Starship Troopers may appear to be your typical action-packed sci-fi film, but it is so much more beneath the surface. This gem of a film by Paul Verhoeven has earned cult status among fans since its premiere in 1997.
Many critics first panned the film because they didn’t see the social commentary hidden beneath the gratuitous violence and subpar acting performances. People have come to comprehend Verhoeven’s veiled warning of a dystopian future that awaits us if the world continues to function as it does today after considerable analysis over the years.
The film was based on Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction novel of the same name, however the work was widely panned for advocating fascism. The film version, on the other hand, is fully opposed to any form of dictatorship or military rule, and uses well-crafted comedy to attack these ideas.
It’s been said that Starship Troopers, like Verhoeven’s prior films like Robocop, was simply another critique of US militarism. The director is claimed to have attempted to convey the harsh truth of where the United States may be headed in the future through artistic decisions such as the usage of Nazi-style uniforms.
The film’s ostensibly adversaries, the Arachnids or just aggressive extraterrestrial bugs, were not the aggressors. The film simply asked the crucial question: who was the true villain? Was it the colonialist, expansionist humans or the self-defeating bugs who caused the problem? While the answer is up to you to find out, we’ll walk you through a detailed investigation of some of the movie’s most lethal bugs in this video.
Warrior Bug
The most prevalent soldier in the army of the Arachnid species was this bug. The Warrior insect was deployed on every frontas general-purpose troops since it could multiply far quicker than the other species. They lacked the specialised that the other bugs have.
These animals were roughly two to three metres long and could camouflage and blend in with their environment. The desert warrior bugs, for example, were tan with black and yellow stripes, and they had little spikes all throughout their abdomen region during the Mars invasion.
Their quick adaptability allowed the Warrior Bugs to survive various harsh conditions and even in vacuum, which meant that they could launch surprise attacks on the Federation forces by lurking in the vacuum of space to outflank them.
The creature’s front legs were shorter than their long rear legs, which helped them in primary movements. These bugs were fast and agile and were capable of climbing or burrowing through various surfaces.
Their powerful pincer-like extensions could crush materials as hard as a rock or a metal. Their upper forelegs were like deadly swords that they used to attack their enemies. Given their tall stature, the bugs could use their slashing and stabbing moves to good effect in this way, destroying their opponents with ease.
Their tough exoskeleton was hard to penetrate even with extreme firepower, and given the large number used in attack, they often managed to deal devastating blows to the human forces.
These bugs were so durable that they could fight even after losing their limbs, and the only sure-shot way to kill them was to hit their nerve stem. When the Federation Forces invaded Klendathu, the homeland of the Arachnids, the Battle of Klendathu saw them slaughter their attackers, causing massive casualties.
They were more than mindless infantry, too, employing cunning tactics against humans in the Second Bug War, battling the US Federation, who had more advanced weaponry. The bugs enticed the troopers into an ambush, and they even cleared minefields by detonating the bombs.
From the movies to the video games, the warrior bugs appeared in practically every chapter of Starship Troopers. Although their appearance varies in different variations, their terrible, homicidal nature remains the same.
Brain Bug
The brain bugs were the brains behind the warrior bugs, who were the useful foot soldiers. These bugs were in charge, and they were the colony’s leaders. They were a rare species of arachnid, barely self-sufficient and reliant on labourers and warriors for survival.
They possessed swollen bodies that mostly consisted of a massive nerve system, and their non-functional legs made it difficult for them to walk about. They did, however, play an important part in the operation of their colonies, directing the Arachnid armies at their disposal to eliminate the human foes.
While the Brain Bugs were completely defenseless, they had a high-pitched scream that could burst the blood vessels in a human head if heard in close quarters. These slug-like bugs were rather obese and had to be carried around by the Chariot Bugs.
They hadfleshy mouths and numerous eyes on their head, which resembled that of a spider. The sharp proboscis protruding from its mouth could be used to consume the knowledge from the minds of other beings, and their mouths were designed such that they could penetrate straight into the brain.
All captured human soldiers were brought to the brain bug,so that they could learn the secrets of their enemies. Another special power of the brain bug was the intense telepathic powers that allowed it to control the colony.
They were so vital to the Arachnids’ survival that they were constantly tightly guarded. If they were ever attacked, the bugs would stop attacking the adversary and instead focus on getting the brain bug to safety.
If the brain bug is destroyed, the entire colony will become insane and turn on one another, resulting in their defeat. The United Citizen Federation was first unaware of this leader bug, and it was only after the terrible battle of Klendathu that they discovered the danger they posed.
Arkellian Sand Beetle
Humans were unaware for a long time that the Arkellian Sand Beetle was also a form of beetle, first mistaking them for a completely different species. It wasn’t until they saw them with other bugs that they knew what they were. The Arkellian Sand Beetle, unlike some of the other dangerous and intelligent bugs on this list, is not very terrifying.
They were more of a lower working class and ranked low in the bug hierarchy. The low rank didn’t affect these creatures because they had no ego and acted as altruistic members of society. Nonetheless, the ability of the beetle to reproduce in enormous numbers was a valuable resource for the Arachnids.
Their specific function and purpose is never clearly mentioned, but we it can be said that they are never seen directly engaging in combat. It is certain that these bugs were not fighters and could only serve in supporting roles during the war. In the early stages of the war, when the existence of these bugs was discovered, they didn’t seem very important.
Later, schools used them for dissection and experimentation purposes, helping the humans gain a better understanding of the bugs. The beetles were also called Chariot Bugs,as they were sometimes used to carry the brain bug around.
The Arkellian Sand Beetles featured in the original Starship Troopers film and also in the comic strip titled Starship Troopers: Dominant Species. There has even been mention of this particular bug in the video game called Starship Troopers: Terrain Ascendancy.
Jungle Spider
These monstrous bugs got their name from Earthly spiders, to which they bear a striking likeness. The Jungle Spiders were undoubtedly one of the deadliest Arachnid species mankind had to contend with, and they were also remarkably intelligent.
Their armoured body had the physiological look of a crab, and they were protected by a strong, robust shell. These creatures possessed eight eyes and, thanks to their muscular legs, could jump to enormous heights and across vast distances. The pincers around their jaws were extremely dangerous and could kill their prey with a single bite.
What made these spiders such a serious threat was their ability to launch surprise attacks from the trees. Their agility ensured that the attacks were quick and effective, and the strategies adopted pointed to their smart thinking.
The Jungle Spiders could shoot a sticky web-like substance from their abdomen, which would cocoon their enemies so they could be consumed later. Even without immediately killing the enemy, it would immobilize them!
There were two types of this bug, one much larger than the other. The larger Jungle Spider could endure severe weapon fire and was even deadlier than the usual variant. The spiders were often seen taking on the mobile infantry forces on the battlefield, the first encounter coming during the Tesca Campaign.
A single large Jungle Spider was seen fighting the Roughnecks, cocooning various troopers at speed. These bugs featured in the CGI animated series titled Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles,a project for which Paul Verhoeven served as the executive producer.
Kamikaze Ripplers
These extraterrestrial bugs were a multi-talented species that could fly as well as swim underwater. As you might have guessed from the name, these bugs are capable of launching suicide Kamikaze attacks.
While they have some resemblance to the Hopper Bug, ripplers are distinguished by their ability to discharge spikes from their mouth. These were a more explosive version of the Hopper Bug, as they could devastate opposing forces by exploding on cue like grenades. Their spikes were tipped with corrosive venom that could burn skin and even ruin crucial machinery.
This unique species of flying bug could launch a sudden attack after lurking underwater to ambush an enemy. They were equally effective in the air to air combat, and their winning strategies rendered their opponents helpless. One of the common tactics employed by the Kamikaze Ripplers was to gather around in large numbers and shoot spikes constantly at the enemy.
These bugs featured in the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles series, in which the Arachnid army used their explosive nature to a good effect. They were more akin to aerial bombers, capable of striking infantry units on the move and catching them off guard.
Even though the Battle of Hesperus resulted in a resounding Federation victory, they played an important role. The Kamikaze Ripplers were eventually eliminated, but not before causing significant damage to Federation forces.
These problems were also found in the 2005 Starship Troopers video game, in addition to the TV show! As if the land varieties weren’t deadly enough, they introduced a flying form of the bugs. The kamikaze ripplers were easily one of the toughest adversaries that the humans had to face.
Control Bug
The Control bugs were little, but don’t be deceived by their size; they were capable of causing serious damage to their foes. After killing their human hosts, these bugs would take possession of their bodies and manipulate them to act as puppets for the Arachnids.
These bugs were no bigger than a human hand in size, according to their appearance in the Starship Troopers Chronicles. They would cling to their host’s spinal cord and serve as a telepathic channel for the Brain Bugs.
Individually, the Control Bugs posed no serious threat and have essentially no offensive capabilities, but they had the potential to be destructive in the long run. Also, their agility and small size meant that they weren’t the easiest to hit with weapons.
The film universe showed a different modus operandi for the Control Bugs. They would enter the human body through cavities like the mouth and then head straight for the brain to control the mind. It was hard to tell their impact initially because the victim would show no symptoms, and then their health would steadily deteriorate.
No clear symptoms have been specified, but the victims were seen to sink to a generally unhealthy state,garnering skin colorations and giving off body odour. The Control Bugs exhibited total power over their hosts, and later spread their offspring to further the process.
Their attacks were coordinated and well planned. For instance, when they attacked General Jack Shepherd, the plan was to spread the infection to the leaders of the Federation, thereby hampering the army’s fighting ability.
After Shepherd was infected, he adopted an elitist attitude, a far cry from the compassionate leader that he used to be! The idea to introduce such a bug, that could corrode the minds of its host, was a masterstroke, striking fear in the hearts of the audience.
Tanker Bug
The Tanker Bug could be considered the most physically powerful bug in the Arachnid horde. The term comes from the fact that this huge beetle-like creature was built like a tank! It was ten to eleven feet tall and was twice as long as a human. Tanker Bugs had six strong legs that helped them carry their massive bodies around.
Even with regular firing, their bodies were encased in extraordinarily resistant plates that were difficult to penetrate. As a result, they were extremely difficult to eliminate, and they were capable of annihilating entire platoons of the humans’ Mobile Infantry.
The tanker bugs were mostly used as armored assault units that could devastate the enemy armies with their swift destruction. Their massive bodies could crush and roll over human soldiers, and they could also spew a corrosive fluid on their enemies, simply melting the humans if it struck them.
However, there was one chink in their armor, no, these bugs were not entirely invincible. There were slight gaps between their armor plates, and these could be sought out to cause them some serious damage. We have also observed that the Tanker Bugs were vulnerable to heavy explosives.
A very effective tactic in dealing with this monstrous bug was to somehow get on top of it and shoot the area behind its head. Through the hole, a grenade could be lodged inside, and after the soldier jumped off the bug, and the creature would die from the explosion.
These enormous bugs were seen in the Starship Troopers movieand also the TV series Starship Troopers Chronicles. Their sheer size and strength were pretty intimidating and helped us better understand the true power of the Arachnids.
Hopper Bug
The Tanker Bug could be considered the most physically powerful bug in the Arachnid horde. The term comes from the fact that this huge beetle-like creature was built like a tank! It was ten to eleven feet tall and was twice as long as a human. Tanker Bugs had six strong legs that helped them carry their massive bodies around.
Even with regular firing, their bodies were encased in extraordinarily resistant plates that were difficult to penetrate. As a result, they were extremely difficult to eliminate, and they were capable of annihilating entire platoons of the humans’ Mobile Infantry.
If you remember the attack on the Whiskey Outpost, where the Roughnecks were ambushed by thousands of bugs, you know the vicious nature of the Hopper Bug! There is this unforgettable scene where the bugs picked off the Roughnecks Sergeant when they found him alone.
The Hopper Bugs provided air support for this effort,with dozens attacking the Federation troops. They might not have been the hardest to kill, but their sudden attacks resulted in many casualties among the Federation forces. These bugs were seen in the original Starship Troopers movie and also the video game version that was released in 2005.
Plasma Bug
One thing that stood out when the bugs assaulted the Federation troops was their unusual cooperation. One of the better examples of this is the Plasma Bug, which cleverly concealed its flaws throughout the scheduled strikes.
When it came to protecting their planet, this beetle species served as ground artillery and air defence, and they were particularly good at long-range bombardments. They were, however, unable to travel faster than a speed of less than 2 kilometres per hour. As a result, they were always coupled with Warrior Bug packs to assure their safety.
The Plasma Bug is about twenty meters in height and thirty meters long. These massive bugs weighed over seven tons and were capable of launching intense plasma blasts. The force of these blasts was so intense that they could fly beyond the orbit of the planet and hit interstellar targets.
This force was strong enough to slice a starship in half and could deflect asteroids! Besides their awesome firepower, they also had the ability to spew hot plasma, much like the Tanker Bug, and they could deliver a powerful bite if an enemy got too close. They did have their shortcomings,and their strength became their weakness in some cases.
The high-intensity plasma bursts could cause damage to the nearby Arachnids if used in close quarters, and hence their only utility was in long-range attacks. Another vulnerabilityfor these creatures was that when they were creating a plasma burst, they left open a wide blind spot from which they could be attacked. Despite such weaknesses, these carnivorous bugs were useful components in the defense system of the Arachnids.
Scorpion Bug
A Scorpion Bug looks like a giant scorpion. These monsters were ferocious and proved to be quite a challenge for the human forces. Their major power was their crazy armour, which rendered them bulletproof. Human rifle fire and other standard weaponry couldn’t pierce the heavy armour, allowing this slow-moving monster to smash the opponents slowly yet effectively.
The Scorpion Bug stood at over six meters high and thirteen meters long. Their mobility was restricted to about ten km/hour, but the plasma fire that they could shoot from their bodies traveled fast enough to devastate the enemy. They also had some deadly pincers to strike lethal blowsat their opponents.
Such a beastly structure wasn’t bothered by its low agility, acting instead as a silent assassin that steadily crushed its opponents. This particular bug was seen in the movie Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and was used during the Second Bug War. Later, it was also spotted in the Battle of Roku San.
Due to a shortage of funds, this bug was completely handled by puppeteers, with only the sting explosion being animated! We wish this fearsome fighter had been depicted more accurately, but its existence did add some intrigue to the plot.
Bombardier Bug
You have a bug that functions similarly to a grenade! The Bombardier bug could be thrown at the enemy by an unknown source, and it would self-destruct, causing serious damage. This bug, also known as the Kamikaze Bombardier, was seen in two states: an open self-destructive state and a closed state where it was fired.
Among the several species depicted in the Starship Troopers film series, this was the tiniest bug. They were only ten to fifteen cm long, but they were a powerful weapon that could strike the enemy even when they thought they were safe in their trenches.
One of the first appearances of the Bombardier Bug came during the Battle of Roku San. The bugs attacked the Military Assistance Base, and prior to their attack, the Bombardier Bugs were launched into the human trenches.
This caused the troopers to panic; a trulychaotic moment for their forces. The subsequent explosions were strong enough to cause significant damage, proving that it was quite handy for the other bugs to have such a living grenade-like specimen in their arsenal.
We saw this particular bug in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, and the idea was probably inspired by a real-life bug known as a Pill bug, which can roll into a ball. In the game version, these bugs would detonate near the player and reduce the life force!
God Bug
This super insect appeared in both sequels to the original Starship Troopers film. The origins of the great God Bug have remained a mystery, and even the United Citizens Federation was unaware of its existence.
Only after capturing a Brain Bug did they get a smell of a supreme one among the Arachnids. The bug was a massive organism with deep roots in the planet’s surface where it was launched. The God Bug has multiple appendages beneath the surface that it could utilise to assault unsuspecting prey.
The God Bug also created fissures all over the planet, and anyone who stepped into one of these was a goner. It is the supreme leader among the Arachnids, and we don’t know for sure whether there were more than one of these creatures. It did have a few similarities with the brain bug but it was definitely higher up in the hierarchy.
It had a mouth covered in tentacles that could be used to consume the knowledge and memories of other organisms, just like the brain bug. The God Bug was called the Behemecoatyl, and it could extend its head from the ground if required.
When the starship crashed into planet OM-1, they realized that a large part of the planet was actually the God Bug. In the movies Starship Troopers 2 and 3, we saw a few examples of the might of the God Bug, as it unleashed the armies of Warrior bugs and others onto the Federation forces.
Queen Bug
Among the Arachnids, the Queen Bug was yet another very clever bug that served as a leader. The queen of a colony, who ranked high among the bugs, was charged with the essential task of procreation.
Because she was so vital to the protection and survival of their whole species, the Federation was kept in the dark about her existence. It’s possible that there are numerous queens throughout the galaxy, and it’s unclear whether any survived the bugs’ defeat!
Although the Warrior Bugs were able to multiply, it’s likely that the Queen produced more dangerous bugs like the Plasma Grenadier Bug and Chaser Bugs, as well as being able to breed quicker than the Warriors. She could lay as many as one thousand eight hundred eggs per day!
One Queen Bug was a crucial character in the Starship Troopers novel, and later, we saw her in the Rough: Starship Troopers Chronicles and the animated and game versions. There have been cases where the other bugs have killed the queen bug rather than allow her to be captured by the troopers.
As seen in the Starship Troopers Chronicles, the Queen Bug had a large beak-like mouth and a crowned head, somewhat like a Warrior Bug. She also had two larger limbs and two smaller ones and six tiny legs to move around on. The Queen Bug has been shown to be pretty intelligent, and there have been situations where she held hostages in order to protect herself.
She was always heavily guarded, with the Royal Guard Bug in charge of her protection. The idea to introduce such a motherly figure among the bugs was a smart one,opening up a huge number of new storylines and mythology to explore.
Zander Barcalow
We thought we’d throw in one entry on this list that was a little unusual, just to give you a break from all the bug chatter. Zander Barcalow was a pilot for the United Citizen Federation and was not one of the arachnids, at least not at first.
He served as a lieutenant on the Rodger Young until it was sunk. We know Johnny Rico as the protagonist from the first film, and Barcalow as his competitor, with the two vying for Carmen Ibanez’s attention. Barcalow later trained Ibanez on that spaceship, and things were fine until they crashed into Planet P.
Their spaceship was hit by a plasma burst, and Zander and Carmen were forced to abandon ship after the crash. They were immediately attacked by a horde of Warrior Bugs, but they fought them bravely.
However, soon they were stabbed and dragged down, and a Brain Bug impaled Zander in order to consume his brain. Wait, we did promise a twist! Zander was transformed into a bug later, becoming the troublesome Imposter Bug.
Imposter Bug
We hear you asking, “What is an Imposter Bug?” When Nurser Spiders injected Zander’s blood into Arachnid flux larvae, this species was born. They were about the same size and shape as humans, and they were able to compress their bodies to fit within the stolen power suits. They might then enter opposing lines and inflict significant damage.
The swift and lethal Imposter Bug first appeared during the Klendathu Campaign, when the Roughnecks were attacked by these dangerous animals. They proved to be a major menace to the forces, but a desperate soldier was able to outrun them despite their speed.
Watching Zander spawn the Imposter Bug was quite a moving experience, using a leading character to procreate a deadly bug that went on to be quite a trouble for the Federation.