(Super) Soldier

[Ahriman238]

Hi guys, it’s Ahriman again. I recently watched a gloriously corny Kurt Russell movie called Soldier, about kids raised to be perfect soldiers and how they’re eventually replaced by super-soldiers who are simply massively better in every way, except for experience and common sense.

Well I took some inspiration from this, specifically the trials they put the Soldiers (you can hear the capital ‘S’) through, culminating in a hand-to-hand match dangling on chains. So I got to thinking about the various super-soldiers I know of in fiction, and wondering how they compare to each other, man to man, without the benefit of heavy weapons, power armor etc. So here’s how it goes. I’ve assembled a list of 18 types of super-soldiers from various bits of fiction. To keep this from turning into “my favorite one wtfpwnzors yours” and since that’s too many for the poll option anyway (which I don’t really think is all that conductive to discussion) we’ll handle this as an elimination-style tournament, where the types will be randomly matched, and the victors go on. The winner is the one who triumphs in at least 2 out of 3 scenarios: one-on-one combat at close range devoid of cover or weapons or support, team match 3-on-3 in a heavily forested area enclosed with a forcefield 10 km in diameter and 5 days to seek and destroy (with the promise of termination of both parties if they aren’t done by the time limit) and finally a discussion between all of us on their relative merits and utility as soldiers. We will assume character shields to be a null quantity.

Everyone votes on performance in each event, (yes, you can vote that someone would do well in this type but not that one) and after 2-3 days I’ll call the round and start the next one.

Sound good?

Before any whining starts, I specifically excluded several possible for various reasons. First, I excluded everything that is dangerous because it lives on a dangerous world, or gets really strong under the light of a yellow sun, etc. Even in ‘warrior races’ I require that there be some element of intentional design. Second, I disregarded psychics, biotics, and similar for being basically unquantifiable. I am willing to revisit this decision if anyone has anything intelligent to say about how we could actually objectively call a winner in any psychic-on-psychic battle. Third, I did not include several types (Saurons, Elementals, Puppeteers, Scrags and others) because I could not recall or find sufficient data on their abilities and/or limitations to have a meaningful discussion. I am also willing to revisit these decisions if someone can provide enough data, but we will have to slip them into later rounds. Fourth and finally, I rejected those who were one-offs (Solid Snake) and those where every individual has a different super power (Alphas, Wildcards) for reasons of practicality. I did include a ‘Erskine-process’ (effectively, Captain America) because in the comics that’s been spread around to more than half-a-dozen guys and, frankly, I don’t expect them to get very far. I am willing to revisit this decision if you can make a very compelling case.

Well then, let’s meet our contestants. I’m sure a well-read bunch like yourselves will be familiar with much of the list, but you may be surprised at some of the things that made it here. Say hello to…

SPARTAN II (Halo) human children abducted by the USNC and subjected to various dangerous medical enhancement procedures. Their bones are coated in a small amount of a very tough material, making them theoretically unbreakable, the coverage isn’t supposed to exceed 3% of the skeletal mass, I’m not sure if that means that there is just a thin coating everywhere or if they just reinforce strategic areas. Then they undergo treatments to increase the strength, density and endurance of their muscles, while boosting their growth. SPARTANS have clocked running at 55 kph, faster when wearing power armor. Their nervous systems are altered to triple the speed of their reactions, and finally their eyes are enhanced. They are trained continuously and brutally from a young age, and the training almost makes more difference than their tech and enhancements.

The SPARTANs are very highly trained, which is the main reason I think they’ll have a shot. They’ll need every advantage though, going against the likes of:


Super-Sophont (Orion’s Arm) a person exposed to the mysterious Clarkekent seeds, which use nanites to consume muscle tissue and replace them with Ultimate Muscle ™ made from carbon nanotubes. Ultimate muscles are roughly 10,000 times stronger than normal biological muscles. Plus, as long as they’re modding anyway, the nanites tend to make a person bulk out considerably. The Super-sophonts are basically immortal, needing only power to sustain their mobile ‘life,’ and they can even regenerate to a degree thanks to all the nanites that hang around doing maintenance and repair. More advanced versions have very limited shapeshifting and reactionless space drives. The only real weaknesses are the need for highly advanced cooling systems, the insatiable thrist for power to keep their bodies running, and the fact that they are ugly as sin. Super-sophonts rarely have formalized combat training.

Barring the entry of the Incredible Hulk, not many contenders are going to be able to touch the Sophont in sheer brute strength and toughness. In-universe, there are damn few ways of killing them short of an orbital strike, baby nuke, or disintegrator. I guess you could keep out of its reach for a week or two and let the power run out. But we’re talking about something that can run at highway speeds and leap almost a kilometer straight up, while not needing rest. Staying out of reach will be problematic. Can the other types here possibly overcome that strength?


Jem’Hadar (DS9) created by the Founders, the Jem’hadar have tough leathery skin and are several times stronger than humans. They have excellent vision and the ability to “shroud” (i.e. cloak) themselves from sight. For some reason, they always drop the shroud before firing or even hitting someone. Jem’hadar do not require food, drink or rest. Instead, they require the drug/enzyme ketracel-white.

Invisibility is a powerful advantage. Perhaps too powerful, which may be why they always reveal themselves before attacking on the show. Their strength I figure to be about average for this list, their training is hopefully better than any of the Trek-fu we saw from them, else they’ll be supper for…


Posleen (Posleen War) lizard-looking (but not actually reptilian) centauroids genetically engineered by the Aldenata. Posleen are big, 15 to 17 hands (where a hand is roughly 10cm) at the horse-shoulders. They have sharp claws and teeth, and plenty of bad attitude. Posleen can eat most any life in the universe and immune to chemical and bio-weapons. They also reproduce ridiculously fast, but that isn’t really a factor in this contest. Posleen have physical abilities equivalent to horses in terms of running and jumping, but also in swimming and climbing. Posleen do not generally do formal combat training, however they do have a limited genetic memory (it only contains useful skills) and grow up in pits where they must fight for enough scraps of food to live, and frequently to consume each other.

Not entirely sure why I included the Posties, despite their meeting the criteria. A few million Posleen are a threat to worlds, one is a threat to a lone man. Against most of these supersoldiers the Posleen are thresh. While the Posleen are designed to be ‘ultimate survivors’ that’s more a statement of their ability to thrive in most environs, and reproduce really, really, quickly. Individually there are worse animals here on earth. They’d find it hard to last against, say…


Companion Protector (Earth: Final Conflict) a human altered with a CVI (cyber-viral implant) to serve as an agent, bodyguard and advisor to the Taelon Companions. The CVI triples brain functionality, giving beyond-perfect memory (subjects can vividly relive remembered events) and quick thinking. Finally the subject is bonded to a symbiotic, living raygun-thing called a skrill. The skrill uses the “bio-electric aura” of its host to power itself and rapid fire, especially on full power will drain the Protector of strength. At full power, the skrill is capable of destroying one of the Taelon’s shuttles (call it the size of a smaller bus.) Companion Protectors are generally chosen from candidates with extensive training and experience in law enforcement or security.

It’s rare to see a purely mental augmentation, at least one that doesn’t involve psychic powers. But it suits their role as bodyguards and advisors much better than bulging super-steroid muscles would. Combine that with the only integral energy weapon on the list and you have a fairly potent mix. But will a ranged weapon and a supercharged brain be enough against…


Adeptus Astartes (40k) a child or (very) young adult who lives on the right world and can imress with his toughness and/or martial prowess is modified to become one of the Emperor’s Angels of Death, a Space Marine. Infused with the genetic data of one of the Primarchs, he has a redundant heart and lung, seriously beefed up muscle and bone growth, with the bones ceramic reinforced and 5x stronger than steel. They need only half as much sleep as a normal human, and can go for 2 weeks without sleep if needed. Their blood is modified to carry far greater amounts of oxygen (to go with the greater lung capacity and feed the super-steroided muscles) and to clot almost immediately when needed. The auxiliary lung can filter out most harmful gases, and there is a sort of pre-stomach that can hold suspicious food until it can be safely disposed of. Even should these fail, and poison enters the body of the Marine, his oolitic kidney can purge his bloodstream of any toxins within minutes. He can recognize most common chemicals, and even track people by tastes alone, and can even analyze DNA sequences or retrieve memories from brain tissue by eating it. His eyes are far sharper than a human’s, his ears can filter and enhance noise better. Space Marines are immune to dizziness, vertigo, and motion sickness. Their skin darkens to provide some protection from radiation, and they can sweat a sort of slime that is highly resistant to both heat and cold. They can place themselves into a state of suspended animation, though they need outside medical assistance to wake, sometimes for centuries. Space Marines can spit an acidic venom (or is it a venomous acid? Whatever. It’s not a lot of fun to get in your eye.) They also have gene-seed creating progenoids and a black carapace that allows them to use power armor, but neither should be an issue here. They have extremely thorough combat training, and extensive mental drilling to improve their memory, grasp of tactics, and control over their implants.

Space Marines are pretty tough, and what I usually think of in terms of superhuman soldiers. Then again, they tend to die like flies in some books. They have some serious competition here though.


Nietzchean (Andromeda) humans genetically engineered to be immune to most disease and many poisons, to not have genetic defects, to be 5x as strong as a normal human, to have 3 bone spikes on each forearm and to be highly resistant to mutation. Nietzcheans typically live to 150, unless they meet an accidental or violent end first. Nietzcheans believe strongly in Objectivsm/Social Darwinism, so they learn to fight and cheat and steal from a young age.

Their physical strength is middling for this list, the environments they can live in as well. The spikes are new, but it’d be really hard to make effective weapons of them.


Erskine-style Supersoldier (Marvel Comics) Captain America, basically. But the comics have made enough knock-offs and people who stole or reverse engineered the Erskine Process that I feel confident in including it. A human who take the serum and is exposed to vita-rays becomes a perfect human specimen, achieving peak strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance, durability and healing. Cap has been observed to bench press 1200 lbs (545 kg) and run a mile in 73 seconds. Recipients of the Erskine Process have almost always been highly trained in combat. Captain America, the only one who had no previous combat training, has since become an expert in nearly all military matters, and is widely considered one of the best hand-to-hand combat experts of his universe.


Omegas (Mind Warp) Shapeshifters with a degree of super-strength and resilience, designed by the US military as supersoldiers before they escaped and arranged the nuking of the world. Omegas generally stick to their natural humanoid forms, or a human appearance. However, at least once an Omega became a shark-like creature, but there seems to be at least some conservation-of-mass issues with their shapeshifting. Omegas are strong enough to shatter concrete blocks and rip a bank of school lockers out of a wall, and are resilient enough to survive being run over by a car and falling 4 stories to the street. They have excellent, but imperfect night-vision, and are NBC resistant. However, the Omegas generally eschew direct conflict in favor of infiltration, betrayal, and general headgames. They are highly trained in all military matters. They are vulnerable to concentrated snake venom, electrocution, and temporal shenanigans erasing them from existence.

Of course, I had to have metamorphs, or the game would be no fun at all. If the Omega’s are as canny as they ought to be, they’ll go far. They’ll need that cleverness badly as the number of contenders narrows down.


Chal (Shatnerverse Trek) Klingon-Romulan hybrids, created during the period when those two governments were allies as a last resort, heirs to rebuild their empires should either be destroyed. The chalchel’qmey (Kl: Children of Heaven) combine the Vulcan-Romulan advantages over humanity (2x reflexes, 3x strength) with the Klingon capacity of brak’lul, where every major organ either has a backup somewhere in the body or is very large and can sustain great trauma before shutting down. I’ve always wondered how the Klingons have the space for so many more and/or larger organs. The Chal are NBC resistant to an unspecified degree, and thanks to the inclusion of human DNA in their physiologies (you really don’t want to know) are effectively ageless. The Chal lead very active lives that include many “games” carefully designed to instruct them in tactics, evasion, hand-to-hand, wilderness survival etc. The true purpose of the games, and the Chal, is a closely guarded secret, known only to the first generation of Chal, and a select few others.


X-5 Transgenic (Dark Angel) genetically-engineered humans raised to be perfect special-force troops. The transgenics can generally lift at least 5 times their body rate, sprint at up to 60 kph, and can exert themselves for several hours without rest, hardly ever needing sleep. They are extremely agile, putting Olympic acrobats to shame. They are virtually immune to most poisons, completely immune to all known bio-warfare agents, and it is almost unheard of for them to become sick. They can recover from injuries such as gunshot and stab wounds within days, and lesser injuries within hours, but seem to take injuries (especially blunt force trauma) much better than baseline humans. The transgenics are grown in a lab and raised in a military facility where every moment since they learn to walk and talk is spent training/brainwashing them. Any transgenic can safely be assumed to be an expert in; CQB, recon, infiltration, tracking, observation, escape and evasion, espionage, computers, explosives, handling vehicles, hand to hand combat, and to be fluent in at least 4 languages.
The X-5 model of transgenics, upon which the series focused, all have a serotonin deficiency that can lead to seizures if not regularly treated with tryptophan. Like the Jem’hadar above, this may have been meant as a means to control the transgenics. Then again, if that were so they might have made it a substance harder to acquire. This was a fun TV series, mostly in how it portrayed combat between supersoldiers, and combat between supersoldiers and normal goons. The X-5s don’t seem terribly faster or stronger than most of the entries on the list, and they don’t have the “unbreakable” bones everyone else seems to. But aside from maybe the Spartans or Space Marines, they definitly have the most military training. We’ll see how far that gets them against the likes of…


Jaffa (Sg-1) a human implanted with an immature Goa’uld symbiote. This gives them enhanced strength to an uncertain degree (adult Goa’uld with human hosts have claimed to “have the strength of many men.” But the Jaffa have immature symbiotes and may not have all the benefits of being a host anyway.) They also have better longevity, being still capable of waging battles at over 100 years of age. They heal quickly, are somewhat resistant to radiation, and totally immune to disease. Jaffa do not have to sleep, but must regularly engage in a sort of meditation or their health suffers. They appear to be able to go without this meditation for longer than humans can go without sleep however. The main weakness of Jaffa is their symbiote pouch, the X-shaped slits in their gut. If a Jaffa’s symbiote is removed from the pouch, he will lose his great strength and will die in a matter of hours. If his symbiote is harmed, the symbiote’s blood will poison the Jaffa and he will die in great pain within minutes. Jaffa are trained from childhood to be warriors.


Denathi Adepts (Orion’s Arm) a secretive group of dark-blue human “mystics” devoted to mastering the vast powers they engineered for themselves. The Denathi began with a more-or-less standard Superior (Su) Template. As such, their brains have been altered to learn and retain information better, to have vastly superior pattern recognition skills, to be capable of multitasking on a level almost unimaginable to baseline humans (up to 4 complex tasks with ease and no loss of quality, 6 with a little effort) to be capable of sustaining focus on a single task for longer periods, to be more intuitive, to have perfect memories, a flawless sense of direction and always be perfectly aware of their surroundings, and finally to need half as much sleep as baseline humans, and be able to go without for several days without significant impairment. Denathi are immune to all panic, shock and all phobias, though reflexes useful to survival are kept, the mind of a Denathi is virtually never clouded. Denathi may “hibernate” in suspended animation for up to 6 months. Denathi are generally 2-3 times as strong as a baseline human. Their far more efficient metabolism allows them to theoretically survive 10 weeks without food, though serious hospital time would be required by that point, while an upgraded respiratory system allows them to hold their breath for 15 minutes of low activity or 3 minutes of serious exertion. Denathi are immune to dizziness, vertigo, and motion sickness. They have special anti-freeze proteins in their blood that enable them to live indefinitely at temperatures as low as 0 C (32 F) and can endure -1.6 C (29 F) for short periods. Denathi are all ambidextrous, have limited infrared and ultraviolet vision, night-vision as great as a cat’s, and hearing superior to baseline humans but not really as sensitive as a dog’s. Superior bodies are inherently adaptable, and can, over the course of some weeks, adapt to adverse conditions of environment. They also benefit from exercise to a greater degree than baseline humans, on average seeing similar results in half the time. This combined with an increased endorphin “rush” ensures most Denathi are skilled athletes.
The Denathi have further modified their brains to allow themselves the ability to regulate their own emotions, jumping from cold logic to leaps of intuition as if with the flip of a switch.

What really makes them stand out from other Superior clades though, is an engineered organ called a shambhan which is unique to them. The shambhan is effectively a factory for bacteria and wetware nanobots designed in the Adept’s mind. Trained Denathi walk always within a cloud of bionano at least a dozen meters across, which as a default protects them from foreign bacteria and nanotech, and their creations enable them to mimic many of the alleged powers of psychics. By monitoring a subject’s vitals, they can give their master an accurate picture of someone else’s emotional state, as well as their honesty. By monitoring the area around them, and providing a wide variety of data (including magnetic, and limited-base interferometry) they make the Denathi appear psychic. The bionano foglets can be used to induce a variety of chemical reactions, such as the rapid oxidation of iron, or even ignition, but the energy to do so is not free and must be stored within the nano when it is created. The most advanced Denathi (not available to this scenario, by virtue of being outliers) can perform “telekinetic” feats by simply using a vast number of foglets to push or grip something. How many foglets a Denathi can produce is largely a question of their food supply, as foglets die all the time and require replacing. How varied the foglets are in abilities, and how many the Adept can control at once (and thus, how many or complex tasks) is largely a matter of skill and experience. It is very rare for a Denathi to have more than his own body mass of foglets about him, and only true masters can manage it. The Denathi control their foglets with a combination of scent cues detectable to only a few dozen meters, and UV lasers relayed through chains of specialized foglets. 2 Denathi within 100 meters or so can communicate via the laser-foglets, though at least some part of their respective clouds must be within line of sight of each other. A Denthi can will his shambhan to self-destruct without doing himself lasting injury if it seems he will be captured. 5 minutes after the death of the Denathi, or its removal, the shambhan will self-immolate to protect it’s secrets. The Denathi as a general rule will not train intensively for combat, whether considering such things beneath them or simply confident in their ability to handle trouble without special training. However, they are usually highly athletic, quick-thinking, and immune to physical or mental shock. With that plus their abilities, they may be right about not needing training to do just fine.

The Denathi are another group that is distinctly underwhelming in the super-strength category, but are carrying a lot upstairs. Their shambhan abilities can be a real nightmare in the hands of someone with extensive knowledge of chemistry and biology, a flawless memory and an imagination. Which, of course, all the Denathi have. The downside is that learning most of their exotic abilities takes decades of study, for the purpose of this exercise, we’ll assume the Denathi used are capable only of basic abilities, i.e. no telekinesis, lighting things on fire or chemical fuckery beyond, say, the high school level. This group is going to be fun.



Battlefleet Officer (Mutineer’s Moon) the main inducement for joining Battlefleet is the biotechnic augmentation. Those so augmented have their bones reinforced with battle-steel, then sheathed in a micron-thin layer of artificial super-tissue, for which the regular muscles will now serve as actuators, even as extensive brain surgery is carried out. The end result is a human with 8x the strength and triple the reflexes of an unenhanced human, with all organs and skin similarly toughened so the new officer cannot injure himself accidently with his new strength, leading to a “skeletal muscular structure and circulatory system capable of absorbing on the order of 11 times the damage your own body will accept”. Also with a neural link capable of wirelessly accessing Fourth Imperium tech, a secure fold-space com in their skull, plus electromagnetic and gravitic sensors. The Battlefleet officer’s senses have been enhanced to the point where he track individual dust motes with his eyes in a large room, and can see infrared and ultraviolent, with similarly enhanced touch, taste, hearing and smell. He can “hold his breath” for up to 5 hours, using an internal oxygen reservoir. Another system filters all toxins from the bloodstream. This combined with limited tissue regeneration leads to an average life expectancy of almost 6 centuries. There is also a personal shield, but it is useless against Imperial weaponry, and is never seen to repel anything more strenuous than rainwater, so we’ll discount it as an unquantifiable. All Battlefleet personal are trained in hand-to-hand combat.


Specials (Uglies) agents of Special Circumstances (not that one) created by the mysterious Dr. Cable to locate and destroy any insurrection within his city, or runners. The Specials have their bones replaced surgically with ‘unbreakable’ ceramic ones. They have greatly enhanced vision and hearing, and the ability to ‘listen’ to conversations by touching a wall and feeling the vibrations. They have sharp claws and teeth made from ‘orbital alloy.’ They do not seem any stronger than a human should be after intensive training, but their reflexes are definitely quicker than an unenhanced Ugly’s. They have a computer threaded throughout their spine, that lets them store data for later recall, wirelessly interface with the city grid (basically, the internet) as well as track and communicate with each other. Specials also have cosmetic surgery to give them coal-black eyes and generally lupine features for intimidation purposes.

Much more of a manhunter than a straight-up one man army. Not strong, but quick, and armed with sharp pointy bits. Enhanced senses, a little less effective outside their own turf, where they can tap the city grid for massive amounts of information about their quarry, but they could go far, as long as they don’t come up against…


Draka (Draka series) they were once great kings of men until… okay, fuck it, they were racist assholes who made the Nazis say “man, tone it down a bit.” But their ridiculous history got a lot more so when they took up genetic engineering and created homo drakensis. Draka are rather taller and more muscular than baseline humans. Their bones are reinforced boron fibres and carbon nanotubes, their ligaments and connecting tissue are also reinforced with nanotubes. Their spines have been modified to have 3 independent nerve lines, to make it harder for them to be disabled or crippled by spinal injury. Their modified muscles are roughly 4x as strong as baseline humans, and have absurd stamina. They have a secondary heart and an even more elaborate system of veins and arteries to provide redundancy. In the event of injury, veins can be pinched shut by a small muscular lining. Thanks to lung and hemoglobin modifications, a Draka can hold his breath for 15 minutes of rigorous activity or 60 minutes of sitting still. They heal very rapidly, overcoming in minutes injuries that put baseline humans down for hours or days, and are completely immune to all known diseases, as well as aging. Their reflexes are ‘considerably’ faster than baseline humans. The dumbest Draka have a testable IQ of 170 (on a baseline human scale) a photographic memory and a highly exaggerated math proficiency, to the point of being quicker and more accurate than a calculator. They are engineered to be more aggressive than baseline humans, as well. Draka vision covers the infrared to high ultraviolent range. Their hearing covers 16 to 107,000 Hertz, and can hear sounds as soft as -50 db, with an ability to consciously scale hearing to prevent ear damage, and increased direction finding ability. Their sense of smell is as acute as a dog’s, their taste is as sharp as a shark’s. Draka have perfect pitch, and can perfectly imitate any sound made by mammal or bird after hearing it once. Draka also have highly enhanced pheromones, which can sometimes be used to control weak-willed humans, and always work on their engineered slave-races. Draka are big believers in military service, and as such, one should always assume a Draka to have military training.

Their biggest weakness is their repugnant philosophy, which makes it hard to find the allies they’d eventually betray anyways. Their arrogance is another big one. Biologically, the Draka body is a high-performance machine, which requires a huge caloric intake and large amounts of water to keep running. Who knows how far they'll go.


Jagermonsters (Girl Genius) men who take the Jaegerdraught to better serve the Heterodynes. The Jaegers have considerable strength, a heightened sense of smell, and a cartoonish ability to take a beating (leedle recoil problem der.) The extent of Jaeger training seems to be getting into fights all the time.

I admit this was originally a joke, but they could do pretty well for themselves. Jaegers know how to take a beating.

Howlers (Animorphs) a race created by the god-like evil entity Crayak to help him destroy all life in amusing ways. In appearance, humanoids with black skin rife with red cracks reminiscent of lava, and incredibly blue eyes. Howlers are strong enough to easily overpower both gorillas and grizzly bears, can paralyze enemies at close range with their screams, and their special eyes are sensitive to the smallest movements and temperature variances, to the point of being able to locate and identify the major organs of any life-form at a glance. They also have needle sharp teeth, and through an unknown mechanism can swivel their torso 360 degrees. The Howlers have a shared memory going back over many millennia of killing, and are quick to adapt to new tactics and abilities by their enemies.

For the Animorphs, the howlers were an out-of-context problem. Too strong for any level of brute force available to them, too smart to fall for the same trick twice (unlike their typical enemies) and possessing literally millennia of experience in stalking and killing. Their triumph was only ultimately due to dumb luck followed immediately by a brilliant masterstroke utilizing abilities not available to anyone on this list. So I’m curious how far they’ll get.

[Stark]

I can't believe you typed in all that when all you wanted to say was 'Orions Arm rules, guys'. Extra points for your ridiculous tournament rules, though. How many byes do you get before you get audited for salary caps?

How you can read that shit without your shit-filters saving you is literally beyond me. 'Cyber man vs the hulk' or 'Clone vs nanoswarm'?

So be honest and tell us what you're really looking for.

[Ahriman238]

No trick, nor any particular agenda. Just a debate-tourney I put together because I was a bit bored, somewhat curious and none of the recent threads here have really fired my imagination. I'm not even trying to push Orion's Arm, they got two entries because I found I couldn't dig up enough information on BattleTech Elementals, I needed an even number (being divisible by 6 helped) and it's the home of insane trans-human wank.

If you don't like the game or the rules I came up with, it's as easy as not playing.

What do you mean by byes before a salary cap?

For our first round, if anyone is actually interested in participating:

Howler vs. X-5 Transgenic

Jaeger vs. Draka

Erskine style vs Special

Spartan vs. Battlefleet Officer

Nietzchean vs. Denathi

Super-Sophont vs. Jaffa

Companion Protector vs. Chal

Posleen vs. Jem'hadar

Astartes vs Omega

[Simon_Jester]

I vote you drop the Orion's Arm dudes and modify the tournament rules so it works with 16 participants.

That, or give the SPACE MARINE a plasma pistol, with which he shoots and kills the ridiculous OA guys, but then explodes as per tabletop rules, taking him out of the game. That sounds fun too.

[Batman]

Nietzcheans being 5 times stronger my ass. Dillon routinely managed to hold his own against them, as did a number of other characters (including not-named ones). Not that I recall that ever being mentioned in what I saw of the series to begin with. The Nietzcheans were top of the line biological humans with a massive superiority complex, nothing more.

[spaceviking]

Dillon was part heavy worlder though.

[Shroom Man 777]

Dillon was a son of a bitch.

[Vehrec]

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

[Lonestar]

Don't forget Priors of the Ori or those Goauld super-soldiers Anubis made.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Haven't we had DOZENS of threads exactly the same as this before?

[MKSheppard]

Don't forget the COBRA's by Tim Zahn. Basically, humans augmented with the standard bone strengtheners, but with all sorts of hidden weaponry.

One of your femurs is replaced with an anti-tank laser firing down through the heel of your foot, you get an index finger on each hand replaced with a laser, and a computer inserted into your brain that can also take over your body via servos at all the major muscle joints; so you can just tell the computer in your head "I want to kill those guys while I run past them." and it'll handle that end of things for you.

[Purple]

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

WHAT SETTING IS THAT???

[Shroom Man 777]

Those adorable Little Girl Monsters should kick the shit out of all these biogenetic militaristic Major Mike Man Meat McKenzie Military Marine Mangs.

Balls, blurted Brigadier Bartholomew von Bladenholme. In falsetto.

[Irbis]

What about Replicants from Blade Runner? Would they qualify or are they too human for the above list?

[Hawkwings]

Speaking of Blade Runner, did you notice that in Soldier, during the opening sequence showing the guy's service record, it showed that he had served at Tannhauser gate?

[fgalkin]

It is well-known that they both take place in the same universe.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Ahriman238]

I leave the thread alone for a day...

I'll trust to simon's advice and remove the OA ones, their matches will instead go against each other. That leaves the first round at:

Howler vs. X-5 Transgenic

Jaeger vs. Draka

Erskine style vs Special

Spartan vs. Battlefleet Officer

Nietzchean vs. Jaffa

Companion Protector vs. Chal

Posleen vs. Jem'hadar

Astartes vs Omega

Remember the 3 categories for each match, one one one personal combat, 3 on 3 simulated forest combat, and debate on their relative martial merits.

Shroomy: your gif is messing a bit with my computer, and I confess I don't get it anyway.

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

Anyone can suggest an addition. My understand of ar tolenico is that the Reyvateils derive their power from the ability to Song-program Ar Tolenico, and outside a certain range of the tower, they're just pretty girls.

Don't forget Priors of the Ori or those Goauld super-soldiers Anubis made.

Both considered and dismissed, the Priors for having magical psychic powers that are hard to quantify, the Kull Warriors for similar reasons. They're frankenstein muscle-monsters (and we never got all that clear an idea of their strength) with coll armor that negates most weapons and rapid-fire arm weapons. How one of Anubis' supersoldiers would fare without it's kit is unknown, same as the Elementals in Battletech.

Haven't we had DOZENS of threads exactly the same as this before?

I haven't found any, else I'd have linked to them. It's quite possible of course.

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

WHAT SETTING IS THAT???

Ar Tolenico, a PS-2 RP game with a really anime look to it. He is overstating things a bit though.

[Vehrec]

I leave the thread alone for a day...

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

Anyone can suggest an addition. My understand of ar tolenico is that the Reyvateils derive their power from the ability to Song-program Ar Tolenico, and outside a certain range of the tower, they're just pretty girls.

You can use repeater sattilites to increase their range, Shurelia launches a couple hundred of them after the events of the third game to give Ar Tonelico global firing range and reception. Mir might have also had something to do with that. Anyways, I wouldn't po-po them on those grounds, a military trained Reyvateil from the third tower serves the same role in her game as the Children Of Light do in the first two-non obligatory bonus boss that's harder than the real thing on higher levels.

Hey, can anybody come along and suggest an addition? Here's one for you.

Reyvateils are bio-gynoids produced by the three surviving nations of the world of Ar Ciel, and the dominant military paradigm on that world. The reason for this? They are literally magic! And also all hot girls, without excpetion. There are no fat or ugly Reyvateils, only cute/hot ones. But yeah, all magical, all girls. And the high-end ones are also All mecha. That adds up to 300% Mecha-Magi-Girl. Untrained and unupgraded they are able to fire energy blasts sufficient to knock out a tank-high end models with appropriate support equipment replace nuclear weapons in their home-setting. And they're generally not slouches in the physical department-one noted for being weak and small was still strong enough to jump over a man's head.

All that said, they're from a horrible setting where everything is either innuendo for or powered by sex. EVERYTHING. Even Shroom cannot increase the level of innuendo in this setting.

WHAT SETTING IS THAT???

Ar Tolenico, a PS-2 RP game with a really anime look to it. He is overstating things a bit though.

I am not good sir! One Reyvateil once took off all her clothes down to her underwear, and with the resulting +1000% sexiness bonus, turned an entire army and fleet of airships into cake. Every soldier and every ship, turned into a slice of cake, with a plate and a strawberry on top. It was simultaneously adorable and horrifying.

Or maybe she just took her clothes off because she had been tricking the Tower into thinking she was an Administrator, and it was supposed to purge off levels of the linkage armor she wasn't wearing.

[Purple]

That sounds beautiful... It's like Barbarella but with cake.

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

.Super-Sophont (Orion’s Arm) a person exposed to the mysterious Clarkekent seeds, which use nanites to consume muscle tissue and replace them with Ultimate Muscle ™ made from carbon nanotubes. Ultimate muscles are roughly 10,000 times stronger than normal biological muscles. Plus, as long as they’re modding anyway, the nanites tend to make a person bulk out considerably. The Super-sophonts are basically immortal, needing only power to sustain their mobile ‘life,’ and they can even regenerate to a degree thanks to all the nanites that hang around doing maintenance and repair. More advanced versions have very limited shapeshifting and reactionless space drives. The only real weaknesses are the need for highly advanced cooling systems, the insatiable thrist for power to keep their bodies running, and the fact that they are ugly as sin. Super-sophonts rarely have formalized combat training.

Barring the entry of the Incredible Hulk, not many contenders are going to be able to touch the Sophont in sheer brute strength and toughness. In-universe, there are damn few ways of killing them short of an orbital strike, baby nuke, or disintegrator. I guess you could keep out of its reach for a week or two and let the power run out. But we’re talking about something that can run at highway speeds and leap almost a kilometer straight up, while not needing rest. Staying out of reach will be problematic. Can the other types here possibly overcome that strength?

If you wanted to keep this fair, these guys should definitely be removed, they'll roflstomp everything else. Space Marine vs. infant is closer than these guys vs. anything else on this list.

[Darth Wong]

That Orion's Arm stuff sounds like a classic example of a science jargon-wanker. The name actually sounds vaguely familiar; wasn't it some sort of jargon-wank universe whose fanboys insisted it's "hard sci-fi"?

[Stofsk]

That Orion's Arm stuff sounds like a classic example of a science jargon-wanker. The name actually sounds vaguely familiar; wasn't it some sort of jargon-wank universe whose fanboys insisted it's "hard sci-fi"?

The long and short of it is 'yep'.

[Batman]

Is it me or is 'Clarkekent' seeds a really bad name to choose if you want to pretend your stuff is actually hard scifi?

[Simon_Jester]

I don't care about most of these guys, but I bet on the Jaegermonster to beat the Draka, mano a mano. Jaegers are much too willful to fall prey to pheromones. They have cartoon-physics levels of durability and a lot more combat experience- as in, time spent with others actively trying to kill you, not just training- compared to Draka.

Also, they enjoy themselves much more.

Unarmed, it'd be a hell of a fight, but my money's on the Jaeger. Things would go the other way if we factored in weapons, but we're not doing that.

[Sidewinder]

I think the Zentradi and Meltrandi, from Robotech/Macross, count. After all, they were specifically created to serve as warriors, and are literally unable to perform non-combat activities (such as maintenance), or comprehend the idea there are non-military members of a population (civilian). They're able to survive in vacuum for a period of time, have sufficient strength to face a 13-meter-tall robot in hand-to-hand combat (in "giant" form), show excellent reflexes (Breetai was able to catch Rick Hunter/Ichijo Hikaru's ejection seat, when the human pilot ejected from his Veritech/Valkyrie), and may score an easy win in the one-on-one contest, due to the fact they're 12 meters tall.