The Tanker Bugs are additional antagonists in the 1997 film, Starship Troopers.
These large bugs are the heavy ground force attack units (Tanks) possessing durable armor and a devastating Acid-Plasma projectile weapon which burns and disolves human flesh. Its movement is slow and steady and has the ability to tunnel under installations and break up thru the floor.
Rico defeats one with small arms fire while riding on its back, then dropping a grenade into the hole and jumping clear. Later in the film a tanker bug spits its acid-plasma at a drop ship as it takes off. The hot plasma also melts metals and plastics.
Appearance
The Tanker Bug resembles a huge black beetle. It ejects its payload of acid-plasma from a nozzle-like spout in the top of the head. The Tanker Bug has four main limbs and eight short but sturdy peg-limbs on the underside of its huge abdomen. Its head and thorax is encased in heavy black armor with a long black sheath covering its abdomen. Two Large green eyes can be seen on its head with two small dual-pointed apendages right below. Its nozzel spout lifts out of the top of its head when it fires. Aiming is done by repositioning its head for the correct spray angle.
Powers and Abilities
The Tanker Bug possess the following powers and abilities:
- Great durability from armor
- Stability from low center of gravity
- Steady and powerful ground locomotion
- Size advantage
- Depth perception assisted aiming
- Burning acid-plasma jet weapon
- Tunneling
- Barrier penetration (floors/walls/fences)
Vulnerability[]
- Concentrated small arms fire can penetrate the armor of the head and thorax
- Susceptable to explosive devices inserted into penetrated armor breech
- Susceptable to aerial bombardment
Fate
The Tanker Bugs killed in the film die by armor penetration followed by an explosive device (grenade) or by having a grenade thrown into its mouth and swallowing it. During scenes of large bug forces attacking multiple tanker bugs can be seen, surmising many of the class remain alive after the film ends.
Trivia
Starship Troopers Universe includes three feature films (1997, 2004 & 2008), two animated TV Shows and three animated full length movies (Starship Troopers 1988, Starship Troopers: Invasion 2012 & Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 2017)
- Of the Starship Troopers Universe only the original 1997 movie features significant tanker bug scenes.
- Casper Van Dien accidentally chipped two of his teeth with the butt of the Morita assault rifle prop during the tanker bug sequence.
- The tanker bug sequence was filmed in 3 days.
- Representing various generic elements of a war... the Warrior bug is a representation of mobile infantry, the Tanker bugs obviously are representational of WWII tanks, heavy artillery is represented in the plasma bugs and so on.
- Michael Ironside's character is missing an arm and later has both legs bitten off by a tanker bug.
- Tippett Studios' responsibilities didn't end with just the bugs and their animation. They also were tapped to create various particle effects, including the Tanker Bug's lethal spray.
- When Lt. Rasczak gets his legs bitten off by the tanker bug maybe a reference to what happened to Jehal the acting commander of the Roughnecks in the original novel.
- When the tanker bug first appears it has three pairs of big legs and a number of little ones. As the scene progresses one pair of big legs disappears.
- Though shown to be highly effective in previous scenes, the Troopers at Whiskey Outpost never use their oxygen nukes they carry. In addition, only once is a fragmentation grenade used - when Dizzy blows the head off a Tanker.
Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/trivia + https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/goofs
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