The Stepford Cuckoos are a set of fictional mutant psychically linked quintuplets (Sophie Cuckoo, Phoebe Cuckoo, Irma "Mindee" Cuckoo, Celeste Cuckoo, and Esme Cuckoo). They are students at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The alphabetical order of the Cuckoos' first names corresponds with their ages, with Celeste being the firstborn and Sophie being the youngest.

Originally calling themselves the Five-in-One, with the deaths of Esme and Sophie the remaining sisters are now known as the Three-in-One.^[1]

First appearing in New X-Men, vol. 1 #118, they were created by Grant Morrison. Their origin, as the artificially created "daughters" of Emma Frost, is revealed in X-Men: Phoenix—Warsong.

Fictional character biographies[link]

Origins[link]

As revealed in the first issue of X-Men: Phoenix—Warsong, the sisters are grown from ova cells harvested from telepath and then villain Emma Frost while she lay comatose after a Sentinel attack that killed her students, the original Hellions, and are only five of many cloned daughters. The remaining hundreds (if not thousands) of clones reside within incubation chambers inside a hidden underground laboratory at The World, a complex housing the Weapon Plus (living beings designed to serve as weapons) program. They were created by Dr. John Sublime to be powerful weapons able to kill every mutant by combining their telepathic abilities. The Cuckoos were designated Weapon XIV.

They were first introduced as the protégés and favorites of Emma Frost^[2] and were unaware of their true purpose and a telepathic block was used to mask their placement in the school, causing anyone who questioned their origins to lose their train of thought.^[3] They, along with student Quentin Quire, were noted as the strongest telepaths among the new students at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. Although Quire and the Stepford Cuckoos were rivals, Quire had a crush on Sophie. Sophie and the other Cuckoos considered him to be disgusting and rejected him completely.^[4]

Partly as an expression of adolescent rebellion, partly under the influence of a mutant drug called Kick, and partly out of a desire to impress Sophie, Quire incited a student riot at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Sophie died stopping Quire, having used the same drug to boost her powers and overexerting herself.^[5] The Stepford Cuckoos held Frost to be partially responsible for Sophie's death, Frost having "inspired her to heroism," and disassociated themselves from her at that time. With the death of Sophie, the Five-in-One became the Four-in-One. Wary of having a part of themselves missing, they tested to see if their powers still functioned well by contacting Jean Grey telepathically and informing her that Emma Frost was attempting to conduct an affair with her husband, Scott Summers.^[6]

Secretly, Esme Cuckoo had been collaborating with X-Man Xorn, then disguised as Magneto. Taking control of the Cuckoos' group mind, she telepathically steers Angel Salvadore to attack Emma Frost, completely shattering her diamond body into fragments. Jean Grey manages to telekinetically reassemble and return her to life, whereupon Emma revealed Esme's involvement. Esme then abandons her sisters to join Magneto's new Brotherhood of Mutants. Later losing faith in Xorn, the Brotherhood turns on him, including Esme, who attacks him, angry that he did not return her affections. Xorn then kills her and she dies in Emma's arms, stating with her dying breath that she never wanted to end up like Emma.^[7]

Corsairs[link]

Soon afterwards, the Institute is rebuilt, with Emma Frost and Cyclops as headmasters and leaders of the X-Men. Frost and Summers divided the older students into several six-person training squads, each taught by a staff member. The remaining three Cuckoos, now calling themselves the "Three-in-One," were assigned to the Corsairs squad, advised by Cyclops. The three girls were the co-leaders of the squad. The Cuckoos, who had abandoned the thought of being tutored by Emma, were now completely loyal to their new tutor, Cyclops.^{[volume & issue needed]}

In X-Men: Phoenix Endsong (March–June 2005), the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force came back to Earth seeking to inhabit the body of Jean Grey. Quentin Quire, still in love with Sophie, sensed the Phoenix and exhumed Sophie's body. He sought the Phoenix, which resurrected Sophie, but she promptly chooses to die again rather than be with him. The X-Men defeat the Phoenix, though a shard of it in firefly form locates one of the Cuckoos, who replies, "What took you so long?"^{[volume & issue needed]} In X-Men: Phoenix—Warsong #3, it was revealed to be Celeste.^[8]

In the wake of House of M, in which the vast majority of the world's mutant population was depowered, the Cuckoos retained their powers. With few students left, the squad system was dissolved and Emma Frost placed the remaining students into an all-out brawl to determine who would be part of an in-training X-Men team. The Cuckoos, still resentful of Emma, refused to participate.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Weapon Plus and Phoenix—Warsong[link]

In New X-Men, vol. 1 #154 (May 2004), Grant Morrison's last issue of New X-Men, the Stepford Cuckoos are identified as Weapon XIV (each girl being units 1 to 5, ordered alphabetically by their first names), the living weapon code between Weapon XIII (Fantomex) and Weapon XV (Ultimaton).^[9]

Manipulated by both the shard of the Phoenix and Dr. John Sublime, the Cuckoos reanimate Esme and Sophie as corpses and return to the World. At the World, they are greeted by a computer image of Sublime and learn of their thousands of cloned siblings. Their true purpose was to collect data on the X-Men and transmit it to the other clones through shared nano-technology in their bodies. It is revealed that the Phoenix fragment has manifested in order to destroy the Cuckoos and all of their clones to prevent them from being activated as a weapon and killing all mutants. The Phoenix manifests most strongly through Celeste, using her as its avatar, but is then diffused according to Sublime's plans among each of the cloned telepaths, boosting their powers. The Cuckoos then learn that they also shared Emma's ability to turn into a diamond form. Now referring to themselves as the Thousand-in-One and under Sublime's control, the cosmically-empowered psychics proceed to enact their programmed destiny of mutant destruction. Celeste, at Emma's behest, accepts her role as a Phoenix host and wrestles control of the Phoenix, freeing the clones from Sublime's control for the first time. However, the Phoenix goes on to destroy the thousand clones, despite their new found freedom and desire to experience life, by shattering their newly-manifested diamond forms as well as Esme and Sophie. Disgusted by the destruction, Celeste casts the entity out of her body. However, it refuses to depart causing Celeste to reabsorb it into her own and Mindee and Phoebe's diamond hearts to end the Phoenix's destruction. Unlike Emma's diamond composition, which contains a flaw, the Cuckoo's hearts are flawless diamond. As such, the Phoenix fragment is literally sealed within their hearts. The price the sisters must pay for this is that they can never again feel emotion, leaving them more detached from others than they were before.^[10]

Post Civil War[link]

The Stepford Cuckoos are being considered as "potential recruits" for the Initiative program.^[11] The girls are next seen helping Elixir master medical and anatomical knowledge via Beast's brain. They are soon after teleported to Limbo with the other students and captured by Belasco who has helmets placed on them to keep them asleep to prevent them from using their powers. They were freed by a newly revived X-23 and turn the tide of the battle against Belasco.^[12] When the Hulk attacks Xavier, the Astonishing X-Men, and the New X-Men, the Stepford Cuckoos contact several other X-teams such as Excalibur, the Uncanny X-team, and X-Factor to get their help.^[13] They then help Prodigy access all his forgotten knowledge and abilities to compensate for his power loss as thanks for saving them when anti-mutant terrorists known as the Purifiers' attacked the school.^[14]

Messiah Complex[link]

The Cuckoos use Cerebro to track down Cable, who has the missing mutant baby that the X-Men are looking for.^[15]

When the X-Men arrive at the location indicated by the Cuckoos, the baby had already been stolen by the Marauders. The Cuckoos are unable to relocate the baby telepathically, so Emma Frost orders them to focus on finding the Marauders who kidnapped it.^[16]

Manifest Destiny[link]

Following the events of the Messiah Complex, the Cuckoos rejoin the X-Men in their new home of San Francisco, along with many of their former classmates. The girls later agree to help erase Josh Foley's memory of his work with the newly reformed X-Force team, so as to help the team maintain a sense of a secrecy from the main X-Men team. They agree to keep the team a secret, primarily out of loyalty to Cyclops. The girls have recently began to dress more individually than before, no longer wearing matching outfits. Each of them also have different hairstyles, with only one of the Cuckoos keeping their prior hairstyle.^[17]

Secret Invasion[link]

The Cuckoos help oppose Skrull invaders in San Francisco. When the Skrulls place a blockade on all telepathic communication, they channel their telepathy through Cerebra into Emma as she attempts to find the psychic blockade and destroy it. Emma's psyche is briefly disconnected from her body and as she fights the Skrull psychics, the Cuckoos, on orders from Cyclops, use their telepathy to keep Emma's autonomic functions going.^[18] Afterward, the Cuckoos appear as supporting characters in Uncanny X-Men.^[19]

Nation X[link]

During a pitched battle between the X-Men and a pack of genetically altered versions of Predator X, the Phoenix fragments that were contained in the Cuckoos' diamond hearts leave them and depart into space for reasons unknown.^[20] During their time on Utopia, the Cuckoos begin to experience boredom and start sneaking off the island to buy DVDs of horror films. Influenced by the movies, the girls start mentally torturing their classmates using scenarios from The Twilight Zone and Ring among others. After Emma discovers this, she reveals that as a child she was a fan of the film Clash of the Titans, and that she occasionally daydreams of being in the movie herself. Realizing that she always loved teaching, Emma decides to make the Cuckoos into teachers for the island's school, thus giving them something to do with their time.^[21]

Chaos War[link]

During the "Chaos War" storyline, Esme and Sophie are among the fallen X-Men members who return from the dead after what happened to the death realms.^[22] In the aftermath of the defeat of the Chaos King, Sophie is returned to the afterlife after reality is restored by Hercules.^[23]

Regenesis[link]

After 'Schism' the Cuckoos decide to side with Cyclops and they become one of the few 'X-Recruits' who maintain on Utopia.^{[volume & issue needed]} The first signs of becoming individuals again is shown in Generation Hope where Phoebe does not agree with Irma (mindee) and Celeste on how they treat Generation Hope member Primal and the way they see Hope.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Powers and abilities[link]

The Cuckoos share a telepathic hive mind. Powerful telepaths individually, their combined power is even greater than its sum. These powers allow them the psychic standards of broadcasting/receiving thoughts, mind control, planting illusions, force blasts of pure psionic energy, astral projection, etc. Their gestalt mind allows them to communicate with one another instantaneously, though the strength of their gestalt depends on their proximity to one another; the further they are from one another, the weaker their ability to connect.^[24]

Though they most often function and act as one unit, they are indeed capable of thinking and operating individually. When all five sisters were alive, Sophie was the dominant consciousness and often commanded the Cuckoos. However, as implied by Esme's actions, it is possible for another one of the Cuckoos to wrest control of the gestalt and perhaps even use the powers of all sisters without the consent and knowledge of the others. With the loss of Sophie and Esme, The Cuckoos are not as strong as they were with five.^[25]

Like their mother, Emma Frost, each Cuckoo sister also possesses the ability to transform into an organic diamond body, and as such gains invulnerability, durability, and super strength. Unlike Frost, however, their diamond forms are flawless; such that nothing can enter or escape. They demonstrate this ability by sealing the splintered fragment of the Phoenix Force inside their hearts by permanently changing their hearts to diamond, in the process sacrificing their ability to ever feel genuine emotions again. The Phoenix Force eventually manages to escape, potentially allowing the sisters to regain their emotions. During the Warsong series, the Cuckoos gained the power of flight and pyrokinesis, presumably from Phoenix-induced telekinesis.^[26]

The power level of the Cuckoos, in all of their incarnations, have been reported by many of the staff at Xavier's School to be extremely impressive and strong.^[10]

Personalities[link]

Esme Cuckoo[link]

Esme Cuckoo was the first to split from her sisters, falling in love with Shi'ar-soldier Stuff who disguised itself as a student.^[27] This led to a recurring writer's joke^{[citation needed]} about the other Cuckoos always disliking their sisters' boyfriends. She soon attempts to murder Frost, and was later revealed to be the one responsible for the events that killed Sophie. Wanting to seize control of the Cuckoos but encountering resistance from Sophie, Esme used the drug Kick on herself to augment her own psychic powers and take control of the Stepford Cuckoos's group mind. Esme manipulated her sister Sophie into also using the drug Kick in order to overexert her telepathic powers to the point of death. Esme returned in the Planet X storyline, in which it was revealed that Esme had been working for Xorn the entire time, and that she had developed a crush on him. However, Esme turned on him and tried to destroy his mind after he rejected her affections. Xorn reluctantly was forced to kill her. She dies in Emma's arms, who tells Esme that out of all the Cuckoos, she was most proud of her.^[28]

Sophie Cuckoo[link]

Sophie Cuckoo's personality is explored just before her death. She was stated as always being the dominant mind amongst her sisters. When Quentin Quire began a riot on the Xavier Campus, Sophie was "inspired to heroism" and used Kick to strengthen her powers and fight him. The strain killed Sophie, though it was secretly Esme's psychic influence that ultimately pushed her toward death. She has since been portrayed in other realities as the most free-thinking of the Cuckoos.

Irma "Mindee" Cuckoo[link]

Mindee Cuckoo was the next Cuckoo to be written with a distinct personality. She had a relationship with another student, Germaine, who was killed by an anti-mutant mob when the students were trapped in a building in the aftermath of Xorn's destruction of Manhattan. She then had a combative relationship with Jay Guthrie who was always interrupting her while she played the piano. She later helped Gambit during Exodus' Brotherhood's attack on the school. Her real first name is "Irma."^[29]

Celeste Cuckoo[link]

During the events of Warsong, Celeste Cuckoo expressed fears of losing touch with her sisters, changing personalities, and wielding the Phoenix Force. According to Emma, she is the tattletale of the group.^[26] She eventually accepted her powers, killing the Thousand-in-One clones and her resurrected sisters per the cosmic judgment of Phoenix. Disgusted by the destruction the Phoenix caused, she tried to expel the Phoenix fragment from her body, but was instead forced to seal it inside Mindee's, Phoebe's, and her own diamond hearts.

Phoebe Cuckoo[link]

Phoebe Cuckoo demonstrated a power-hungry personality during the events of Warsong. In contrast to Celeste, who feared the consuming power of the Phoenix, Phoebe desired power out of the sheer affinity for wielding it. She readily embraced the Phoenix and enjoyed the destructive power it gave her.

Conceptual changes[link]

Originally, the first letter of each of the Cuckoo's names was supposed to spell out the word "spice" when put in proper sequence, Sophie, Phoebe, Irma, Celeste and Esme. However, Grant Morrison never mentioned the name of the fifth Cuckoo (the one whose name was supposed to start with "I") during his run on New X-Men, and it was only later on that this fifth Cuckoo was named "Mindee" by Chuck Austen, who was unaware of Morrison's Easter egg. However, writer Matt Fraction later rectified this, stating that Mindee's real first name was Irma, thus restoring the original acronym.^[30]

They were first called the Stepford Cuckoos in New X-Men, vol. 1 #123 (April 2002), which was also the first issue in which Esme was named. Sophie, Phoebe, Celeste, and Mindee were named in New X-Men, vol. 1 #134 (January 2003), New X-Men, vol. 1 #149 (January 2004), New X-Men, vol. 1 #153 (April 2004), and New X-Men, vol. 1 #156 (June 2004), respectively. In the New X-Men: Academy X Yearbook, their last name was confirmed as "Cuckoo" and their codename as the "Three-in-One".

Other versions[link]

Age of X[link]

In the "Age of X" reality, the Stepford Cuckoos are shown as inmates of Fortress X's X-Brig.^[31]

Exiles[link]

In a reality shown in Exiles, where after the Hulk was jettisoned into space and discovered by Annihilus, killing him and taking the Annihilation Wave to Earth, Sophie, Esme and Mindee appear as some of the few remaining superhumans. Sophie has detached herself from the two remaining Cuckoos and is dating Quentin Quire, while Esme and Mindee remain like their original depictions in the main Marvel universe. Sophie's mental abilities have also increased, and she has recurring dreams of future events to come.^[32]

Here Comes Tomorrow[link]

In the "Here Comes Tomorrow" timeline, 150 years from now, Celeste, Mindee and Phoebe are members of the X-Men and operators of Cerebra, having merged with the machine, and calling themselves the "Three-in-One." Their psychic powers have also been amplified, allowing them to see the future. Despite the long time that has passed, they appear to be in their early twenties. With the release of the Warsong miniseries this can be attributed to the nanites in their bodies and their origins as Weapon XIV.^[33]

House of M[link]

In House of M, the quintuplets were part of the New Mutant Leadership Program at the United Nations. From the five, Sophie appeared to be the one with the stronger personality. Sophie joined Prodigy, Surge and the rest of the New Mutants on their trip to Japan to find Seiji Ashida, while Celeste, Esme, Mindee, and Phoebe remained on New York, though they agreed to maintain the secret. Sophie was later killed in Japan by anti-mutant terrorists.^[34]

X-Men: The End[link]

In the alternate future depicted in X-Men: The End, Celeste, Mindee, and Phoebe have each developed their own look and now call themselves "the Spikes." Phoebe has long, brown hair, Mindee has long, blond hair, and Celeste has short, black hair.

In other media[link]

Television[link]

The Stepford Cuckoos made their television debut in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men,^[vague] voiced by Tara Strong. They are shown as members of the Hellfire Club. They serve as hosts for the Phoenix Force and wear the traditional red and gold Dark Phoenix costumes.^[35]

Film[link]

Three identical blonde girls were shown in the background in an Institute scene in X-Men: The Last Stand. Writer Zak Penn confirmed in a chat that these were indeed the Stepford Cuckoos.^[36]

Video games[link]

The Stepford Cuckoos appear as antagonists in the video game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse voiced by Jennifer Hale. They are encountered in the Madri Temple and end up handing Emma Frost over to Apocalypse. They fight the X-Men alongside Holocaust who serves as their protector. There was a reference that they left the X-Mansion when their fourth sister was killed in action in a recent mission.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stepford Cuckoos at Marvel.com
• Stepford Cuckoos on MarvelDatabase

This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. WikiProject Military history/Weaponry task force may be able to help recruit an expert. (December 2009)

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used in order to inflict damage or harm to living beings - physical or mental -, artificial structures, or systems. In human society, weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, and warfare.

Weapons are employed individually or collectively. A weapon can be either expressly designed as such or be an item re-purposed through use (for example, hitting someone with a hammer). Their form can range from simple implements such as clubs to complicated modern implementations such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and biological weapons. Weapon development has progressed from early wood or stone clubs through revolutions in metalworking (swords, maces, etc.) and gunpowder (guns, cannon), electronics and nuclear technology.

In a broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a strategic, material or mental advantage over an adversary on land, sea, air, or even outer space or virtual space.

History[link]

Prehistoric[link]

An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.

Very simple weapon use has been observed among chimpanzees,^[1] leading to speculation that early hominids began their first use of weapons as early as five million years ago.^[2] These would have been wooden clubs, spears, and unshaped stones—none of which would leave an unambiguous record.

Some of the earliest unambiguous weapons were throwing sticks and spears dated to more than 300,000 years ago^[3][4][5][6]. The Schöninger Speere, eight wooden throwing spears from the Lower Paleolithic era, are thought to be the earliest known example of weapons used by the genus Homo.^[7]

Ancient and classical[link]

A four-wheeled ballista drawn by armored cataphract horses, c. 400.

Ancient weapons were evolutionary improvements of late neolithic implements, but then significant improvements in materials and crafting techniques created a series of revolutions in military technology:

The development of metal tools, beginning with copper during the Copper Age (about 3,300 BC) and followed shortly by bronze led to the Bronze Age sword and similar weapons.

The first defensive structures and fortifications appeared in the Bronze Age,^[8] indicating an increased need for security. Weapons designed to breach fortifications followed soon after, for example the battering ram was in use by 2500 BC.^[8]

Although early Iron Age swords were not superior to their bronze predecessors, once iron-working developed - around 1200 BC in Sub-Saharan Africa,^[9] iron began to be used widely in weapon production^[10] because iron ore was much more readily available than the copper and tin required to create bronze.

Domestication of the horse and widespread use of spoked wheels by ca. 2000 BC,^[11] led to the light, horse-drawn chariot. The mobility provided by chariots were important during this era.^{[citation needed]} Spoke-wheeled chariot usage peaked around 1300 BC and then declined, ceasing to be militarily relevant by the 4th century BC.^[12]

Cavalry developed once horses were bred to support the weight of a man . The horse extended the range and increased the speed of attack, but was not a weapon as much as it provided an enhanced capability.

Ships built as weapons or warships such as the Triremes were in use by the 7th century BC.^[13] These ships were eventually replaced by larger ships by the 4th century BC.

Middle Ages[link]

This picture shows medieval Indian weapons

Ancient Chinese cannon displayed in the Tower of London.

European warfare during the middle ages was dominated by elite groups of knights supported by massed infantry (both in combat and ranged roles). They were involved in mobile combat and sieges which involved various siege weapons and tactics. Knights on horseback developed tactics for charging with lances providing an impact on the enemy formations and then drawing more practical weapons (such as swords) once they entered into the melee. Whereas infantry, in the age before structured formations, relied on cheap, sturdy weapons such as spears and billhooks in close combat and bows from a distance. As armies became more professional their equipment was standardized and infantry transitioned to pikes.Pikes are normally eight to seven feet in length,in conjunction with smaller side-arms (short sword).

In Eastern and Middle Eastern warfare similar tactics were developed independent of European influences.

The introduction of gunpowder from the Far East at the end of this period revolutionized warfare. Formations of musketeers, protected by pikemen came to dominate open battles, and the cannon replaced the trebuchet as the dominant siege weapon.

Early modern[link]

The examples and perspective in this article or section might have an extensive bias or disproportional coverage towards one or more specific regions. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

The European Renaissance marked the beginning of the implementation of firearms in western warfare. Guns and rockets were introduced to the battlefield.

Firearms are qualitatively different from earlier weapons because they release energy from combustible propellants such as gunpowder, rather than from a counter-weight or spring. This energy is released very rapidly and can be replicated without much effort by the user. Therefore even early firearms such as the arquebus were much more powerful than human-powered weapons. Firearms became increasingly important and effective during the 16th century to 19th century, with progressive improvements in ignition mechanisms followed by revolutionary changes in ammunition handling and propellant. During the U.S. Civil War various technologies including the machine gun and ironclad warship emerged that would be recognizable and useful military weapons today, particularly in limited conflicts. In the 19th century warship propulsion changed from sail power to fossil fuel-powered steam engines.

The bayonet is used as both knife and polearm.

The age of edged weapons ended abruptly just before World War I with rifled artillery. Howitzers were able to destroy masonry fortresses and other fortifications. This single invention caused a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) and established tactics and doctrine that are still in use today. See Technology during World War I for a detailed discussion.

An important feature of industrial age warfare was technological escalation - innovations were rapidly matched through replication or countered by yet another innovation. The technological escalation during World War I (WW I) was profound, producing armed aircraft and tanks.

This continued in the inter-war period (between WW I and WW II) with continuous evolution of all weapon systems by all major industrial powers. Many modern military weapons, particularly ground-based ones, are relatively minor improvements of weapon systems developed during World War II. See military technology during World War II for a detailed discussion.

Modern[link]

The Vickers was the successor to the Maxim gun and remained in British military service for 79 consecutive years.

Since the mid-18th century North American French-Indian war through the beginning of the 20th century, human-powered weapons were reduced from the primary weaponry of the battlefield yielding to gunpowder-based weaponry. Sometimes referred to as the "Age of Rifles",^[14] this period was characterized by the development of firearms for infantry and cannons for support, as well as the beginnings of mechanized weapons such as the machine gun, the tank and the wide introduction of aircraft into warfare, including naval warfare with the introduction of the aircraft carriers.

World War I marked the entry of fully industrialized warfare as well as weapons of mass destruction (e.g. chemical and biological), and weapons were developed quickly to meet wartime needs. Above all it promised to the military commanders the independence from the horse and the resurgence in maneuver warfare through extensive use of motor vehicles. The changes that these military technologies underwent before and during the Second World War were evolutionary, but defined the development for the rest of the century.

World War II however, perhaps marked the most frantic period of weapons development in the history of humanity. Massive numbers of new designs and concepts were fielded, and all existing technologies were improved between 1939 and 1945. The most powerful weapon invented during this period was the atomic bomb, however many more weapons influenced the world in different ways.

Nuclear age and beyond[link]

Since the realization of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), the nuclear option of all-out war is no longer considered a survivable scenario. During the Cold War in the years following World War II, both the United States and the former Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race. Each country and their allied blocks continually attempted to out-develop each other in the field of nuclear armaments. Once the joint technological capabilities reached the point of being able to ensure the destruction of the entire planet (see Mutually Assured Destruction) then a new tactic had to be developed. With this realization, armaments development funding shifted back to primarily sponsoring the development of conventional arms technologies for support of limited wars rather than nuclear war.^[15]

Classification[link]

By user[link]

- what person or unit uses the weapon

• Personal weapons (or small arms) - designed to be used by a single person.
• Hunting weapon - primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport
• Infantry support weapons - larger than personal weapons, requiring two or more people to operate correctly.
• Fortification weapons - mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within a fortification. Usually high caliber.
• Mountain weapons - for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain. This includes modifications of existing weapons for paratroopers.
• Vehicle weapons - to be mounted on any type of combat vehicle.
• Railway weapons - designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.
• Aircraft weapons - carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other aerial vehicle.
• Naval weapons - mounted on ships and submarines.
• Space weapons - are designed to be used in or launched from space.

By function[link]

- the construction of the weapon and principle of operation

• Antimatter weapons (theoretical) would combine matter and antimatter to cause a powerful explosion.
• Archery weapons operate by using a tensioned string and bent solid to launch a projectile.
• Artillery are firearms capable of launching heavy projectiles over long distances, which can explode on impact.
• Biological weapons spread biological agents, causing disease or infection.
• Chemical weapons, poisoning and causing reactions.
• Energy weapons rely on concentrating forms of energy to attack, such as lasers or sonic attack.
• Explosive weapons use a physical explosion to create blast concussion or spread shrapnel.
• Firearms use a chemical charge to launch projectiles.
• Improvised weapons are common objects, reused as weapons, such as crowbars and kitchen knives.
• Incendiary weapons cause damage by fire.
• Non-lethal weapons are designed to subdue without killing.
• Magnetic weapons use magnetic fields to propel projectiles, or to focus particle beams.
• Mêlée weapons operate as physical extensions of the user's body and directly impact their target.
• Missiles are rockets which are guided to their target after launch. (Also a general term for projectile weapons).
• Nuclear weapons use radioactive materials to create nuclear fission and/or nuclear fusion detonations.
• Primitive weapons make little or no use of technological or industrial elements.
• Ranged weapons (unlike Mêlée weapons), target a distant object or person.
• Rockets use chemical propellant to accelerate a projectile
• Suicide weapons exploit the willingness of their operator to not survive the attack.
• Trojan weapons appear on face value to be gifts, though the intent is to in some way harm the recipient.

By target[link]

- the type of target the weapon is designed to attack

• Anti-aircraft weapons target missiles and aerial vehicles in flight.
• Anti-fortification weapons are designed to target enemy installations.
• Anti-personnel weapons are designed to attack people, either individually or in numbers.
• Anti-radiation weapons target sources of electronic radiation, particularly radar emitters.
• Anti-satellite weapons target orbiting satellites.
• Anti-ship weapons target ships and vessels on water.
• Anti-submarine weapons target submarines and other underwater targets.
• Anti-tank weapons are designed to defeat armored targets.
• Area denial weapons target territory, making it unsafe or unsuitable for enemy use or travel.
• Hunting weapons are civilian weapons used to hunt animals.
• Infantry support weapons are designed to attack various threats to infantry units.

Legislation[link]

The production, possession, trade and use of many weapons are controlled. This may be at a local or central government level and in some cases is governed by international treaty.

Examples of such controls include:

• The right of self-defense
• Knife legislation
• Air gun laws
• Gun law
• Arms trafficking laws
• Arms control treaties
• Space Preservation Treaty

See also[link]

• Arms industry
• List of martial arts weapons
• List of practice weapons
• Lists of weapons
• Riot control
• Toy weapon
• Weapon mount

References[link]

This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. You can help to improve it by introducing citations that are more precise.

Further reading[link]

• U.S.Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Improving the prospects for future international peace operations: workshop proceedings, OTA-BP-ISS-167, Washington DC, US Government Printing Office, September 1995
• Hind, Edward, My Magazine: Being a Series of Poems, Tales, Sketches, Essays, Orations, Etc.,: The Present Age - An oration J. and H. Clarke, London, 1860

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Weapon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Weapons

• Higgins Armory Museum
• Modern Firearms Encyclopedia
• Society of the Military Horse
• Pentagon plans cyber-insect army
• Weapon Systems
• Antique firearms
• Gladius Scholarly journal on Ancient and Medieval Weapons
• Modern Military Weapons
• Arms Weapons

Scott Adkins
Born	Scott Edward Adkins (1976-06-17) 17 June 1976 (age 36)
Occupation	Actor, martial artist
Years active	2001-present
Website
www.scottadkins.com

Scott Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is a martial artist and actor who is best known for playing Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing and Undisputed III: Redemption, Bradley Hume in Holby City and Ed Russell in Mile High. Adkins has also appeared in Dangerfield, Hollyoaks, The Tournament and many other TV series as well as many films.

Personal life[link]

Adkins was born in Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, England, into a family that for generations were butchers. He has an older brother, Craig. A natural athlete, Scott enjoyed a variety of sports as he grew up, but when he was ten years old, he accompanied his father and brother to the local Judo club, thus beginning an extensive association with various martial arts. Scott's great great grandmother was of Spanish descent.^[1]

Martial arts career[link]

At the age of fourteen, Scott went on to train in Tae Kwon Do under the instruction of Ron Sergiew with the T.A.G.B. After a few years he moved on to kickboxing under Anthony Jones. He is now a fully trained kickboxing Instructor for the P.K.A.. Adkins holds several black belts in Judo, Jujutsu and Wushu and has also trained in Karate, Ninjutsu and Muay Thai. He was also trained by Sharieff Muhammad, whom many say made him what he is today.

Acting career[link]

Scott enrolled in a drama class at Sutton Coldfield College. At the age of twenty-one, Scott was offered a place at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, however due to lack of funding Adkins was unable to complete the course.

His first professional break came when he was offered a role in a Hong Kong martial arts film called Extreme Challenge and found himself in the East for the first time. Scott got the chance to work with some of Hong Kong cinema’s leading action directors including Yeun Wo Ping, Cory Yeun, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan. Acting roles started to come in and he was offered a guest role in the BBC’s medical soap opera Doctors. Roles followed in the BBC’s EastEnders and City Central series, the Sky One comedy drama Mile High and a regular role in the BBC’s Holby City as Bradley Hume. Scott's first film leading role was in Isaac Florentine's Ninja released in 2009.

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Scott Adkins at the Internet Movie Database