Films: Starship Troopers (1997), Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)

Alias: Warriors, Hoppers, Tankers, Plasma Bugs, Brain Bugs, Arkellian Sand Beetles (Chariot Bugs), Controllers, Controller Carriers, Scorpion Bugs, Bombardier Bugs, Behemecoatyl

Type: Alien

Location: Desert/Civilized Area

Height/Weight: Ranges from that of rats (Controllers) to that of entire worlds (Behemecoatyl).

Affiliation: Neutral, leaing on Evil

Summary: If there's one thing I think we can all agree on, it's that excessive military violence can only result in bloodshed, grief, and major distrust in the greater powers. It is wrong to send all these misguided people to die for what amounts to more power for the wealthy elite. But this is a trilogy about an army who tried in vain to repel a menace bent on expanding their empire at all costs, and the sacrifices made to do so. The Federation of man...is not this army.

History: Mostly found on the planet Klendathu, the Arachnids are a diverse insectoid race of ever-expanding power that mostly keep to themselves. That all changed when either they started a major intergalactic war, or we did. Judging by the feverish delight most people in this film unironically get from anything about the military, and the copious amounts of propaganda, it's more than likely we did. So now humanity and the Arachnids are locked in a seemingly endless conflict with both sides getting a leg up over the over at different points.

Notable Kills: How the brain bug eats. You see for yourself.

Final Fate: Although the war is apparently still raging on, the humans appear to be on the winning team. This was especially apparent when we took out the God of all Arachnids, Behemecoatyl. Maybe the bugs will permanently turn the tide someday, but for now, it's all going to mankind. If you ignore the sequels (and believe us, you're missing nothing), then humanity is getting desperate FOR NOTHING. All it takes is just for them to back down already!

Powers/Abilities: The Arachnids rarely feel pain, so they can push through almost every obstacle. The plasma bugs can fire concentrated energy from their rears, the tankers can fire corrosive napalm from their antennae, the brain bug can absorb brains to gain intellect, the controllers can manipulate people to do their bidding, the scorpion bugs can fire lasers from their stingers, and the bombardier can explode at any time.

Weakness: Anything conventional.

Scariness Factor: 4.5-Hordes and hordes and hordes of unique and deadly monsters coming at you. They may not have started this war, but they are pretty damn capable of ending it. They all have a vast assortment of ways to absolutely murder you, but for us, it's the humble warrior class that gets to us. They are the most numerous, can stand up to eye level with you, and look like walking swiss army knives.

Trivia: -The differences between the first film and Robert A. Heinlein's original novel are no accident. The director absolutely abhorred the book's implied message that war was glorious, so he intentionally rewrote the script so that it would be a whole lot more satirical of that mindset. Sadly, the film's inherent cheesiness and over-reliance on action sequences made most people dismiss most of what he was trying to say.

-This film got a short-lived TV series and a couple of spin-offs. All of which were animated (not to their detriment, but it certainly started to drift from the film's original purpose).