Steelpunk is a relatively niche subgenre of Punk that foregrounds technologies from the late 20th century. Coined by SFFWorld
user Virgil Tracy, Steelpunk is differentiated from its parent Cyberpunk with its focus on gigantomaniac technology instead of Nanomachines and Cyberspace. The products of this genre are not grown or printed but crudely constructed with rivets and pistons.
In this sense, Steelpunk is liable to confusion with other Punk aesthetics (e.g. Steampunk, Dieselpunk), but its unique visuals are portrayed in the factorial assemblage of steel (or similar industrial metals, as well as the speculative revival of muscular machinery in gritty and gray 80s/90s design – making it a lot closer to the present day (which would be The New '20s at this point). The more modernized use of chrome plates, sharp shapes, atomic rockets and screaming turbines forms a logical follow-up to its older relative. Consequently, Steelpunk marks the bridging point between retrofuturism and traditional futurism on the chronological scale of Sci-Fi settings. The narrative tends to follow the dirty darkness of Dystopia conventions on the later end of the time scale, if the writer doesn’t choose the cleaner route and decide for the retro variety.
Among a liberal variety of fashion choices, Steelpunk prefers weaponized workwear. On top of that, war machines in general are par for the course. Stomping robots that smash their way through the setting paint the Steelpunk scene. The Holy Grail of this Punk is pure and simply physical power, with all the devices that manufacture that power.
The protagonist of a Steelpunk setting tends to reflect their world: Made of Iron, dark and gritty, hard and tough. This lone wolf is likely to sport a necessary laxitude on their moral compass (which ultimately points the right way). For bonus points, the Steelpunker often makes poignant use of his ambient technology in the form of a vehicle in appropriate style.
In the real-life context of the modern day, the excessive focus on fossil fuels and jet-propelled/rocket-powered engines lying at the foundation of Steelpunk also provide a critique of environmental damage and the forbidden practices of contemporary technology. Steelpunk has an on-off relationship with The Apunkalypse. Disaster and disorder go hand in hand with the fallout of human ecosystems and technologies, putting a stop to developments and forcing a focus on pure utility for the sake of survival.
Due to being a largely aesthetic type of Punk, most examples are cinematic in nature. The prime example of Steelpunk would be the Mad Max saga: high-octane, high-chrome.
Compare and contrast Dieselpunk and Atompunk, which portray the futuristic perceptions of the pre-digital parts of the twentieth century. Steelpunk speaks to a broader audience and can overlap with other (sub-)genres. However, the nature of a Punk world pressures a Steelpunk work to justify the absence of more realistic technological counterparts. In line with other Punks are an underground echo and subversive intent, forcing fusions with other fringe genres, e.g. Tech Noir and Military Sci-Fi.
Examples
- Barb Wire is set in the aptly named Steel Harbor, which resembles an urban wasteland held together by nails. The harsh conditions are reflected in the protagonist Barb, who is not only a Badass Biker, but also the proprietor of a bar called "The Hammerhead". And since bartending won’t pay all of her dues, she pulls double duty as a Bounty Hunter.
- Mad Max: Not only is the titular protagonist a Badass Driver who fights his way through the hostile obstructions of an artificial landscape, but the motorized gangs he’s set against are marked by helmets and armor pieces handmade from metallic leftovers. Both the unique visuals in the series as well as the influence on pop culture designate it as the Trope Codifier.
- Terminator initially builds on standard Cyberpunk elements (e.g. the nature of humanity and machine and both, the morality of artificial intelligence, conspiratory corporate power, corrupted authority organizations and outlaw protagonists), but the amount of weight on hardware and raw steelwork is unorthodox for the genre, which only develops into more poignant form with each installment. The characters are directly involved with the technology around them in a simple and practical manner. To hammer the point home, the general aesthetic of the movies involves an industry or factory full of steel and machinery at some point. The main theme even consists of metallic bangs created by collisions between a microphone and a frying pan.
- Iron Man Films heavily display this aesthetic with the eponymous armors, especially in the earlier iterations, with an omnipresent reliance on steelwork and manufacturing environments. The climax of the third movie, which shows more advanced/futuristic models of the suits, takes place in the purely metallic gridwork of a massive oil tanker. Furthermore, Tony Stark is not only a clearly flawed individual with good intentions (directly representing the military-industrial complex at the beginning of his story, before the obligatory Character Development kicked in) and a walking love letter to Byron, but also (in his own words) “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist”, and he routinely proves himself capable of crafting useful technology with anything lying around.
- Pacific Rim showcases The Jaegers, skyscraper-sized humanoid machines constructed for the purpose of battling Kaiju. The director even deliberately refused the use of motion capture, since that would make them appear more like Impossibly Graceful Giants, adding to the cumbersome and lumbering mechanics. Fridge Logic kicks in when the hull of one Jaeger is explicitly said to consist of pure iron, and another of pure titanium, even though metallic constructs of such dimensions rely on alloys, exactly for the purpose circumventing well-known issues with structural integrity for such titanic projects.
- Edge of Tomorrow is set in a vaguely defined time not that far ahead, where the military is fighting against aliens with the use of "Jackets", armored exoskeletons with clunky mechanics and heavy weaponry (among which are integrated machine guns and shoulder-mounted explosive launchers. Realistically, with all that enhanced durability and strength , there is virtually zero actual armor protection. Appropriately, Action Ace Rita is referred to as a "full metal bitch" (but best not in her presence). The entire setting smacks of steel and grime in a futuristic landscape fitting the theme of the narrative.
- Stainless Steel Rat, as strongly implied by the title, offers tons of descriptions of visuals rooted in alloyed metals. Slippery Jim is suitably a Street Smart criminal who only goes for people who can deal with the damage. Interestingly, the first book was written in the 60s (with a huge hiatus until the sequel), retroactively raising the age of this trope a good deal.
- Metal Gear is perhaps the most blatant example of the trope, exhibiting a virtually infinite array of futuristic visions from the perspective of the real-life era the games started in—and in which the series consequently initially takes place—with metallic surroundings making up large parts of the environments in the games. From the eponymous series of mobile weapons to the shellshocked protagonist(s), the series can be considered a hallmark of Steelpunk. The weight of the characteristic visuals is especially notable in the first two Solid entries. The occasional narrative and aesthetic changes notwithstanding, the focus on gritty modern Military Science Fiction settings are a relative constant across most instalments (save for a couple of exceptions, courtesy of being prequels with appropriately older visuals),
- Scarlet Nexus explicitly evokes the 90s in the lavish depictions of steel and concrete in the architectural visuals of the setting – the influence was in fact even confirmed by the developers. In this world, widespread use of psychic powers rendered the development of digital technology obsolete, since all major functions of future society depend on psychic powers and a brain-based communications network. In functional terms, the style of the game was therefore described as "Brain Punk".
- The Iron Giant, due to taking place in the 50s, combines both the portrayed era’s aesthetic as well as its more modern cousin in the visuals of the title character. The radically more futuristic of the Giant's killer mode in the finale unambiguously enters full-fledged Steelpunk territory. Furthermore, it speaks for the heavy presence of metal imagery in a work when the demands of an inexpensive yet simultaneously effective portrayal of a metal man, take the production team to render the to the Giant, along with vehicles and other complex machinery being rendered, in 3D CGI.
AKA Aluminium Futurism
