- "I should never have written all of those tank programs."
- ―Kevin Flynn[src]
| |
| Tank | |
| Data | |
| Vehicle Type | Tracked armored combat vehicle |
| Source | Persistent |
| Armaments | Tank Arrow |
| Crew | 1 Command 1 Driver 1 Gunner |
| Users | Clu Clu 2 Tank Programs Anon Beta Core |
| Behind the scenes | |
| Appearances | TRON TRON 2.0 TRON: Evolution TRON: Legacy TRON: Uprising TRON RUN/r TRON: Catalyst |
| Gallery | |
The Tank, also known as a Light Tank, are armored fighting vehicle in the computer world, mainly used by military-security programs and hacker programs. Tanks are seen in every subcategory of the TRON franchise, and are one of very few, if not the only, vehicles in the system that did not undergo drastic changes in the design. The basic structure is almost exactly the same in 2010 as in 1982, a rarity in the Tron system.
Characteristics
A tank's main (perhaps only) weapon is the large cannon mounted on its turret. The cannon rotates 360° and can be raised and lowered for ranged shots. Although tanks can fire vertically, as seen when taking down recognizers in point-of-view shots in TRON, it has never been shown how the turret is capable of being raised to a 90° angle. Tanks are able to fire a powerful chevron of energy which can destroy vehicles and terrain.
Tanks are not very fast, as light cycles can normally outrun them. Their weight also makes them slow to respond to controls, ponderous and difficult to turn or stop. However, light cycles and airborne recognizers cannot withstand the powerful energy projectiles that tanks fire at enemies.
Each tank holds up to three operators: a driver, a gunner, and a command program also handling communications. While three programs are a normal tank crew (especially for military operations), a single operator can also manage a tank alone, especially for hacking purposes.
Tanks in the ENCOM system can be distinguished by their tread color. Like recognizers, tanks tend to adjust their circuitry color to match that of their crew.
Tanks in TRON: Uprising possess a second set of adjustable treads which can be used to raise and lower the body of the tank for greater mobility. These tanks are repaired and maintained via mechanics' access to their code.
History
TRON
Tanks were featured in the ENCOM arcade game Space Paranoids, designed by Kevin Flynn. They were controlled by the player, and also served as enemies. Flynn regularly played the game at his arcade, breaking his own record. On the other side of the screen, Flynn's program, Clu, piloted a light tank, and destroyed several recognizers before his capture. Light tanks later pursued Flynn, Ram, and Tron as they escaped from the Game Grid, despite the loss of one tank which was knocked off a cliff when another failed to brake in time. Eventually, a tank shot two of the escapees down as they crossed a bridge, destroying their light cycles and fatally injuring Ram.
Later, as Flynn was controlling a Recognizer, he accidentally tore a bridge apart with one of the legs of the Recognizer, a Tank was conveniently on the bridge and fell below as the bridge was broken apart, the driver was presumably killed once they Tank fell to the ground.
TRON 2.0
Tanks make a brief appearance as a foil to the main protagonist, Jet Bradley. They shoot at Jet while he attempts to activate a platform that will help him escape from them. The tanks are considered "read-only," computer jargon meaning that they cannot be derezzed. They are enemies only and cannot be operated by players.
TRON: Evolution (PSP)
Tanks were used in the Game Arena tournament in a game which combatants had to fire at their enemy multiple times in order to defeat them. Clu had his own personal Light Tank, he used this Light Tank in order to battle the soon to be winner of the Game tournament, Beta, in a tank game, but Beta won the game and successfully defeated Clu in the game, Beta hopped out of his tank after the game ended, and was praised for winning.
TRON: Evolution
Anon not only faced tanks as enemies, but on some occasions, he could drive them. In these occurances, he blasted his way through recognizers, sentries, and other tanks to get from one location to the other.
TRON: Uprising
Beck's Beginning
Tanks were regularly seen as part of the Occupation patrolling Argon City.
Price of Power
General Tesler's tank.
The programs at Able's garage built a special, enormous tank for General Tesler. The tank was severely damaged, however, when a Recognizer crashed into it shortly after its completion.
We Both Know How This Ends
An attempt by Beck to sabotage Tesler's tank fleet was initially successful when the tank cannons glitched and could not be fired; however, the tanks were debugged by Able's garage crew under threat of being sent to the Games.
TRON: Legacy
Tanks could be seen patrolling the streets of Tron City, and later in the forward hanger bay of the Rectifier as part of Clu's invasion force.
Flynn Lives
Back in the real world, light tanks continued to make money for ENCOM with the continued popularity of Space Paranoids and its internet counterpart, Space Paranoids Online.
TRON: Catalyst
In the Arq Grid, Core has developed its own Light Tanks for combat use, appearing in black with orange circuitry, reflecting the circuitry color of Core.
Trivia
- The interior of the tank was a complex set with a rotating chair and cockpit. It was one of the few sets in TRON where camera movement was allowed to be shot, as the background was very simplistic to animate.
- Purchasing the TRON Apartment in Sony's PlayStation Home for PlayStation 3 allows players to drive an RC version of this tank.
- In TRON: Evolution for PSP, tanks can be rezzed from a baton.
- Tank crews in TRON reflect the original coloring intended for programs: blue for Sark's forces, and yellow for the 'good' characters such as the original Clu. (The soldiers on the Game Grid use a different system: red for Sark, and blue for conscripts.) The tanks themselves also change color depending on their personnel: tanks loyal to Sark are blue, and non-Sark tanks are red.