Picking up from the last Sci-Fi Do Want, the Predator Shoulder Cannon, we continue on to another science fiction weapon that has plenty of style and coolness factor.
The Chainsword from Warhammer 40k has none of the elegance and sophistication of the Shoulder Cannon. But what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for with big buckets of spinning monomolecular-edged metal teeth.
The Chainsword is something of a Warhammer 40k icon. Simply put it is a large sword that has sharp metal teeth running around the outer edge of the blade, just like a chainsaw. When powered on, the Chainswords roars its angry buzzing across the battlefield, announcing the imminent separation of limbs from limb-owners.
To make it even more deadly (‘cause just strapping a chainsaw to a sword isn’t all that impressive in the 41st millennium), the edges of the teeth are sharpened to be monomolecular. That means that the very edge of the blade is *one molecule thick*, which makes it insanely sharp and able to cut through just about anything short of tank armor.
It’s a brutal weapon that won’t leave the victim with a nice clean cut. No, the Chainsword is going to rip your flesh to shreds as it grinds its way through whatever appendage that has been unfortunate enough to get in its way. Great spouts of blood is pulled from the wound by the whirring teeth, covering both attacker, victim and the general surrounding area in a layer of red (or whatever color blood the victim might have).
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| The Chainsword is all square corners and sharp teeth. Just what every defender of the Imperium needs |
Indeed, the Chainsword is a nasty and brutal weapon in a universe that is every bit as nasty and brutal.
And that is a big part of what is so great about the Chainsword. It epitomizes the very soul of the Warhammer 40k universe that I love so well. Warhammer 40k is a place of grim darkness and eternal war without hope. It’s so black and depressing that it would make Marilyn Manson seem like a Hello Kitty mascot.
The Chainsword is a brutal and ugly weapon, unrefined in the carnage it causes and used in desperate close quarter combat that encapsulates the struggle for survival that the Imperium of Man is constantly waging.
I don’t think it is necessarily the most interesting or even the coolest weapon of the Warhammer 40k universe, but its iconic status makes it more interesting and awesome than anything else from the 41st millennium, in my opinion.
It is when the Chainsword is paired with the power armor clad Space Marines that I think the weapon really comes into its own. These gene modified super humans are the elite soldiers of the Imperium. The Space Marines employ a great variety of weapons, but the Chainsword is a favorite for most of them, when there is melee fighting to be done.
Using one of these roaring blades, they carve great swathes of death through the enemy lines, leaving a trail of blood and semi chopped entrails in their wake. Playing through Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (one of the candidates for Sci-Fi Game of the Year) really made it apparent, just how terrifying a weapon of war the Chainsword is. Oh, and how much fun carving up Orks is!
Your friends may think that the Lightsaber is the coolest sci-fi blade out there. And sure, Lightsabers are pretty effing cool. But the Chainsword has a sense of grit and roughness that makes it a weapon of terror as soon as it is flicked on. Really, if you were going to get your arm cut off, would you prefer a nice clean and instantly cauterized slice from a Ligthsaber, or the horrible pain of spinning teeth burying themselves in your flesh and turning your shoulder into an improvised blood fountain?
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| The Chainsword covers all your Ork carving needs. Buy now and get 1 free! |
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