Finger Lick'n Good

by Ben

April 8, 2005

Shining Finger is probably one of the more obscure weapons in the Gundam universe. BY channeling heat and energy into a specially created hand, the mobile fighter/suit is able to destroy his opponents head, and win a battle according to the rules of the Gundam Fight. But how effective would it be in other combat situations? Surely in a real war, the head unit might contain the most able optics and communications but I would be surprised if it didn't contain backup and redundant equipment. Still, the Shining Finger is in my opinion, possibly the most effective and useful of the close range weapons in the Gundam universe.

Unlike a beam saber or other close range weapons such as Vulcan guns, Shining Finger allowed the Shining Gundam to use all of the dexterity of the pilot without compensation, and to do devastating damage to any portion of a mobile suit. Perhaps in combat against a mobile suit, where the head is not the most vulnerable, and the cockpit could be targeted. Shining Finger, which is able to generate intense heat and energy could rip through the surface armor of the mobile suit quite easily. Alternatively, the limbs or armaments of a mobile suit could be removed. What's more, the Shining Finger can also extend its energy into the Shining Finger Sword… technically extending the arm of the mobile suit and turning it into a pure energy weapon, much more powerful than a beam saber, since the entire weight and momentum of the suit could be put behind it.

Now this isn't exactly a new idea. It draws its fundamentals from the idea of any basic spiked glove or gauntlet, and in anime, the same type of weapon was in a way used by the SDF-1 Macross with its pinpoint shield system, using an energy field to protect the hand and arm and turn them into a weapon.

That all being said…. what are the hazards of Shining Finger?  How many times have you gone and seen something stupid happen to someone else, or someone said something ridiculous and you slapped yourself on the forehead? Mobile fighters mimic the movements of their pilots… so wouldn't that be really dangerous? What about if you had to itch or an injury? "Man… this bug bite is torture!"  As a big glowing Shining Finger slaps across your shoulder…. "Crap." And worse yet, what if you suddenly had a cramp in your leg? No stopping that reflex action you know.

Now in general, these things wouldn't happen, and certainly not to an experienced pilot, but I think these are all valid reasons to be concerned should a weapon of this type ever be actually developed.  I can see a situation where these types of weapons would be remotely operated, by a matrix or neural interface type control system. Wouldn't the pilot's natural instincts be extremely dangerous? The hands are the most used portion of the body. Any natural person unknowingly uses them for applications they are hardly aware of. While your opponent is going about his/her monologue, you're standing there, twiddling your thumbs when whoops! *SNAP* Your Shining Finger just became a finger snack. "mmm Shining finger...mmmmmm.." I know a lot of people snap their knuckles, I know I do, and it's bad enough for a human hand which is held together by skin and muscle. A mechanical hand on the other hand, you might just disjoint your digits. Whoops.

I can't think of anything else to say, except that in order for a weapon like that to be effective, which it has incredible potential for, skilled pilots with combat focus would be required. Otherwise, I can see the Shining Bird being the new call sign of the US Military.

<<back to Mecha Musings