69
votes
Accepted
Why does Serenity have a cannon in "Serenity"?
They attach it during Serenity, when they go into Reaver space.
During the final act of the Serenity film, the crew disguises Serenity as a Reaver ship, including attaching corpses to the hull and ...
- 37.6k
65
votes
Accepted
Why are turbolasers called "lasers" when they appear to be scaled-up blasters?
There's a nice description of how the turbolaser works in the Star Wars: Official Fact File #45. In essence, the technology uses lasers to energise the plasma which is then ejected at high speed ...
- 609k
63
votes
Accepted
What franchises are these weapons from?
1) Thundercats (Lion-O's Sword of Omens)
2) Zelda (Link's Master Sword)
3) Final Fantasy (Buster Sword)
4) Star Wars (Jedi lightsaber)
5) He-Man (He-Man's sword from Hasbro toys / Filmation ...
- 109k
61
votes
Why does no one take a fallen enemy's sword to sell it in Game of thrones?
The Focus on Highborns/Higher Social class
A Lord or an anointed knight would find looting corpses below them. They normally own a fortune so they do not need to sell swords from corpses.
Common ...
- 47.6k
60
votes
Accepted
How "realistic" is the way of holding star trek phasers?
Having been paid to shoot and teach shooting for several years...
As Tritium21 points out, very much about the way we handle projectile weapons is based on two things:
The stability and intuitive ...
- 1,788
58
votes
Is there a difference between Narsil and Anduril?
There's an old philosophical problem called the Ship of Theseus, or Theseus's Paradox. It talks about a ship that was preserved by the people of Athens as a cultural relic; over time, they took away ...
- 15.6k
54
votes
If PPGs don't penetrate metal, why didn't people use armour in Babylon 5?
They did.
In the very first pilot episode, The Gathering, Sinclair and Garibaldi suit up in black padded vests when going after the changeling net assassin. Garibaldi takes a PPG hit directly to the ...
- 34.1k
54
votes
Accepted
Can goblins or orcs see the light Sting gives off?
Yes. In this passage from The Hobbit, chapter IV, the goblins can clearly see Orcrist and Glamdring. Sting was of the same make, so there is no reason to believe that its light would be any different....
- 1,610
48
votes
Accepted
Why don't they use dragonglass sword?
Dragonglass, if it is like our obsidian, would be too brittle to make classical swords. But that does not mean that they are limited to arrowheads, spears (by the way, the first picture seems to show ...
- 8,191
46
votes
Accepted
Will Ezra's lightsaber revolutionize dueling?
No. According to Star Wars Insider #154, you need to disengage the blade in order for the battery pack to power the blaster. Your lightsaber duel would last about four seconds and then you'd get your ...
- 609k
45
votes
Accepted
Are the shields and hull of the USS Enterprise-D capable of withstanding a direct nuclear strike?
They would survive with very little damage. Especially if the sheilds were up, but they could probably take it even without that.
Though I'm having trouble finding the numbers on how much force ...
- 23.9k
44
votes
Do Stormtroopers ever use the sights of their E-11 blaster rifles?
This is from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In the video of this scene (0:14), we can clearly see this particular stormtrooper (circled in red) aim down the sight and fire at Han:
- 109k
43
votes
How "realistic" is the way of holding star trek phasers?
Having fired a weapon is not a prerequisite to answer this question. Shooting stance (with real firearms) aids in aiming and compensating for recoil. Phasers, on the other hand, have no recoil, and ...
- 4,373
42
votes
Do Stormtroopers ever use the sights of their E-11 blaster rifles?
Since you've asked for any medium, the most unambiguous way to confirm that stormtroopers used their sights is using a video game.
Here's a gif (taken from 2:14 of this Youtube video) of a cold ...
Null♦
- 67.8k
42
votes
Accepted
Do Stormtroopers ever use the sights of their E-11 blaster rifles?
During the Battle of Endor:
And of course, this guy shot Artoo.
I originally did not include this shot that hit Leia, because I feel it is ambiguous whether the scope is in use or not.
- 4,367
40
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't Jayne use Vera in Serenity's climax?
He did (kinda)
According to the film's official novelisation (written in consultation with Joss Whedon and with access to the original screenplay), Vera ran out of bullets. Jayne tossed her aside and ...
- 609k
40
votes
Accepted
If PPGs don't penetrate metal, why didn't people use armour in Babylon 5?
PPGs aren't common, which is why people don't wear body armor that often.
As the audience, we often see them, but that's because our perspective follows the staff and crew of Babylon 5 around. They ...
- 4,146
39
votes
Accepted
What happened to the Lassiter?
This is addressed in the film's official novelisation. In short, they sold it and used the funds to upgrade the Serenity.
This [The Serenity] was Mal's pride and joy. A while back, they got their ...
- 609k
36
votes
Accepted
When and why did the shape of Captain America's shield change?
From Elongated Triangle to Kite-shape shield
I cannot find any in-universe reason as to why this occurred, but out-of-universe I can.
Apparently the original sketch of Captain America came to the ...
- 68.1k
35
votes
Accepted
What werewolf hunter uses this equipment (crossbow and hat)?
This seems to be most closely based on Gabriel Van Helsing from the 2004 movie Van Helsing who was a hunter who was also a werewolf (he hunted Vampires and other monsters generally, tho)
- 12.5k
35
votes
Accepted
TV series episode about using oxygen in space suit helmet to fire gun
This is the Firefly episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" as per this entry about Jayne's gun Vera:
In the TV series' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds", "Vera", Jayne's powerful ...
- 186k
33
votes
Accepted
What is the weapon that Yondu wields in Guardians of the Galaxy?
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Earth-19999, Yondu Udonta uses a sidearm called the Yaka Arrow. Partially cybernetically controlled, partially guided by a series of whistles. A formidable weapon, it'...
- 210k
33
votes
Why don't survivors in the Walking Dead use spears?
They do.
In season 4 (when they're in the prison), spears (or at least long(ish) pointy things) are used to spike walkers through the fence.
Remember, a spear doesn't need to be thrown to be an ...
- 3,975
32
votes
Scifi short story where all citizens are armed (golden age)?
It's a novel rather than a short story, but that sounds exactly like Beyond this Horizon by Robert Heinlein.
The novel depicts a world where genetic selection for increased health, longevity, and ...
- 1,663
31
votes
Accepted
Why do blaster bolts move slower than the speed of light?
Originally, blasters were intended to be lasers. For example, in the Episode IV script the opening scene is described as so:
A tiny silver spacecraft, a Rebel Blockade Runner firing lasers from the ...
Null♦
- 67.8k
31
votes
Why doesn't Jayne use Vera in Serenity's climax?
This is largely speculation, but based on canon appearances:
Vera may have been ill-suited for killing Reavers
All guns are not created equal, and not every task will call for the same kind of gun. ...
- 37.6k
28
votes
Will Ezra's lightsaber revolutionize dueling?
Ezra's lightsaber's design would have changed the rules of lightsaber combat, but not enough to save the Old Republic. Your idea, however, is potentially enough to save the Old Republic.
There is a ...
- 33.8k
27
votes
Accepted
What franchises are these weapons and objects from?
The Tetriminos - Tetris
Power ring - Green Lantern (DC Comics)
The One Ring - Lord of the Rings
Pokeball - Pokemon
Batarang - Batman (DC Comics)
Noisy Cricket - Men in Black
Green Koopa shell - Mario
...
- 158k
26
votes
Why does Serenity have a cannon in "Serenity"?
According the the film's official novelisation, the cannon belonged to the community of Haven where it was used as a civilian defence tool;
Sadly, the town proved a powerful reminder to Mal of Lilac—...
- 609k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible