History WebAnimation / GenLock

Due to the impending closure of Rooster Teeth as of March 2024, ''gen:LOCK'' is currently being put on sale alongside several other Rooster Teeth IPs by Warner Bros.

* CrapsackWorld: The world of Gen:Lock is effectively one. It's the year 2077 and destructive climate change has caused droughts and famine, destroying crops and drying up nearly all usable water reservoirs, leading to animal extinction, almost universal poverty, nd eventual war as humanity fought each desperately for resources. The fighting caused constant political upheaval, leaving a two final world superpowers. The first, the Polity, consisting of a organized empire formed from the remaining nation-states that remained and drains the world's already dwindling resources and the second, the Union, a brutal theocracy spreading widespread death by nanomachines in its crusade for planetary conversion. As of current events, the Union has effectively pushed the Polity into a corner, converted much of the world, and is pushing for mankind to effectively accept death with promises of BrainUploading.

** In various episodes of Weller's lab, a scribbled note saying 'Ship of Theseus?' can be seen. [[spoiler:After Weller's presentation at the start of Episode 2, various Vanguard members can be overheard wondering whether Chase's holographic avatar is an AI based on him or the real Chase mixing in from elsewhere. Nemesis' appearance reveals that Chase was once captured by the Union during an early Holon mission. His original mind was captured and now pilots Nemesis while Chase's real body was reunited with a back-up copy of his mind that Weller had been keeping. Weller's 'Ship of Theseus?' scribble suggests he's been struggling with the concept of what makes a person really them while Miranda openly asks the question: [[CloningBlues who is the real Chase]]?]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Season 2 establishes it's significant ToneShift from Season 1 by introducing more mature content. Including the [[BloodierAndGorier gorier deaths]] of civilian casualties, doubling down on it's WarIsHell themes and how it takes a [[HeroicFatigue physical and mental toll]] on the protagonists, the revelation that the setting is more of a CrapsackWorld suffering from a [[GlobalWarming climate change crisis]], and an explicit sex scene between [[spoiler:Miranda and Jodie.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Season 2 establishes it's significant ToneShift from Season 1 by introducing more mature content. Including the [[BloodierAndGorier gorier deaths]] of civilian casualties, doubling down on it's WarIsHell themes and how it takes a [[HeroicFatigue physical and mental toll]] on the protagonists, the revelation that the setting is more of a CrapsackWorld suffering from a [[GlobalWarming climate change crisis]], and an [[CoitusEnsues explicit sex scene]] between [[spoiler:Miranda and Jodie.]]

* ToppledStatue: The pilot sees the Union launch an attack on New York. When a Union Behemoth walks into New York Harbor, it cements its threat by toppling the UsefulNotes/StatueOfLiberty as it walks by.

* MechanicalMonster: The Union's "motherships", A.K.A., [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Behemoths.]] They're the size of skyscrapers, can shield themselves and have turrets that will attack anything that gets too close. In addition, they also serve as carriers for tanks, drones, troops, and are the primary delivery system of the Union's nanotech swarms. Did we also mention that they will automatically target anything that's charging an EMP? They're also capable of quantum cloaking, making them impossible to detect, with one of them managing to get right up to the UsefulNotes/StatueOfLiberty before being spotted. And, as a final kicker, they ''will'' [[TakingYouWithMe release their nanotech swarms if crippled]].

** The global map in a preview shows the United States without Florida, in a nod to the ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' show. Also, both "ever wonder why we're here?" and "it's one of life's great mysteries", referring to the very first scene of that show, have appeared as lines of dialogue.
** When Cammie drags the team into the Ether for some VR gaming, she tries to encourage them to apply theme skins to the group's avatars. When she suggests a 'fantasy warrior' theme, she clothes the team in costumes found within the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' show. Also, the extras in the background are recycled from the Mercs trilogy from ''Machinima/RedVsBlueSeason14''.

''gen:Lock'' (stylized as ''gen:LOCK'') is a {{Mecha}} web series from Creator/RoosterTeeth that premiered on the 26th of January 2019. Unlike their [[Machinima/RedVsBlue other two]] [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} flagship series]], while the first episode is free for anyone to watch, the rest of the episodes are exclusive to FIRST members. The series began airing on Creator/AdultSwim's Creator/{{Toonami}} programming block on August 3, 2019. Season 2 was officially announced on October 24th and would be exclusive to Creator/WarnerMedia's streaming service Creator/HBOMax for 90 days before coming onto Rooster Teeth. The season premiered on November 4th, 2021.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: The Union has been shown to attack civilians without hesitation. Even shooting down retreating aircraft mainly containing civilians.

* [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Blaine Gibson]] as Specialist Rob Sinclair
* [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Gray Haddock]] as Unit Leader Leon August
* [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Miles Luna]] as Miguel "Migas" Garza
* [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Chad James]] as Jodie Brennan

* SkunkStripe:
** Julian's black hair contains a few small, light blue streaks, mostly on the left-hand side.
** Colonel Marin has steel-grey hair, but with white highlights colored that give it a striped appearance.

* ExtyYearsFromNow: The story begins in the year 2068, almost exactly fifty years after the show's release (in the first month of 2019). Subverted midway through the first episode, which has a four-year time skip to the year 2072.

''gen:Lock'' (stylized as ''gen:LOCK'') is a {{Mecha}} web series from Creator/RoosterTeeth that premiered on the 26th of January 2019. Unlike their [[Machinima/RedVsBlue other two]] [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} flagship series]], while the first episode is free for anyone to watch, the rest of the episodes are exclusive to FIRST members. The series began airing on Creator/AdultSwim's Creator/{{Toonami}} programming block on August 3, 2019. Season 2 was officially announced on October 24th and would be exclusive to [=WarnerMedia=]'s streaming service Creator/HBOMax for 90 days before coming onto Rooster Teeth. The season premiered on November 4th, 2021.

''gen:Lock'' (stylized as ''gen:LOCK'') is a {{Mecha}} web series from Creator/RoosterTeeth that premiered on the 26th of January 2019. Unlike their [[Machinima/RedVsBlue other two]] [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} flagship series]], while the first episode is free for anyone to watch, the rest of the episodes are exclusive to FIRST members. The series began airing on Creator/AdultSwim's Creator/{{Toonami}} programming block on August 3, 2019. Season 2 was officially announced on October 24th and will be exclusive to [=WarnerMedia=]'s streaming service Creator/HBOMax for 90 days before coming onto Rooster Teeth. The season premiered on November 4th, 2021.

* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:[[MentorOccupationalHazard Weller]] dies in a HeroicSacrifice midway through the first season. [[DarkerAndEdgier Season 2]] ups the game by killing off [[spoiler:Leon[[note]]which is admittedly justified due to Gray Haddock's firing[[/note]], Kazu, Cammie, and Jodie]].

** When Yaz first Mindshares with Cammie to share her Holon's optimal sensors after [[spoiler:Nemesis decapitates Cammie's Holon]], she's ecstatic that the mindshare worked, which Vel/entina shows confusion at, asking why she's never mindshared with Chase before. [[spoiler: Episode 8 reveals that Chase has hangups about mindsharing, noting that after losing his body and his life outside of gen:LOCK and experiencing the world through a Holon, if he starts Mindsharing with others he could start [[LossOfIdentity losing his mind and sense of self]] as well, which is about all he's got left of him]].

* GlobalWarming: The second season reveals that this is an impetus for the conflict between the Polity and the Union - climate change has reached a point of irrevirsible collapse, so the Union and Polity are now focusing on ways to escape the dying Earth and find a new way to survive, the Polity via space travel and the Union via an ArtificialAfterlife. The war started because both sides had massive philosophical issues with the other's plan for survival.

* NoBloodForPhlebotinum: The setting is revealed to be events occurring post a number of bloody Resource Wars in the wake of a GaiaLament that wrecked much of the Earth's ecosystem and left it most uninhabitable for humans. It was the result of these wars that allowed the Union to gain traction among the millions of broken and disenfranchised and convert 2/5 of the planet's human population to their cause.

* {{Nanomachines}}: The Union uses nanotech swarms that can be controlled by individuals or used on a much grander scale. While used in either manner, the swarms will consume any non-allied organic matter they come in contact with.

* UnitedNationsIsASuperpower: The Polity was originally the UN, before it "rebranded". It now appears to more or less function as a unified political entity, headed by a President.

In addition to the actual show, Creator/DCComics will be releasing a comic book series for ''gen:LOCK'' (as well as a series for ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}})'' as part of a partnership with Rooster Teeth. A tie-in novel, ''Storm Warning,'' was released on October 6, 2020.

* InspiredBy: According to Gray Haddock in interviews, the show is inspired by various works done by Gen Urobuchi and various Super and Real Robot shows like Gundam and Aldnoah Zero.