History Main / CoolStarship

* ''Webcomic/{{Drive}}'' has the Machito after it's upgraded, and La Invencible.

** The played straight component of it includes the fact that it has a bar, spa, fighter hanger, and marine detachment.

To be even cooler, the cool starship may also be a {{Faceship}} or come with {{escape pod}}s, [[EnergyWeapon lasers]], [[FasterThanLightTravel faster than light drive]][[note]]If it really is a ''star'' ship, i.e. designed to cross interstellar distances, then it had better have a faster-than-light drive if you don't want to wait several thousand years to get where you're going[[/note]], and [[{{Teleportation}} transporters]], which may be used to travel to and around any number of StockStarSystems. If enemies try to board it, you may need to activate the SelfDestructMechanism.

* ''Comicron 1'' from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall''.

** In the golden age comics the Amazons had a small space fleet of personal craft with designs reminiscent of swans or ducks that were capable of opening portals to quickly arrive at other planets.

* The ''Ark'' of ''ComicBook/TheTransformers''. Unlike its [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers cartoon counterpart]] which never flew again, Grimlock got the Autobots to get the ship spaceworthy in a manner of months, and later even [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu smacks Unicron in the face with it!]] It was then stolen by Shockwave and Starscream, only for Ratchet to crash it into the Earth again to stop them (as well as Megatron and Galvatron who were also on board). What happened to it next depends on [[AlternateUniverse the subsequent continuity]]:
** In ''Generation 2'', Megatron was able to get the Ark up and running again, apparently on his own, but it was destroyed early on in the series by Fortress Maximus.
** In ''Regeneration One'', [[spoiler: Megatron used it as his control center to [[ApocalypseHow nuke the Earth]] and control his [[ZombieApocalypse zombie Decepticon army]]. After Megatron was stopped, Galvatron took over, and got it into space before Optimus Prime could arrive to destroy it; only Galvatron brought Starscream along, and [[TheStarscream Starscream]] dumped Galvatron off at the first opportunity. The Ark survived in the possession of Starscream and the newly-restored Shockwave through the final battle.]].
** Speaking of Fortress Maximus, he had the ''Steelhaven'', which ferried his faction from Cybertron to Nebulos to Earth, and then went back to Nebulos to get a new body for Optimus Prime. It disappears after a while, though, possibly suggesting it was cannibalized to make further repairs to the Ark.

** Blast-Off and Sky Lynx each served as a CoolStarship for the Spakehikers, a bunch of human kids who were inadvertently caught up in Blaster's self-imposed exile from [[BadBoss Commander Grimlock]]'s Autobots. Being a Combaticon, Blast-Off only cooperated because of the [[ShapeshifterModeLock mode lock device]] intended for Blaster being used on him instead.
* [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW The IDW continuity]] of ''Franchise/TheTransformers'' featured a series of numbered ships named after the original ''Ark'', which was lost in the Dead Universe. The Wreckers also have their own Cool Starship, the ''Xantium'', which looks like the mutant offspring of Fortress Maximus and the ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Argama]]''.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

--> ''It was sort of roundish ship with red and blue wires running all across it. It had circular windows all around the front, and it had one of those escalators that futuristic ships have.''

** Averted with the decidedly BoringYetPractical USS ''Cerritos'', the featured ship in the series Not every ship can be as glamorous as the ''Enterprise'', after all.

To be even cooler, the cool starship may also be a {{Faceship}} or come with {{escape pod}}s, [[FrickinLaserBeams lasers]], [[FasterThanLightTravel faster than light drive]][[note]]If it really is a ''star'' ship, i.e. designed to cross interstellar distances, then it had better have a faster-than-light drive if you don't want to wait several thousand years to get where you're going[[/note]], and [[{{Teleportation}} transporters]], which may be used to travel to and around any number of StockStarSystems. If enemies try to board it, you may need to activate the SelfDestructMechanism.

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Starfire}}'' hex-map-based wargame is ''all about'' combat between fleets of starships. The units varied in size from tiny one-man fighters all the way up to Monitors four times as large as a space battleship, armed with quasi-inertialess ion engines, nuclear missiles, {{antimatter}} missiles, FrickinLaserBeams, {{Tractor Beam}}s, DeflectorShields, and a host of other deadly hardware.

* The Amaterasu from ''Anime/StarshipOperators''. Being the newest ship made with cutting edge technology probably has something to do with it.

** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' gives us the USS ''Franklin'', a pre-''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise NX-01]]'' ship with a much more [[https://fsmedia.imgix.net/c0/0d/1f/df/c6fb/47f6/8802/26e4d57cf874/star-trek-beyonds-new-ship-the-uss-franklin-revealed-by-trekcore.jpeg utilitarian look]]. Justified because her primary purse was to transport [[SpaceMarines MACO]] troops.

* ''Film/{{District 9}}'', where a ship that looked freaking AMAZING hovering over Johannesburg turned out to be a (mostly) inoperable piece of junk. [[http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b86/SuperDan1348/spaceship.png Case in point]].

** The plasma exhaust ports also [[RuleOfCool look very]] ''Franchise/StarWars''-esque.

** The shuttle ''[[TooSoon Columbia.]]'' Even if it does ''[[HarsherInHindsight almost burn up on re-entry,]]'' the fact that an ancient space shuttle still sort-of-kind-of works is pretty freaking ''[[SugarWiki/MomentofAwesome awesome.]]''

* The [=SpaceX=] ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqE-ultsWt0 BFR]]'' may be the closest we'll get to a true spaceship within the next decade. Reusable space vehicle? Check; it can be resupplied, refueled on Earth ''or Mars'', and make the same trip several times, and travel to different destinations. Capable of practically traversing interplanetary distances? Check; it can go to the Moon or other planets with up to 100 people and significant payload. Not designed to land anywhere? No; it ''is'' designed to land anywhere with a solid surface. Alternatively, the BFR could be used to build a true spaceship practically; with a payload capacity of 150 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit, reusability, and a turnaround of less than a day, it could bring the required materials up quickly, cheaply, and in large pieces.

To be even cooler, the cool starship may also be a {{Faceship}} or come with [[EscapePod escape pods]], [[FrickinLaserBeams lasers]], [[FasterThanLightTravel faster than light drive]][[note]]If it really is a ''star'' ship, i.e. designed to cross interstellar distances, then it had better have a faster-than-light drive if you don't want to wait several thousand years to get where you're going[[/note]], and [[TeleportersAndTransporters transporters]], which may be used to travel to and around any number of Main/StockStarSystems. If enemies try to board it, you may need to activate the SelfDestructMechanism.

* The RLS Legacy from ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'' should count as well. It's a classical sailing ship traveling through space (or the Etherium) and in one scene it ''even escapes from a black hole!''. If that isn't cool, nothing is.

* [[MadScientist Jumba's]] spaceship from ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'', and the massive spaceship Gantu captains early in [[Disney/LiloAndStitch the movie]]. Oh, and also The Red One that Stitch steals, of course.

* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' discusses these frequently. In their entry on alien invasions, there's an entire paragraph discussing how to work the invasion to your advantage so you can secure one of these. The entry on space battles also talks about them and introduces Dirty Denny's Starship Dealership.

*** Of course, ''Enterprise''[[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/8/8f/USS_Enterprise-D%2C_Generations.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100528015241&path-prefix=en -D]] seen all throughout ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.

* [[Franchise/StarTrek Star Trek universe]]:
** ''Enterprise''[[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/8/8f/USS_Enterprise-D%2C_Generations.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100528015241&path-prefix=en -D]] from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.
** ''Enterprise''-D...[[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/0/0c/USS_Enterprise-D%2C_anti-time_future.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150928133111&path-prefix=en the future refit]] from "All Good Things". Best Star Trek ship EVER. A third warp engine sitting between the original two, and a [[WaveMotionGun freaking huge phaser cannon]] running pretty much the whole length of the ship.

*** The original Lady E (see Live-Action TV below), despite being converted to a training ship and getting her shit wrecked, the ''Enterprise'' simply doesn't go down, and comes back to mop floors with the ''Reliant''. She returns in the [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock sequel]] where, despite still being damaged from the previous film, critically undermanned, running under heavy automation, and lacking the actual capacity to raise her shields, ''still'' gives as good as she gets from a Klingon bird-of-prey.
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''
*** The ''Miranda''-class light cruiser USS ''[[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/0/05/USS_Reliant.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090525051807&path-prefix=en Reliant]]'', the first new class of Federation ship to be introduced onscreen in the franchise, just looks plain badass.

** Also from that movie was the USS ''Grissom''. Small, sleek, and completely unlike anything ever seen in ''Star Trek'' up to that point thanks to its unique split-level design.

** Then there's the one that started it all, Zefram Cochrane's warp vessel, the ''[[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/9/99/Phoenix_space.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100605052029&path-prefix=en Phoenix]]''. At first it just looks like this [[WhatAPieceOfJunk rickety, cobbled-together thing that's barely a step up from a 60's space capsule]]... ''Then'' the side panels come off, and ''[[http://employees.csbsju.edu/rsorensen/modelcitizen/trekships/misc/phoenix-unfolding.jpg the warp nacelles unfold and lock into position]].'' And that is when the discerning Trekkie knows [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome epic-ness is about to ensue.]]
** The ''Enterprise'' [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/9/96/Sovereign.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140830034559 -E]]. Sovereign class, the most heavily armed and advanced starship in Starfleet in the regular ''Franchise/StarTrek'' verse. In earlier (real life chronology) ''Star Trek'' they were hesitant to make the ships out to be more than exploration vessels with a reasonable armament needed for defense. After the introduction of the ''Defiant'' in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', they felt more comfortable with a genuine battlecruiser, which the ''Enterprise''-E happily fulfilled. Her BigDamnHeroes entry into the Borg battle in ''First Contact'' exemplifies this ship's power. Later uses of the ship, sadly, gave it more of a ButtMonkey status. And aesthetically, the ''Enterprise''-E pretty much combines the coolest aspects of the ''Enterprise''-A, ''Excelsior'', and ''Enterprise''-D.

** Han Solo's ''Millennium Falcon'' is the "junky" kind: a set of engines, a bunch of plating and a couple of guns held together with bubblegum, duct tape, and the will of TheForce. However, although the ship's systems can be unreliable, the ship is faster than anything and has enough armaments (guns, missiles) to be considered a powerful warship for its size. The most techno-miraculous thing about it is that it flies at all, let alone so well. Not to mention that it's over 100 years old, [[ExpandedUniverse per the ''Legacy of the Force'' series]]. Never mind that it's falling apart at the seams, the Falcon is, quite simply, an ostensible ''light freighter'' that can outshoot, outrun, and outmaneuver ''starfighters.'' A ''heavily'' modified light bulk freighter (in fact, customization's the ''raison d'etre'' of some of the manufacturer's starship lines including the ''Falcon'''s) piloted by a top of his class naval academy graduate. The Falcon is even cool enough to jump franchises and [[http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Sector_001#Visualization fight the Borg]] in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Film/StarTrekFirstContact.

** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' gives us the USS ''Franklin'', a pre-''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise NX-1]]'' ship with a much more [[https://fsmedia.imgix.net/c0/0d/1f/df/c6fb/47f6/8802/26e4d57cf874/star-trek-beyonds-new-ship-the-uss-franklin-revealed-by-trekcore.jpeg utilitarian look]]. Justified because her primary purse was to transport [[SpaceMarines MAKO]] troops.

* The UsefulNotes/SpaceX ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqE-ultsWt0 BFR]]'' may be the closest we'll get to a true spaceship within the next decade. Reusable space vehicle? Check; it can be resupplied, refueled on Earth ''or Mars'', and make the same trip several times, and travel to different destinations. Capable of practically traversing interplanetary distances? Check; it can go to the Moon or other planets with up to 100 people and significant payload. Not designed to land anywhere? No; it ''is'' designed to land anywhere with a solid surface. Alternatively, the BFR could be used to build a true spaceship practically; with a payload capacity of 150 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit, reusability, and a turnaround of less than a day, it could bring the required materials up quickly, cheaply, and in large pieces.

* From the ''Film/StarWars'' movies: