Space marine explained

The space marine is an archetype of military science fiction describing a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose high-mobility land deployments that operate within a fixed distance of shore or ship. By analogy, hypothetical space marines would defend allied spaceships, board enemy ships, land on planets and moons, and satisfy rapid-deployment needs throughout space.

History

The earliest known use of the term "space marine" was by Bob Olsen in his short story "Captain Brink of the Space Marines" (Amazing Stories, Volume 7, Number 8, November 1932), a light-hearted work whose title is a play on the song "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines", and in which the protagonists were marines of the "Earth Republic Space Navy" on mission to rescue celebrity twins from aliens on Titan. Olsen published a novella sequel four years later, "The Space Marines and the Slavers" (Amazing Stories, Volume 10, Number 13, December 1936), featuring the same characters using a spaceship with active camouflage to free hostages from Martian space pirates on Ganymede.[1]

A more widely known early example was E. E. Smith's Lensman series. While the first story, Triplanetary and most later sequels (Second Stage Lensmen, Children of the Lens and The Vortex Blaster) do not mention them, passing mentions of marines are made in Galactic Patrol (Astounding Stories, September 1937–February 1938) and Gray Lensman (Astounding Stories, October 1939–January 1940), and a more direct mention is made in First Lensman (1950): "Dronvire of Rigel Four in the lead, closely followed by Costigan, Northrop, Kinnison the Younger, and a platoon of armed and armored Space Marines!".

The phrase "space marines" appears in Robert A. Heinlein's "Misfit" (1939) and is again used in "The Long Watch" (1949) which expands on a story from his earlier novel Space Cadet (1948), in all cases before Smith had used the phrase. Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1959) is considered the defining work for the concept, although it does not use the term "space marine". The actors playing the Colonial Marines in Aliens (1986) were required to read Starship Troopers as part of their training prior to filming.[2] Heinlein intended for the capsule troopers of the Mobile Infantry to be an amalgam of the shipborne aspect of the US Marine Corps relocated to space and coupled with the battlefield delivery and mission profile of US Army paratroopers.

As a gaming concept, space marines play a major role in the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures wargame, in which they are genetically altered super-soldiers and the most powerful fighting forces available to the Imperium of Man.[3] In computer games, playing a space marine in action games was popularized by id Software's Doom series, first published in 1993. It is a convenient game back-story as it excuses the presence of the character on a hostile alien world with little support and heavy weaponry. Some critics have suggested it has been overused to the point of being an action game cliché.[4]

Trademark controversy

In December 2012, online retailer Amazon.com removed the e-book Spots the Space Marine by M.C.A. Hogarth at the request of games company Games Workshop. They claimed the use of the phrase "space marine" infringed on their trademark of the term for their game Warhammer 40,000.[5] In February 2013, the row received a lot of publicity, with authors such as Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross and John Scalzi supporting Hogarth, and Amazon.com then restored the e-book for sale.[6] [7]

Characteristics

In film and television space marines often appear in squads, while in video games the protagonist Marine is usually alone or in very small squads. Depending on the mission, they may be deployed via dropship or another specialised insertion craft. Their battledress varies between media, ranging from equipment comparable to modern-day fatigues (or just being contemporary, such as the equipment of Colonial Marines in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica) to environmentally sealed suits of powered armour. Equipment and weaponry is similarly varied, often incorporating various fictional technologies. Directed-energy weapons are common, though conventional firearms are also used, like the M41A Pulse Rifles the Colonial Marines in the Aliens movie use (which are projectile weapons that use an electric pulse to shoot caseless ammunition). If the marines' armour is particularly bulky, their weapons may be similarly scaled up such as in Warhammer 40,000 where Space Marines carry "boltguns," effectively rocket-propelled grenade launchers, as a standard firearm.

Non-fiction aspects

The United States Air Force's Project Hot Eagle considers the use of spacecraft to deliver Marines to a target on the ground. "Within minutes of bursting into the atmosphere beyond the speed of sound – and dispatching that ominous sonic boom – a small squad of Marines could be on the ground and ready for action within 2 hours."[8] [9]

Appearances in fiction

Literature

AuthorTitleYear(s) publishedUnit name
Bob Olsen"Captain Brink of the Space Marines"1932Space Marines
Bob Olsen"The Space Marines and the Slavers"1936Space Marines
E. E. SmithLensman series1934–1954Galactic Marines
Robert A. Heinlein"Misfit"1939Space Marines
John York Cabot"Sergeant Shane of the Space Marines"1941Space Marines
John York Cabot"The Odds on Sergeant Shane"1941Space Marines
John York Cabot"Sergeant Shane Goes to War"1942Space Marines
Duncan Farnsworth"Flight from Farisha"1942Space Marines
D. D. Sharp"Pillage of the Space-Marine"1943Space-Marines
Bob Courtney"Aid to the Enemy"1943Space-Marines
Robert A. Heinlein"The Long Watch"1949Space Marines
Theodore Cogswell"The Spectre General"1952Imperial Space Marines
Carey RockwellTreachery in Outer Space1954Space Marines
Carey RockwellSabotage in Space1955Space Marines
G. Harry StineRocket Man1955Space Marines
Eric Frank Russell"The Waitabits"1955Space-Marines
Randall Garrett"Needler"1957Space Marines
Eric Frank RussellWasp1957Space Marines (Sirian Combine)
Robert F. Young"Passage to Gomorrah"1959Space Marines
Robert A. HeinleinStarship Troopers1959Mobile Infantry
Kenneth Bulmer"Of Earth Foretold"1960Space Marine
Kenneth Bulmer"Earth's Long Shadow"1960Space Marine
Harry HarrisonThe Stainless Steel Rat1961Space Marines
Andre NortonStar Hunter1961Space Marines
H. Beam PiperLittle Fuzzy1962Space Marines
H. Beam PiperThe Cosmic Computer1963Space Marines
Frank HerbertDune1965Sardaukar
Joe HaldemanThe Forever War1974United Nations Exploratory Force (UNEF)
Larry Niven and Jerry PournelleThe Mote in God's Eye and related novels1975Imperial Marines
Jerry Pournelle and S. M. StirlingThe Prince or Falkenberg's Legion series1976–1993; 2002CoDominium Marines
Orson Scott CardEnder's Game1985Marines
David WeberStarfire series1990–PresentFederation Navy Marine Corps
David WeberHonor Harrington series1992–PresentRoyal Manticoran Marine Corps (RMMC) of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, et cetera
David Sherman and Dan CraggStarFist series1997–PresentConfederation Marine Corps
Ian Douglas
  1. Heritage Trilogy
  2. Legacy trilogy
  3. Inheritance trilogy
1998–PresentUnited States Marines Corps, United Star Marine Corps
R. J. Pineiro"Flight of Endeavour"2001United Nations Security Council Space Marines
John Ringo
  1. Into the Looking Glass
  2. Vorpal Blade
  3. Claws That Catch
  4. The Manxome Foe
2005–PresentAllied Space Marines
John VarleyRolling Thunder2008Martian Naval Corps
James S. A. CoreyThe Expanse series2011–2022Martian Marine Corps and United Nations Marine Corps
M.C.A. HogarthSpots the Space Marine2012Space Marine

Films and television

DirectorTitleYear(s) publishedUnit name
Michael E. BriantDoctor Who serial "Death to the Daleks"1973–1974Marine Space Corps
George LucasStar Wars1977–PresentGalactic Marines of the Grand Army of the Republic, originally known as the 21st Nova Corps. The Rebel Alliance has an entire regiment of Space Operations, nicknamed "Rebel Marines". Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers also fit the space marine trope.
Lewis GilbertMoonraker1979United States Marine Corps on a space shuttle armed with lasers
Leiji MatsumotoStar Blazers1979–1984Ground combat units found on the 11th planet are known as "Space Marines"
James CameronAliens1986United States Colonial Marine Corps
Jeff SegalExosquad1993–1994Exofleet Jumptroops
Douglas Netter and J. Michael StraczynskiBabylon 51994–1998EarthForce Marine Corps (also known as "Gropos" or "GROund POunderS")
Glen Morgan and James Wong1995–1996United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry
John WeidnerSpace Marines1996United Planets Marines
Keiji GotohKiddy Grade2001–2002GOTT Marine Corps
Allan Kroeker, David Straiton, et al.2003–2005Military Assault Command Operations (MACO)
David Eick and Ronald D. MooreBattlestar Galactica2004–2009Colonial Marine Corps, Colonial Marine Corps Reserve
Brad Wright and Robert C. CooperStargate Atlantis2004–2009United States Marine Corps attached to the Atlantis Expedition
James CameronAvatar2009Former Marines and mercenaries working with the RDA Corporation on Pandora.
Mark Fergus and Hawk OstbyThe Expanse (TV series)2015–2022Martian Marine Corps and United Nations Marine Corps
Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben NediviFor All Mankind2021United States Moon Marines, members of the USMC who are an astronaut security and tactical force on the moon.
Dylan ShipleyHammer and Bolter animated series2022Imperial Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000.[10]

Games

TitlePublisherGame typeYear(s) publishedUnit name
Starship TroopersAvalon HillBoard wargame1976Mobile Infantry
TravellerGame Designers' WorkshopRole-playing game1977Star Marines, Terran Confederation Marine Corps, Imperial Marine Force, Solomani Marine Corps, and Zhodani Consular Guard
Space MarinesFantac/Fantasy Games UnlimitedWargaming
Tabletop game; Dice game
1977/1980Terran UnionGuard Heavy Infantry, Azuriach Heavy Infantry
Starfire seriesTask Force Games
Starfire Design Studio
Board wargame1979–presentFederation Navy Marine Corps
Space MarinesAsgard MiniaturesScience Fiction Miniature Line1982–presentSpace Marine/Space Trooper. The miniatures in this line were created for use with Laserburn and are currently available through Alternative Armies
Star FrontiersTSR, Inc.Role-playing game1982–1985Space Marine. The career name for NPCs with a focus in beam weapons.
Metroid seriesAction-adventure game1986–presentGalactic Federation Marine Corps/07th Platoon
Princess Ryan's Space Marines1/285 Scale Tabletop Miniatures Game 1986Princess Ryan's Space Marines
Warhammer 40,000 seriesGames WorkshopMiniature wargaming
Tabletop game; Dice game
1987–presentAdeptus Astartes (Imperial Space Marine) Chapters, and also, to an extent, Chaos Space Marines.
Wing Commander franchiseOrigin Systems, Inc.Space combat simulation1990–1999Terran Confederation Marine Corps
Duke Nukem series3D RealmsFirst-person shooter
Platform
1991–presentEarth Defense Forces (EDF)
Doom seriesid softwareFirst-person shooter1993–present
Marathon seriesBungieFirst-person shooter1994–presentUESC (Unified Earth Space Council) Marines
Quake seriesid softwareFirst-person shooter1996–presentSMC (Space Marine Corps) Marines, GDF (Global Defence Force)
Unreal seriesEpic GamesFirst-person shooter1998–presentUMS (Unified Military Services)
OutwarsMicrosoftThird-person shooter
Tactical shooter
1998Colonial Marines
BattlezoneActivisionfirst-person shooter
real-time strategy
1998National Space Defense Force (NSDF), Cosmos Colonist Army/Communist Cosmonaut Army (CCA), Chinese Red Army (CRA), International Space Defence Force (ISDF)
StarCraft seriesBlizzard EntertainmentReal-time strategy1998–presentConfederate Marine Corps, the Dominion Marine Corps, the Alliance Marine Corps, the Alpha Corps, the United Earth Directorate Powered Infantry and numerous more
Ground ControlSierra On-LineReal-time tactics2000Crayven Corporation's Marines
Halo seriesXbox Game StudiosFirst-person shooter; Real-time strategy2001–presentUnited Nations Space Command Marine Corps and the elite Orbital Drop Shock Trooper divisions (special forces qualified for drop pod insertion).
Red Faction seriesTHQFirst-person shooter; Third-person shooter2001–presentEarth Defence Marine Corps (E.D.M.C.) and Earth Naval Guard (E.N.G.)
Natural SelectionUnknown Worlds EntertainmentFirst-person shooter; Real-time strategy2002–2007Frontiersmen (human space marines)
TimeSplitters 2Eidos InteractiveFirst-person shooter2002Space Marines (Sergeant Cortez and Corporal Hart)
Killzone seriesSCEEFirst-person shooter2003–presentInterplanetary Strategic Alliance Marines
Electronic ArtsFirst-person shooter2005Space Marines (Sergeant Cortez) (This got changed during scripting as it was pointed out that Space Marine might infringe on Games Workshop name.)
Mass Effect seriesMicrosoft Game Studios; Electronic ArtsAction role-playing game
Third-person shooter
2007–presentdesignated personnel of the Systems Alliance Navy (no branch independence)
Dead Space seriesElectronic ArtsSurvival horror
Third-person shooter
2008–presentUSM Marine Corps (a branch of the Earth Defense Force)
TurokTouchstone InteractiveAction game
First-person shooter
2008Marines (also referred to as Commandos)
D3 PublisherAction game; Third-person shooter2009Space Marines
Fallout 3

Mothership Zeta

BethesdaRole playing game; First-person shooter2009American army medic Eliot Tecorian and the two surviving members of his squad are abducted by aliens, and assist the Vault Dweller in hijacking the spaceship. The player can also equip themself with pre-war power armor similar in appearance to the Marauder armor worn by the Mobile Infantry.
Alien SwarmValveAction game
Third-person shooter; Shoot-em-up; Top-down
2010Space Marines – the game can be single player or 4 players co-op. There are 4 classes with 2 characters for each class: Officer, Special Weapons, Medic and Tech.
Warhammer 40,000 ArmageddonSlitherineTurn-based strategy2014Space Marines
BethesdaAction-adventure, first-person shooter2014Weltraumsoldaten, Weltraummarinesoldaten
Bombshell3D Realmsmultidirectional shooter2016Global Defence Force (GDF)
The Outer WorldsObsidian EntertainmentFirst-person shooter, Role-playing video game2019Mardets, short for Marine Detachment.
HelldiversArrowhead Game StudiosFirst-person shooter, Shoot'em up2015 - presentHelldivers, Super Earth Defense Force

The term is also used in an intentionally hyperbolic manner to describe especially powerful armies in Paradox Interactive strategy games Europa Universalis IV and Hearts of Iron IV.

See also

Notes and References

  1. [E. F. Bleiler|Bleiler, Everett F.]
  2. "Preparing for Battle: Casting and Characterization", Superior Firepower: The Making of Aliens, Alien Quadrilogy – Disc 3, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  3. Ryder . Mike . Conscripts from birth: war and soldiery in the grim darkness of the far future . Fantastika . 2021 . 5 . 1 . 12 November 2022.
  4. Adams . Ernest . February 2001 . Dogma 2001: A Challenge to Game Designers . Gamasutra . 2007-11-13 . 4. There shall be no...space marines.
  5. News: David. Barnett. David Barnett (writer). 7 February 2013. Superheroes, space marines and lawyers get into trademark fight. The Guardian. London. 8 February 2013.
  6. News: 8 February 2013. Row blows up over ownership of 'space marine' term. BBC News. London. 8 February 2013.
  7. Book: Spots the Space Marine: Defense of the Fiddler. 14 December 2011. Stardancer Studios.
  8. Web site: Marines in Spaaaaaace!. Defence Tech.org. September 19, 2005. 2006-04-03.
  9. Book: Social Policy for Effective Practice, A Strengths Approach. 9781497006140. 2016-10-16.
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14497732/ Hammer and Bolter