Monday, April 02, 2007

Top five scifi badasses

While the mystery genre does a great job of creating individual badasses, science fiction is the place to go for organized bad asses. The genre is replete with tough guy outfits, but there are some that rise to the top.

5) The Mandalorians. In the late period these guys got a little weak, but in the early days it took a nation of Jedi to hold these guys back. That little baby Boba Fett wore their armor, maybe so we wouldn't hear him cry like schoolgirl when he tossed into the Sarlac.

4) The Fremen. Not content with defeating the supposed top badasses in the galaxy, the Sardaukar, the Fremen go on to conquer the galaxy. And unlike the rest of the list, instead of using space ships, the travel on giant worms.

3) Special Circumstances. Even socialist paradises like the Culture occasionally need to bust some heads. Unlike the theocracies and authoritarian regimes above, they don't want people to know about it. So for uncover backstabbing, destabilization and general mischief, the Culture turns to Special Circumstances. While not as outwardly destructive as some, they achieve much with few resources.

2) The Envoys. A friendly name for some nasty bastards. In the Takeshi Kovacs novels, the Envoys are super soldiers who have been neurologically enhanced. They think and move more quickly than regular humans, are stronger and have perfect recall. And limited morality apparently.

1) The Paratwa. What's worse than a super-soldier? How about a super soldier with two separate human bodies that share one consciousness? These little horrors were the last step in the destruction and evacuation of the Earth. If you haven't read Liege Killer then do so right now.

Honorable Mention: The Ghost Brigades. Can't really discuss them without spoilers unfortunately.

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