The supersoldier (or super soldier) is a fictional concept

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, often capable of operating beyond normal human limits or abilities either through genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation.

Overview

Supersoldiers are common in

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

literature, films, and video games. Examples include Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein and The Forever War by

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), hav ...

. Supersoldiers are also prevalant in the science fiction universe of Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy. Critic Mike Ryder has argued that the supersoldiers depicted in these worlds serve as a mirror to present-day issues around sovereignty, military ethics and the law. Fictional supersoldiers are usually heavily

augmented Augment or augmentation may refer to: Language * Augment (Indo-European), a syllable added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages *Augment (Bantu languages), a morpheme that is prefixed to the noun class prefix of nouns ...

, either through surgical means,

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

cybernetic Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...

implants,

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

, brainwashing, traumatic events, an extreme training regimen or other scientific and

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

means. Occasionally, some instances also use

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. No ...

methods, such as

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1 ...

or technology and science of

extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial refers to any object or being beyond ( extra-) the planet Earth ( terrestrial). It is derived from the Latin words ''extra'' ("outside", "outwards") and ''terrestris'' ("earthly", "of or relating to the Earth"). It may be abbrevia ...

origin. In entertainment, the creators of such programs are viewed often as mad scientists or stern

military personnel Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank ( officer, non-commissioned officer, ...

depending on the emphasis, as their programs would typically go past

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of morality, right and wrong action (philosophy), behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, alo ...

boundaries in the pursuit of science or military might.

Cyborg soldier

Some fictional supersoldiers can also be categorized as

cyborgs A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

or cybernetic organisms because of augmentations that are intended to enhance human capabilities or to exceed physical human restrictions.

U.S. Army

In the book '' The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004), Welsh journalist Jon Ronson documented how the U.S. military repeatedly tried and failed to train soldiers in the use of parascientific and

combat techniques during the Cold War, experimenting with

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

tactics and

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

phenomena such as remote viewing, astral projections, "death touch" and mind reading against various Soviet targets. The book inspired also a war comedy of the same name (2009) directed by Grant Heslov, starring

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

References

{{Stock characters Military projects Research projects Eugenics in fiction Military science fiction Fictional soldiers Stock characters Science fiction weapons Superhero fiction themes Cyborgs in fiction

Overview

Cyborg soldier

U.S. Army

See also

References