Random Musings: Inventors and their Powered Armor Suits

[tuftears]

I've been reading through The Legion of Nothing, a superhero fiction centered on Nick, who is an inventor without superpowers but the uncanny ability to understand and develop technology, and pondering why it is that inventors like Tony Stark seem to have had so little effect on their worlds.

Let's think about it this way. What amazing inventions exist in Iron Man's suit?

* Super-tiny power plant that is nevertheless capable of fueling flight for an extended period and powering tankbuster-class weapons
* Electrically powered exoskeleton that can give superstrength
* Lightweight armor that deflects and absorbs a wide variety of types of damage
* Miniaturized rockets for flight that can lift a grown man and his armor
* An on-board computer of amazing sophistication that can identify targets, manage flight and give perfect flight, and supervise all these components so they don't tear the armor (let alone the wearer) apart
* Various weapons like repulsors that practically fit into the wearer's palms

The main thing I find strange about it is that these things aren't being mass produced. The arc reactor alone could obsolete traditional coal-burning plants and vehicles and help move the Earth toward a cleaner environment. (in fact in the comic, Stark's new company, Resilient, is producing arc reactor cars) AI computer technology could be widespread; everyone could be using fancy holographic interfaces like Stark's. And don't forget, the 21st century has always promised us flying cars. They could become a reality!

Even if Stark is reluctant to share his inventions, it seems very likely many different agencies would be trying to duplicate and mass produce them: the military, rescue services, international companies, organized crime, et cetera.

...

And then it hit me, there actually is a fictional universe where all these things have already been done.

Heard of Bubblegum Crisis? It was an anime series released in the late 80s, featuring Genom, a powerful mega-conglomerate company that manufactured 'Boomers', humanoid robots that would perform a wide variety of tasks. These robots would sometimes go haywire, necessitating that they be eliminated by the 'Armored Defense Police', who were police equipped with armored suits.

Naturally, the heroines of the saga, the Knight Sabers, wore more powerful suits-- but they don't stand out as starkly against the more technological background of the series as Iron Man and his allies and foes do against the Earth of the early 21st century.

So-- yeah, I guess I don't have to write the story of the Sane Inventor. ;)

Comments

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

I've been reading those yes, and the follow-on to Worm, Pact. Have you read Harry Potter and the Natural 20? (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8096183/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Natural-20)

I think what I want to see is somewhere between superheroes (static) and science fiction (extrapolation of current trends) -- superheroes (transformative), as it were.

[cjthomas.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it. the first scene got my interest, but at 250k words, I'll defer reading more of it for the time being.

I can't think of any "transformative superhero" type works off the top of my head. The one with the closest premise that I can think of is "Fine Structure", where at regular intervals a superhero a factor of X more powerful than the previous one appears. Everyone who knows what the word "exponential" means gets alarmed by this, and plot ensues.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

I'll take a look at that one sometimes. I think the author is doing another series, 'Ra'.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Just read Fine Structure. Didn't like it. Too much transhumanist handwaving.

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

Glargh. Methods of Rationality started off as a fascinating enough concept, and it certainly had its moments (I haven't gotten an update notice in AGES, though), but it felt like ... TOO MUCH. The protagonist isn't merely "rational." He's an uber-kind at -- what, 10 years old or so? -- if all of this is going on in the VERY FIRST YEAR OF HIS TIME AT HOGWARTS. And some of the tone of the topics that come up feel more teen-aged than pre-adolescent. (But then, maybe I just had a very strange childhood, and I am Behind The Times.)

I think I would have respected it more if the author would have let time flow a bit more, especially where mastery of magic was concerned (even if the character was bound to use said magic in clever ways). Why should rationalist!harry also be accelerated in his mastery of all things magical -- many degrees faster than the Harry Potter of the original books?

As such, it just struck me as a bit too power-trippy and in need of a bit of polish.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Yes, I liked some parts of HPMOR but other parts are disturbing. It's a bit preachy about things 'Rational'.

What I liked was that Harry wasn't then made into an over-powered character that no one would be able to face, but that he was given serious competition. Even the other children are able to compete with Harry.