Arm Cannon

From The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project

An Arm Cannon is a type of large missile or energy weapon that is worn on (and sometimes replaces) the arm, usually covering it to at least the elbow. It is particularly popular in video games such as the Metroid series or the Mega Man series, and in the comic series "Teen Titans"

In the Metroid series the Arm Cannon worn by the bounty hunter Samus Aran shoots energy and missiles, as well as interfacing with various devices. The Arm Cannon's default weapon is the "Power Beam", but other energy beams can be obtained. In the Smash Bros. series Samus' arm cannon is limited to just the Power Beam and homing missiles.

In the Mega Man series, Mega Man and a number of other robots use the arm cannon. The weapon is typically referred to as a "buster". Mega Man's mega buster is called the "Mega Buster", and the upgraded version used by X (From Mega Man X) is accordingly termed the "X Buster". Mega Man's buster is capable of charging (except for the first three Mega Man Classic games) to fire a more powerful blast. Aside from this, the buster is notable for its ability to copy the powers of enemy bosses (changing Mega Man's color scheme in the process) and allowing the hero to use them.

In the comic book (and later cartoon) series Teen Titans, Cyborg has a sonic arm cannon.

In the game Metal Gear Solid (and its remake The Twin Snakes), the Cyborg Ninja carries a laser arm cannon.

In the computer game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Nod Cyborg units are outfitted with a large chaingun weapon, replacing their right arm, although the Commando variant is instead outfitted with a large plasma rifle.

Also, in the computer game Final Fantasy VII and later the film Advent Children, the character Barret Wallace has a weapon of this type. However, it is a machine gun rather than an energy cannon like Samus.

Copyright

"Original data received from Wikipedia on May 07, 2006. Credit given to original authors can be seen Here."