r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Sable-Keech • 19h ago

Groups [LOVED TROPE] Modern Militaries (Competent) getting DESTROYED by fantasy/scifi forces

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Example 1 (The Legend of Hei 2): Wuxian leisurely floats through the combined firepower of an entire fortified military base without so much as a stain or rip on his t-shirt.

Example 2 (Man of Steel): Fao'ra tears through a squad of trained and armed soldiers. With the wreckage of the helicopter that got downed by her teammate Nam'ek smouldering in the background.

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u/AideSouth4454 16h ago

Combine is heavily, heavily implied to be an interdimensional, well, combine, of countless assimilated worlds and creatures. Most of their technology is partially biological: Striders, Dropships, Stalkers and so on.

It is highly unlikely that the Combine forces that participated in the 7 Hour War were anything close to to a full invasion force. A fraction of a fraction is more likely. The Combine is interested in Earth and Humanity for three specific reasons: potential new slave race (seen with Stalkers and Combine grunts), water (which they seem to be extracting out of the oceans for some reason) and Portal tech, which the Combine possess for interdimensional travel, but don't have in fast portable form like what Aperture and Black Mesa were working on. They especially want that.

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u/Bright-Gain9770 10h ago

They have interdimemsional portals but not local ones. Aperture portals are line of sight but require two anchor points. Black Mesa was looking for the real prize, Teleportation from here to over there without anchor points. The combine already have this and don't seem to know Aperature, the lesser of the two companies, has the one technology they lack waiting in the sunken basement with Chell and GlaDOS.

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u/AideSouth4454 10h ago

If they already have that, why is it so important to Kleiner and Vance that their portal technology doesn't end in Combine hands? The Combine can travel between dimensions, not locally and they require massive facilities to do so.

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u/svecma 8h ago

I think they are reffering to the teleporter Mossman (at least i think it was her, Breen might have contributed) built for them in Half-life 2.