History Main / NuclearOption

* In ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199, the Type-3 Armor-piercing shells the titular starship uses are stated to be thermonuclear in nature during an [[WordOfGod interview with the Author]]. When you absolutely, positively got to blow the target to tiny pieces, accept no substitutes.

* ''Film/TheAndromedaStrain'' has this subverted, in that the scientists order the nuking but the message doesn't get through due to ForWantOfANail.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'': Nuclear missiles are still the end-all, be-all for weapons of mass destruction. Both strategic and tactical variants exist; during the First Succession War the repeated use of strategic nuclear weapons for OrbitalBombardment cost the lives of trillions of civilians across the worlds of the Inner Sphere. As a result of this, [[FictionalGenevaAccords strategic nuclear bombing is banned by treaty]] and considered almost unthinkable: Using one is considered a crossing of the GodzillaThreshold InUniverse (the only faction to do so since the Second Succession War was a cult of doomsday fanatics, [[PayEvilUntoEvil and in the inevitable response their worlds were glassed in turn]]). Usage of tactical nuclear warheads (limited to a low-kiloton range) are permitted against military targets only (and even then mostly for space combat, where there is no fallout and almost no possible collateral damage). Even then, threatening to bring them out is liable to get you some stink-eye. The Taurian Concordat is renown in-universe for their first-strike nuclear policy, which they use to dissuade invasion of their territory: If not for the fact that [[HiddenElfVillage they are otherwise a political non-entity]] they would probably catch a ''lot'' more flak from everyone else for even being willing to discuss using nuclear weapons openly.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'': Nuclear missiles are still the end-all, be-all for weapons of mass destruction. Both strategic and tactical variants exist; during the First Succession War the repeated use of strategic nuclear weapons for OrbitalBombardment cost the lives of trillions of civilians across the worlds of the Inner Sphere. As a result of this, [[MyGodWhatHaveWeDone strategic nuclear bombing is considered almost unthinkable]] and a crossing of the GodzillaThreshold InUniverse (the only faction to do so since the Second Succession War was a cult of doomsday fanatics, [[PayEvilUntoEvil and in the inevitable response their worlds were glassed in turn]]), while usage of tactical nuclear warheads (limited to a low-kiloton range) are permitted against military targets only (and preferrably only in warship-to-warship combat). Even then, threatening to bring them out is liable to get you some stink-eye. The Taurian Concordat is renown in-universe for their first-strike nuclear policy, which they use to dissuade invasion of their territory: If not for the fact that [[HiddenElfVillage they are otherwise a political non-entity]] they would probably catch a ''lot'' more flak from everyone else for even being willing to discuss using nuclear weapons openly.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'': Nuclear missiles are still the end-all, be-all for weapons of mass destruction. Both strategic and tactical variants exist; during the First Succession War the repeated use of strategic nuclear weapons for OrbitalBombardment cost the lives of trillions of civilians across the worlds of the Inner Sphere. As a result of this, [[MyGodWhatHaveWeDone strategic nuclear bombing is considered almost unthinkable]] and a crossing of the GodzillaThreshold InUniverse (the only faction to do so since the First Succession War was a cult of doomsday fanatics, [[PayEvilUntoEvil and in the inevitable response their worlds were glassed in turn]]), while usage of tactical nuclear warheads (limited to a low-kiloton range) are permitted against military targets only (and preferrably only in warship-to-warship combat). Even then, threatening to bring them out is liable to get you some stink-eye. The Taurian Concordat is renown in-universe for their first-strike nuclear policy, which they use to dissuade invasion of their territory: If not for the fact that [[HiddenElfVillage they are otherwise a political non-entity]] they would probably catch a ''lot'' more flak from everyone else for even being willing to discuss using nuclear weapons openly.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'': Nuclear missiles are still the end-all, be-all for weapons of mass destruction. Both strategic and tactical variants exist; during the First Succession War the repeated use of strategic nuclear weapons for OrbitalBombardment cost the lives of trillions of civilians across the worlds of the Inner Sphere. As a result of this, strategic nuclear bombing is considered almost unthinkable and a crossing of the GodzillaThreshold InUniverse (the only faction to do so since the First Succession War was a cult of doomsday fanatics, [[PayEvilUntoEvil and in the inevitable response their worlds were glassed in turn]]), while usage of tactical nuclear warheads (limited to a low-kiloton range) are permitted against military targets only (and preferrably only in warship-to-warship combat). Even then, threatening to bring them out is liable to get you some stink-eye. The Taurian Concordat is renown in-universe for their first-strike nuclear policy, which they use to dissuade invasion of their territory: If not for the fact that [[HiddenElfVillage they are otherwise a political non-entity]] they would probably catch a ''lot'' more flak from everyone else for even being willing to discuss using nuclear weapons openly.

* ''Film/Oblivion2013'': A nuke is successfully used to make out the primary enemy target at the climax.

* ''Film/MarsAttacks'': Nothing Earth has done thus far can so much as scratch the Martians. The GeneralRipper has spent the movie insisting on using nuclear weapons, and the President, depressed at how nothing is working, finally gives the go-ahead. The Martian response to a nuke headed their way is... a small flying nozzle which intercepts the missile and sucks up the explosion. The Martian leader inhales the explosive gas and mocks the PunyEarthlings in a high-pitched HeliumVoice. It's possible that this is a subtle joke: when you fuse hydrogen (as in a hydrogen/fusion bomb), you get helium.

* Hypothetically, an option that might be considered to destroy an asteroid if it were about to strike the earth. [[note]]Though some ignorant laymen are concerned about how a large one might be broken into several large pieces that might collectively be more dangerous than the intact asteroid (as not only are there now several asteroid fragments, but now they're radioactive!), they are all incorrect. The fragments of the shattered asteroid would have a much better chance to harmlessly burn in the Earth's atmosphere. Yes, their combined mass would be the same, but their combined surface area would be several orders of magnitude greater than that of the intact asteroid. And the notion about asteroid fragments becoming radioactive doesn't make much sense either; under constant bombardment of high-energy particles, asteroids already are mildly radioactive.[[/note]]

* Hypothetically, an option that might be considered to destroy an asteroid if it were about to strike the earth. However it's not considered a very good option except for fairly small ones, a large one might be broken into several large pieces that might collectively be more dangerous than the intact asteroid, as not only are there now several asteroid fragments, but now they're radioactive, too. There are proposals to mitigate this risk by detonating the nuke far enough away that it doesn't break the asteroid apart, but the blast pushes the asteroid enough to alter its orbit.
** Incorrect. The fragments of shattered asteroid would have a much better chance to harmlessly burn in Earth atmosphere. Yes, their combined mass would be the same, but their combined surface area would be several orders of magnitude greater than of the "whole" asteroid. And the notion about asteroid fragments becoming radioactive didn't make much sence either; under constant bombardment of hihh-energy particles, asteroids already are mildly radioactive.

* In the ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' franchise, Terran military forces routinely employ tactical nuclear weapons against their opponents. Given the raw strength of Protoss forces and the sheer numbers of Zerg forces, usage of nuclear arms is completely justified for them.
** Specifically, in ''Brood War'', Admiral Stukov notes wryly that because Korhal was ''already'' [[NukeEm sterilized by a Confederate scorched-earth response]] in the backstory to the first game, Mengsk has no compunctions about using them freely. In ''Heart of the Swarm'', General Warfield is also pretty liberal about using his (he even remarks "time for the nuclear option" when beginning his counterattack), but then he is on [[LethalLavaLand Char]]. It's not like he can make it ''worse''.

* FantasticNuke category: in the final mission of ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', Furion decides to mount a final DesperationAttack using a booby-trap on the sacred Mount Hyjal, with the elves' World Tree as bait. The massive explosion results in the destruction of thousands of night elven spirits, severe damage to the World Tree (though the epilogue narrator notes that it "will heal in time"), and the loss of their immortality, [[TheExtremistWasRight but it works]].

** ''Film/DeepImpact'' and their granddaddy ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' use the same premise.

* In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', the military attempts to fight the alien invaders with conventional weapons, which prove to be ineffective due to the aliens possessing energy shields to protect their ships. Ultimately, it is decided to deploy nuclear weapons against the aliens. Only one strike is made (annihilating [[UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} a large city]]) before it is realized even they are ineffective.
** A direct shout-out to ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953'', even down to the aircraft used - in ''WOTW'', the Northrop YB-49 flying wing jet bomber (which was ''not'' a film prop but an actual USAF prototype); in ''[=ID4=]'', the Northrop B-2 flying wing jet bomber.
** Later, a nuke is used to destroy the mothership, but from the inside after Hiller and Dave [[TrojanHorse enter it in a refurbished alien fighter]].
* Very similar to ''Independence Day'' is ''Film/MarsAttacks'', in which every single possible weapon was fired at the spacecraft and the only option left is the bomb. But unfortunately, the aliens just inhaled it.
** And used the fallout to mock the PunyEarthlings in a high-pitched helium voice.
* Franchise/MonsterVerse: Although the franchise for the most part has a NuclearWeaponsTaboo (not solely because of the nuke's destructive power but mainly also because the Titans feed on radiation), there have been a couple times where using a nuke actually worked out for the best. Namely in ''Godzilla Awakening'' where nuking Godzilla and Shinomura killed the latter once and for all, and in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' when Monarch [[spoiler:manually detonate a nuclear warhead in front of Godzilla to speed up his recuperation]] so he can save the world from King Ghidorah. It might also be worth noting, while the military's plan in ''Film/Godzilla2014'' was mostly a NukeEm move, they were slightly more considerate of the plan's potential drawbacks than military leaders in some other movies are.
* ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'': A nuke is successfully used to make out the primary enemy target at the climax.
* ''Film/PacificRim'': What attempts to seal the Rift have employed; strategic and judicious use of nuclear weapons. It's never worked before [[spoiler: because the portal wasn't allowing anything that wasn't a {{Kaiju}} to pass through it.]]
* This is apparently quite common in the alternate Earths of ''Film/{{Parallels}}'' - enough so that Polly can breezily say that the one where [[spoiler: ''Egypt'' was the one that started the nuclear exchanges]] was weird, but otherwise unremarkable. [[spoiler: And this trope's use on his home Earth is the motivation for Tinker's attempt to nuke the building ''again.'' It presumably doesn't end well for whatever's left of New York City in that version of Earth, and solidifies the notion that he's definitely got a few screws loose.]]
* ''Film/{{Skyline}}'': the military attacks one of the alien spacecraft with a nuclear weapon. Though it does do considerable damage initially, it ultimately proves insufficient to destroy the alien ship.