Line #105 Main/TripodTerror


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3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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6	%% Image restored per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1400631415019645300
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9	[[quoteright:334:[[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/War-of-the-worlds-tripod.jpg]]]]
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11	->''"And this Thing! How can I describe it? A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine trees and smashing them aside its wallowing career; a walking engine of glittering metal, reeling now across the heather, articulate ropes of steel dangling from it, and the clattering tumult of its passage mingling with the riot of the thunder."''
12	-->-- ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898''
13
14	The second most iconic of alien vehicles after the FlyingSaucer, RuleOfThree comes into play for the AlienInvasion, when our new overlords bring out their army of Three-Legged HumongousMecha. This may also be here to induce WhatMeasureIsANonHuman or earthly being, as most animals tend to have even numbers of legs.
15
16	The UrExample is undoubtedly ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898'', and its [[Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds many adaptations]] since. Compare and contrast to SpiderTank. A SubTrope of StarfishRobots.
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18	----
19	!!Examples:
20
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	* The Deucalion Kataphrakt in ''Anime/AldnoahZero'' is a three-legged machine, though it prefers to float thanks to its [[ArtificialGravity anti-gravity]] engines.
25	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
26	** The massive Zeon wonderweapon Apsaras 3 in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'' has three dangerously spindly-looking retractable legs, though it usually floats through the air using an exotic particle-based flight system, giving it a strong resemblance to both the book and 1953 movie versions of the classic Martian Fighting Machines.
27	** The ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' spinoff manga ''[[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Delta Astray]]'' has the Guardshell, which can change from a tripod to a Gundam-like form that uses the tripod's carapace as a giant yo-yo. Considering it was designed and piloted by a Martian, it's definitely a ShoutOut to ''War of the Worlds''.
28	** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', also taking place on Mars, features the Mobile Workers, [[MiniMecha small, futuristic tanks]] with the three legs ending in wheels. The 'terror' goes in two directions here, though -- while Mobile Workers are notorious for their ability to shred infantry and break up riots, they're little more than tin-plated coffins if a [[HumongousMecha mobile suit]] shows up.
29	** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'''s spinoff ''Frozen Teardrop'', also taking place on the red planet, gets in on the act with an upgraded version of Epyon [[TransformingMecha that turns into a]] ''[[MultipleHeadCase three headed]]'' dragon.
30	* The Olmecs' three-legged flying machine in ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'', which is also capable of walking.
31	* The Invaders in ''Anime/OccultAcademy'' '''will''' use them to crush Mankind.
32	* The Dark Nebula Empire has these in the ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' spin-off film ''Be Forever Yamato''.
33	%%* ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon''%%Administrivia/ZeroContentExample
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* When Martians from ''ComicBook/{{Killraven}}'''s reality invade the mainstream ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', they arrive in giant tripods.
38	* Mr. Hyde {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s the design of the Tripods during the Martian Invasion in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen Volume 2''. He then proceeds to {{deconstruct\|edTrope}} the trope by commenting that there's a good reason why no ''animals'' have only three legs, and demonstrates this reason by breaking one tripod's legs, causing the thing to fall over. He then breaks the cockpit open and '''eats''' the horrified Martian inside.
39	%%* ''ComicBook/ScarletTraces'', being a FanSequel to ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898''.%%Administrivia/ZeroContentExample
40	* ''ComicBook/SonicX'' features Tripods in #7 and #12.
41	* The Creator/DarkHorseComics version of ''Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' makes the tripods more fearsome than the previously known (such as the page image).
42	-->''"That thing I saw! [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Darkhorse_tripod_small_2429.png How can I describe it?"]]''
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan Works]]
46	* {{Deconstructed\|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/SlippingBetweenWorlds''. A group of "visitors" from Roundworld (Earth) provoke a mass panic that Ankh-Morpork is being invaded by pitiless alien conquerors. The possibility of a Slight Disagreement of the Worlds is explored in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' style and includes stolid Discworlders debating the self-evident drawbacks of top-heavy tripod war machines. A farmer looks down at a cattle grid and nods, saying "I'd like to see 'un get over ''this'' 'un!", while a Man in a Pub smugly discusses how unbalanced a tripod would be to -- for example, a troll or a golem grabbing one leg and flipping it over. "Sides, your golem. Made out of invulnerable heat-resistant ceramic. Your troll. Fire a death ray at him, just makes him dumber and angrier. Them tripods is just scrap metal either way!"
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
50	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'': Snatcher builds one, with the help of captured Boxtrolls, to break into the Boxtroll lair and round up the rest.
51	* In ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', Lightning [=McQueen=] has a dream where he stars in a movie about spark plug tripods (actually "quads", as they have four legs) destroying the city.
52	* In ''WebAnimation/WarOfTheServers'', the Mingepods aren't even really tripods. They have two front wheels, and a third "leg" with another two wheels on it. Thus, while they're technically tripods (three 'legs') they still have four points of contact.
53	* As ''Animation/WarOfTheWorldsGoliath'' is a sequel to the {{Trope Maker\|s}}, naturally the Martian tripods reappear. However, this film supposes that humanity reversed-engineered leftover Martian tech from the original invasion and have used it to create a DieselPunk world full of human-built tripods armed with human-built heat rays, which become major centerpieces of the action when a second Martian invasion takes place.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* ''Film/LostInSpace'' features a race of insectoid creatures with this flaw. The [[WordOfGod DVD commentary]] acknowledges this, admitting that nature would never design anything like this because of the off-balance problem.
58	* ''Film/ScaryMovie 4'' attempts to spoof ''The War of the Worlds'' with the triPods, which resemble an iPod on three legs with a "Destroy Humanity" playlist.
59	* Even ''Franchise/StarWars'' is not exempt from this.
60	** Though not as huge as most other examples, the Droidekas are functionally tripods when they're not rolling around as wheels. They aren't meant to move around much like this, though; it's mostly just to steady them, like an actual tripod.
61	** The Walkers in the original trilogy were inspired by the ''War of the Worlds'' tripods.
62	** The AT-AP (All-Terrain Attack Pod) Walker seen in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' is a tripod. However, the third leg is retractable -- it primarily serves to steady the Walker when using its artillery cannon.
63	** Aside from being four-legged, the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/OG-9_homing_spider_droid spider droid]] matches the Wellsian Martian fighting machine, right down to the [[DisintegratorRay heat ray]]. Only the traditional [[DeadlyGas black-smoke bomb]] launcher (which rarely appears outside Wells' literary masterpiece) was replaced by an anti-personnel blaster cannon.
64	** In a more direct homage to ''The War of the Worlds'', we have the Separatists' [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Octuptarra_tri-droid Octuptarra tri-droids]], which come in the smaller combat tri-droid variant and the much larger magna tri-Droid variant.
65	** R2-D2 himself is tripodal, although his supporting struts don't bend, and he rolls rather than walks.
66	* Even the [[HoverTank "floating" Martian war machines]] from ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953'' have, if you look closely, ''three'' repulsors keeping it hovering in the air. (They were originally planned to have the usual tripod legs when Creator/RayHarryhausen was attached to bring the tentacled Martians and their machines to life via stop motion animation, but the amount of money available and the limited technology of the day led them to be changed to fit a FlyingSaucer motif.)
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Literature]]
70	* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown'', the Jan and most of the animals from their world have trilateral symmetry. The Jan are cone-shaped, with three stumpy legs underneath and three arms sprouting out the top, two ending in hands and one in an eye. Like ''[[Literature/RendezvousWithRama Rama]]'''s biots, they revolve as they walk.
71	* The Idirans in ''Literature/ConsiderPhlebas'' have three legs.
72	* ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'' goes into a bit of detail about how the titular walking plants move, comparing them to a man on crutches and specifically noting that it's not an especially fast or stable method of locomotion. Being plants, of course, they don't really need to move very often or over a great distance.
73	* ''Literature/{{Expedition}}'' has a number of tripodal creatures, including the Sac Back, Beach Loper, and the Groveback (a gigantic animal that goes about on two legs and a massive supporting tail).
74	%%* Kevin J. Anderson's ''The Martian War''%%Administrivia/ZeroContentExample
75	* Creator/LarryNiven's ''Rainbow Mars'' features creatures with these -- they are meant to be roughly the Martians from ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898'', had they lived on the same Planet Mars as the Martians from ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'', the Martians from "Literature/AMartianOdyssey", the Martians from ''Literature/OutOfTheSilentPlanet'' and the Martians from ''Franchise/FlashGordon''. Niven calls them the Softfingers or Astronomers, depending on who is talking about them.
76	* ''Literature/RendezvousWithRama'' features three-legged [[OrganicTechnology biots]] used as a sort of mobile sensor. These move very fast by pivoting around on one leg, using each of them in alternation, and reversing the direction of rotation from time to time. As a matter of fact, a three-part symmetry is central to all things Raman. Unlike many of the examples on this page, they're harmless, unless you [[spoiler:cut into one's power-cell while dissecting its corpse]].
77	%%* ''DerivativeWorks/SherlockHolmes' War of the Worlds'' by Creator/ManlyWadeWellman%%Administrivia/ZeroContentExample
78	* ''Literature/TheTripods'' features, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin what you might expect]]. (The aliens that pilot them also have three legs.) Creator/JohnChristopher essentially [[CaptainErsatz filed the serial numbers]] off of [[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898 Wells' Martians]] and depicted what the world might be like if their initial invasion had been successful. He also does a fair job of justifying the impracticality of the 3-legged design; the number 3 appears to be integral to the culture of the Masters, presumably as a consequence of their biology (as well as 3 legs they also have 3 tentacles and 3 eyes), and as well as the tripodal design of their vehicles, they also incorporate triangles and pyramids into their architecture and technology at every opportunity.
79	* The tripodal war machines that lead the Martian invasion in ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898'' are the {{Trope Maker\|s}}, and arguably the TropeCodifier as well.
80	* In ''Literature/{{Warstrider}}'', the tripods are actually the humans' titular mecha.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Music]]
84	* The album cover for Music/DoctorSteel's album ''People of Earth'' shows an attack by giant tripod robots reminiscent of ''The War of the Worlds'' -- the foreground shows Dr. Steel controlling them. (A similar tripod is seen in the background of the album art for ''The Dr. Steel Read-A-Long''.)
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
88	* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' advanced to the point where the 135-ton Ares, and its slightly smaller precursor, the 125-ton Poseidon, have been added to the game as the first two tripod mechs. Players have yet to decide if the advantages they have in firepower, armor, and their three-person cockpits make up for their [[MightyGlacier extremely low speed]]. Beyond those two monsters, though, there are rules for constructing tripodal mechs (as well as one canon design that's a mere 75 tons, the Triskeleon). They get bonuses to stability and can easily change direction compared to standard designs, but with the added tonnage cost of the extra leg and the parts needed to control it they're a bit more limited in overall firepower than a standard bipedal mech of the same size and speed would be.
89	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has several three-legged monsters, such as the Xorn, the Otyugh, and the Triapheg.
90	* ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' has the Martian Empire, whose primary leaders, the Overlords, are based on the martians from ''The War of the Worlds'', and as such go to battle in three-legged vehicles.
91	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterpocalypse}}'', the Martian Menace faction has some figures based on the tripods from ''War of the Worlds'': the monsters Deimos-9 and Phobos-7, and the Reaper and Despoiler units.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Toys]]
95	* ''Franchise/GIJoe'' had the Cobra Pogo Ballistics Battle Ball (called such despite it not actually being ball-shaped) toy. It was a red and black three-legged craft that used jets to bounce around battlefields. Several years later, it was renamed the Invader and released in a neon green color with a spring-fired missile launcher instead of the machine gun the original had.
96	* The ''Toys/LEGOAlienConquest'' theme includes one, the Tripod Invader, as its third-smallest set; its cockpit can split off its legs to act as a FlyingSaucer.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Video Games]]
100	* {{Invoked\|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/ThirteenSentinelsAegisRim'': the gargantuan Hi-Quad robots, though four-legged in design, are likened to the Tripods from ''Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', complete with the book's name dropped and a quote from its pages.
101	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
102	** Scrin Annihilator and Reaper Tripods from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars''. The aliens just ''love'' these things.
103	** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' has the Shogun Executioner in two scripted missions, a HumongousMecha with three legs and three torsos, with each torso shaped like a samurai complete with a LaserBlade. The thing is so big it can destroy aircraft just by walking at them. It's especially effective against the Soviets, as electrical attacks only serve to heal it.
104	* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2'' has tripod drones known as Pingers, which substitute the death ray for [[YourHeadAsplode powerful]] sonic weaponry.
105	* ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'': The boss Tripod Sardine from ''G-Darius''.
106	* House Harkonnen's [[MightyGlacier Devastator]] from ''VideoGame/EmperorBattleForDune''.
107	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'':
108	** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has Sentry Bots, which are one of the game's most fearsome enemies. Also, Mister Handy/Gutsy, which resembles the aforementioned ''Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' tripod bots.
109	** In the ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' DLC ''Automatron'', you can build your own Sentry Bots at a Robot Workbrench.
110	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': The Combine Striders and Hunters both possess three legs. The Striders are much taller, being about two stories tall, while the hunters are smaller and about human-sized. As with all Combine tech, they are made of OrganicTechnology.
111	* A particularly gigantic instance of this trope in the form of the [[FinalBoss Teraformer]] in ''VideoGame/Jak3''. The thing is so big, that after you take it down with a vehicle, you have another fight on its wreckage with plenty of room to maneuver around.
112	* Most Martian units in ''VideoGame/JeffWaynesTheWarOfTheWorlds'', although they have a few quadropods, a bipod, and even a pentapod (five footed) walker, a mighty can of BeamSpam called the ''Tempest''.
113	* The battle with Princess Shroob in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' has her battle the brothers in a three-legged robotic throne that [[EnergyWeapon shoots huge lasers]] and [[DeflectorShields protects her with a force field]].
114	* [[http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Scarab Dwarf Gekko]] from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
115	* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'' has a biological variant in the Quaggled Mireclops, the largest boss in the game (and indeed the whole series) which resembles a chunk of earth walking on three hoofed legs with a fruit-like head at the top. Its three legs are also its weak point, attacking them will cause the Mireclops to fall over, leaving its fruit-like head within reach of your Pikmin.
116	* In ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'', as a possible ShoutOut to the aforementioned [[Franchise/StarWars Droidekas]], the Convoy drones roll into battle before deploying tripod legs. Luckily, they don't have DeflectorShields.
117	* ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'': Colossi may have four legs, but they are otherwise totally in fitting with the spirit of the trope. They fry stuff at extreme long range with sweeping heat rays, and have very long stilt-legs that let them stride over any terrain with ease.
118	* Megaleg (a giant planet-sized robot built by [[OverlordJr Bowser Jr.]]), the first boss of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''.
119	* The early Creator/{{Psygnosis}} game ''Terrorpods'' has the titular alien craft, which were based on Creator/RogerDean's artwork originally designed for ''Music/JeffWaynesMusicalVersionOfTheWarOfTheWorlds''.
120	%%* ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar'': The Hierarchy Science Walkers, and Defilers, and Detection Drones, ''and'' Reaper drones. Honestly, the Hierarchy ''is'' this trope.
121	* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'': Darkwalkers and Scavengers. The Darkwalker is the classical HumongousMecha variant of this trope, armed with a dual laser cannon. It is one of the stronger vehicles of the game. The Scavenger is a small but fast vehicle that runs on three tentacles. One of its attacks is turning into an electrified ball and roll into enemy players.
122	* The second ExpansionPack of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', ''The Burning Crusade'', has giant luminescent tripod-like wild creatures with jellyfish-like heads roaming Zangarmarsh in Outland. One such is a boss/elite that hits like a truck and must be killed for a quest.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Webcomics]]
126	* Some clanks in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' have this design, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040804 like this one.]] Also, on [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091014 "My vacation"]] picture, evidently left from one of older Heterodynes. The tripods on [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160422 this filler page]] seems to be a more direct reference to ''Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.
127	* Ahem from ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is basically shaped like a biological version of an H.G. Wells' tripod.
128	* Wind turbines become this in [[http://xkcd.com/556/ this]] ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' comic.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Websites]]
132	* The Wellsians from ''Website/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'' (slightly parodical versions of Wells's original Martians) are shown to have devised the Tripods ''on Earth'' as a last-minute solution when they realized that Earth's gravity made it nearly impossible for them to move on foot. This might explain the rather slapdash engineering.
133	* The tribbetheres of ''Website/{{Serina}}'' are tripedal mammaloid vertebrates descended from mudskipper-like ancestors that modified their pectoral fins and tail into three walking limbs. One group, the canitheres, become fierce hyena-like top predators of the plains, with some ArtisticLicenseBiology being made in the assertion that their three-legged gait made them more efficient to the other quadrupedal bird-descendants they preyed upon (which is clearly a very unlikely case).
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Western Animation]]
137	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'':
138	** Black Manta mans a giant tripod in order to steal an armored car.
139	** The invaders of Rann in "[[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS1E14MysteryInSpace Mystery in Space!]]" use tripods.
140	* Jimmy dreams up invading tripods in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''.
141	* The Martians in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''.
142	* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' pilot "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E1To3SecretOrigins Secret Origins]]" features invading tripods from Mars, and a heap of ''War of the Worlds'' in-jokes. The instability of this method of locomotion is shown when Wonder Woman and the Flash work out ways to trip them up.
143	* The Lorwardians in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' make use of walkers during their invasion of the Earth, though they are technically four-legged.
144	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': In the first episode, Stanley and Charlie have to house-sit a "home of the future". Naturally, [[MadScientist Dr. Pretorius]] gets in and starts futzing with its processors, transforming it into a three-legged weapon of mass destruction.
145	* Referenced in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' when Dr. Venture transforms HELPER into a classic tripod "walking eye". When asked what they're good for, Venture is at a loss, apparently convinced by popular sci-fi that they're simply a requirement. Random scenes of destruction also occasionally show a tripod terror running amok.
146	[[/folder]]
147	%%%
148	%%% This is for alien invasions, not just anything with three legs. Please don't add real life examples of random animals.
149	%%%

Context Main / TripodTerror