History Main / RaygunGothic

The MadScientistLaboratory and [[ShinyLookingSpaceships Spaceship]] are among the most commonly used locations in a Raygun Gothic setting.
The most commonly used monsters tend to be [[NuclearNasty nuclear mutants]] and [[AlienTropes aliens in general]]

This is the bright, optimistic vision of TheFuture that, until sometime in the mid-60's, the Western world believed was just around the corner. Our [[IWantMyJetpack failure to make these dreams a reality]] means that works featuring Raygun Gothic are highly prone to {{Zeerust}}. Retro-Futurism is a GeorgeLucasThrowback to this vision. Stick "Atomic Power" logos on everything, and you've got AtomPunk.

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Not to be confused with ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'', which is just Gothic with rayguns.

* Gernsback's ''Amazing Stories'', John W. Campbell's ''Astounding Science Fiction'', and other classic pulp SpeculativeFiction magazines.

* Several [[TheDCU DC Comics]] characters who live in between the present era and the CrystalSpiresAndTogas era of the {{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}, including Tommy Tomorrow and the Planeteers, the Knights of the Galaxy, Ultra the Multi-Alien, Space Ranger, and Space Cabbie. Adam Strange does this in present time.

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* ''{{Fallout}}'' is arguably a {{deconstruction}}. It takes the bright, optimistic future, makes it into a jingoistic dystopia, ''and then'' dropped nukes all over it, making it significantly less bright and optimistic.

* In ''StarControl II'', the Syreen had this aesthetic -- their ships looked like old-fashioned rockets, and what you saw of the Syreen themselves and their ship controls during communication would look right at home as an illustration in some pulpy early-20th century sci-fi work about Amazon princesses in space or what-have-you. Appropriate, as the Syreen were species of good old-fashioned [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Blue Skinned Space Babes]] in a game otherwise populated by StarfishAliens and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s; their pulpy style helped [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this fact.

* In ''StarControl II'', the Syreen had this aesthetic -- their ships looked like old-fashioned rockets, and what you saw of the Syreen themselves and their ship controls during communication would look right at home as an illustration in some pulpy early-20th century sci-fi work about Amazon princesses in space or what-have-you. Appropriate, as the Syreen were species of good old-fashioned {{Green Skinned Space Babe}}s in a game otherwise populated by StarfishAliens and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s; their pulpy style helped [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this fact.

And of course, [[AppliedPhlebotinum futuristic fancy-pants technology]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment of the future]] is ubiquitous. {{Ray Gun}}s, [[RocketBoots jet packs]], {{flying car}}s, SpaceClothes, atomic-powered everything, cigar-shaped {{Retro Rocket}}s and other ShinyLookingSpaceships, and "electronic brains" capable of calculating complex equations in ''mere minutes'', all decorated with [[CowTools little blinking lights that don't really serve any purpose (but they sure look futuristic!)]].

And of course, [[AppliedPhlebotinum futuristic fancy-pants technology]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment of the future]] is ubiquitous. {{Ray Gun}}s, [[RocketBoots jet packs]], {{flying car}}s, SpaceClothes, atomic-powered everything, [[RetroRocket rockets]] and other ShinyLookingSpaceships, and "electronic brains" capable of calculating complex equations in ''mere minutes'', all decorated with [[CowTools little blinking lights that don't really serve any purpose (but they sure look futuristic!)]].

* Several [[TheDCU DC Comics]] characters who live in between the present era and the CrystalSpiresAndTogas era of the LegionOfSuperHeroes, including Tommy Tomorrow and the Planeteers, the Knights of the Galaxy, Ultra the Multi-Alien, Space Ranger, and Space Cabbie. Adam Strange does this in present time.

* Cyborg009 has shades of this, minly in the Cyborgs' uniforms and their rayguns.

* ''{{Fallout}}''
** '''Subverted''' in the Fallout series. They took the bright, optimistic future, made it into a dystopia, ''and then'' dropped nukes all over it, making it significantly less bright and optimistic.

* Tim Doyle's ''Go Mutants!'' is a parody of this.

** [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=572 See the poster]] and following pages.

* [[http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/ Atomic Rockets]] is a website that starts with this trope, but uses it as a launchpad to explore very hard science-fiction ideas about space flight.

* Realms of Mars from Exile Game Studio promises to be this for sword and planet, much as Hollow Earth Expedition harkened back to adventure pulps.