'' are raised brutally from birth and treated brutally thereafter, only to be replaced by a new generation of genetically engineered soldiers.

* Spoofed on ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', where a regiment of Scottish kamikazes have a 100% fatality rate in training.

** Of course, the reason that only one person survived the training regimen of the McKamikaze Highlanders is not due to the harshness of the training, but because they were so eager to die for their country that they couldn't bring themselves to wait until they were ordered to do so (The one person to survive was forcibly restrained so that he would stay alive until he actually received his orders).

* On ''[[Deadliest Warrior]]'', most of the subjects are claimed to have gone through something like this, having fought since childhood and/or been trained harder than anyone else. [[Hollywood History|The accuracy of these claims varies from case to case.]]

** ''[[The Last Chancers]]'' has training that could compare to the Space Marines, significant in that it's the only penal legion described to do it such. Colonel Schaeffer takes the best of the best from the worst of the worst (thousands upon thousands of military criminals who he thinks might be useful for whatever mission might be handed him) and this would, in any other setting already give you [[Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder]], but here he takes them through one hellish battlefield after another to separate the "elite" from the "fodder", and the survivors get to join him in undertaking really important suicide missions given by the Inquisition which any sane commander would have sent Death Watch or Grey Knights to do instead.

* This trope applies to the Black Guard of the [[Our Elves Are Better|Dark Elves]] in [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. They are taken from their mothers at birth so they don't form any attachment to their families, then as soon as they are old enough, they are forced to fight each other to the death so that only the strongest survive. Those who live are somewhat prone to [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|murdering one another]], this being [[Klingon Promotion|a recognised way of rising through the ranks]]. If they make it through two hundred years of service - and it is implied many don't - they can look forward to a high position at the Witch King's court, not that such a position [[Deadly Decadent Court|increases one's life expectancy]]. They're an interesting lot.

** Of course, the "Common, low-born" MechWarriors of the Inner Sphere still keep winning in all the PC games made around the franchise. The downside to the Clan Warrior training: enemies that ''don't'' follow the Clan Warrior rules are a nightmare to deal with. (There's mention at one point of a group of Clan Warriors who challenged their enemies to individual duels... and were gunned down. Last words? "This isn't fair!")

** This is about the only way to explain the opening cinematic of the first [[Mech Commander]] game. Clanner that forgets that Spheroids are back-shooting, dogpiling [[Combat Pragmatist]] stravags, so lets himself get shot in the back not once but TWICE, and tunnels on the latest opponent to shoot at him.

* The literally-named SPARTAN-IIs from the ''[[Halo]]'' franchise were all kidnapped by the military at the age of six to be put through incredibly harsh training, complemented by high-level education. By the time the trainees turned 14, they all had the physiques of 18-year old Olympic athletes and, with nothing but dart guns and stun grenades, were fully capable of outfighting adult Marines armed with live ammunition. And that's all ''before'' they received their [[Powered Armor|armor]] and [[Bio Augmentation|augmentations]].

** The training of the young orphans who were to become the SPARTAN-IIIs was arguably even harsher, considering that most of them were expected to see [[Suicide Mission|action]] by the time they turned ''10-12 years old''.

* [[Field Commander]] does this with both sides, while A.T.L.A.S is a more humane "You need a Medal of Honor and some sort of task that makes you a damn badass" to become a grunt, Shadow Nation's training of their appropriately named fodder is rather inhumane, cooped up in tiny cells being fed food devoid of nutrients, it turns their men to insane bloodthirsty beasts as a result, and their division commanders do not treat their men well even after they are sent out to the field.

* The Spartan faction in ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri''. Not only are they ''named'' after the Spartans, their leader's big quote is ''"Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate."'' Naturally, their training methods are revealed to be quite brutal, as yet ''another'' quote tells about a Spartan training officer breaking a recruit's arm to make him relearn his sloppy combat techniques.

'''Rose:''' "According to that logic you went to sleep thirty minutes AFTER you woke up and did all that stuff."<br />

'''Rustynuts:''' "That's why we fell half an hour behind schedule every day. [[Grumpy Old Man|Cheeky little brat]]." }}