10 Organic Characters Created Through Science

Science has countless impressive breakthroughs, but creating life itself is still uncharted territory. One can’t overstate the significance of crafting a sentient being from scratch. That’s something that even the greatest minds have trouble achieving, at least outside the normal method of reproduction. Pop culture offers many examples of such a miracle. However, even those must be qualified, as many of them are either robots or organic life forms enhanced after the fact.

What carries greater weight is creating a living, breathing being from the ground up. Certain works include organic characters who are practically indistinguishable from their natural peers. At least that’s the case on the surface, as some of them have traits amplified to insane extents. Each scenario has unsettling implications, reeking of hubris from the people involved. That said, breaking those barriers also makes for compelling storytelling.

Related: 10 Tragedies Blamed On Mythical and Fictional Creatures

10 Khan

The Star Trek universe uses technological advancement to comment on the human condition, but ironically off-limits are humans themselves. Artificially enhancing one’s body carries a huge taboo. Not only is it wildly unethical and unfair, but it has a bloody place in human history. 20th-century Earth sees the chaos of the Eugenics Wars—a period where people used genetic engineering to breed an elite race of supermen.

The greatest example is Khan Noonien Singh. This ruthless warlord possesses enhanced strength, cunning, and capacity for learning. He instinctively puts these gifts toward conquering everyone and everything around him. He sees the universe only in military terms, and he strives to bring it under his orderly rule. His talents let him subjugate most of Earth and nearly kill the crew of the USS Enterprise. Maybe he really is the pinnacle of human evolution.^[1]

9 The Clone Troopers

The other major spacefaring franchise also dabbles in selective breeding. In the Star Wars movies, a facility on the planet Kamino specializes in cloning. Darth Sidious—the overarching villain—covertly commissions this place to create an elite fighting force. The objective is to have a standing army for the Galactic Republic, thereby escalating the universal conflict with the Separatists. The Kaminoans may be pawns, but they still do their job to the letter.

The Clone Troopers benefit from both nature and nurture. Their genetic makeup stems from Jango Fett, a savvy mercenary renowned as the galaxy’s best bounty hunter. The scientists then build on that foundation with intensive combat training, ensuring the soldiers can adapt to any battle. The final perk is growth acceleration. This artificial maturation means that each clone can go from a helpless baby to a battle-ready trooper in just a few years. Given those perks, it’s easy to see how these Clone Troopers help Sidious take over the galaxy.^[2]

8 Ciri

At first glance, Princess Cirilla of Cintra seems like the Chosen One of an ancient prophecy. However, that prophecy is actually a multi-generational experiment. The Witcher heroine holds the mythical Elder Blood: an Elven genealogy with unparalleled magical power. Several scientists and mages study this gene over the years, and their hands-on research involves controlling the family tree. Not only do they select the partners for many members, but they dictate who can and can’t have children. One day, they hope to create someone who can wield this tremendous gift.

Despite a few slip-ups, Ciri is the ultimate realization of that power. Her magical blasts are strong enough to reduce towering structures to rubble. In addition, she can break through dimensional barriers and travel to other worlds. To be fair, she only has a limited handle on these abilities; they mostly trigger periods of extreme distress. Nevertheless, that failsafe makes her one of the most formidable figures in the Witcher series.^[3]

7 Sephiroth

Final Fantasy VII already features soldiers with cellular enhancements, but Sephiroth is a cut above that. His roots stretch back to Jenova—an alien life form discovered in years past. Mistaking her for one of the divine “Ancients,” the scientists at Shinra inject her cells into an unborn baby to create a perfect killing machine. Suffice it to say, they succeed.

The One-Winged Angel is renowned for his wartime deeds. His skills with a sword are legendary, often taking down foes with a single swipe. His strength, agility, and magic only amplify those attacks. Sephiroth makes the most impressive combat feats look effortless and graceful. That’s how he’s so effective as a hero. Sadly, it’s also why he’s such an imposing villain after losing his mind. It turns out that being bred as a monster is bad for your psyche.^[4]

6 The Powerpuff Girls

Most of these entries are on the heavier side, so the Powerpuff Girls are refreshing in that respect. Desiring a daughter, Professor Utonium strives to create the perfect little girl in his homemade lab. The formula calls for “sugar, spice, and everything nice.” Unfortunately, he accidentally adds the mysterious Chemical X to the mixture. This mistake causes an explosion, but it also gives him three children for the price of one.

Rising from the ashes are Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. On top of their complementary personalities, these sisters all have otherworldly gifts. Flying, super strength, and heat vision are just some of the powers that they sport. Regardless, Utonium treats these kids like his own, instilling his own wholesome values while helping them through the issues that all children face. That kind of upbringing leads them to fight crime as the eponymous Powerpuff Girls. Talk about a happy accident!^[5]

5 Cell

Cell proclaims himself an android, but all evidence to the contrary. The Dragon Ball Z villain begins as a larva before evolving into an insectoid fighter. He has blood and other organic fluids, all of which are apparent when he’s wounded. What’s more, he can regrow lost limbs like a lizard. These gifts stem from his laboratory background.

A disgraced military scientist named Dr. Gero creates Cell to be his ultimate revenge on the world. Using the cells of Earth’s greatest warriors, he fashions a fighter with all their strengths and abilities. Cell can fire Goku’s Kamehameha Wave, or he might whip out Tien’s Solar Flare to escape a sticky situation. As if that’s not dangerous enough, his tail can absorb his opponents’ life force, thereby making him stronger. In short, this parasitic product is a living highlight reel of Dragon Ball history.^[6]

4 Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog can overcome virtually any challenge through sheer speed, so why not fight fire with fire? That sums up Shadow in a nutshell. Professor Gerald Robotnik engineers this hedgehog to be perfect, partly as a stepping stone to cure his daughter, Maria. Not only does he imbue the girl’s personality and emotions into the subject, but he also gets some extraterrestrial help. The alien known as Black Doom lends its essence to the scientist, who then injects it into the hedgehog. Sadly, a military organization shuts down the project, culminating in the deaths of both Robotnik and his daughter. One ill turn deserves another.

Shadow vengefully seeks answers, and he flattens anyone in his way. He obviously has the speed and agility of Sonic, but he’s arguably more effective in using them. Whenever the two hedgehogs clash, Shadow usually comes out on top. Not to mention, he has a natural affinity for chaos magic. His signature move, Chaos Control, lets him warp time and space at will—an ability typically reserved for the mystical Chaos Emeralds. With these gifts, Shadow lives up to his moniker as the “Ultimate Life Form.”^[7]

3 Doomsday

Emerging from seemingly nowhere, this jagged adversary does the impossible: killing Superman. Doomsday is a mysterious monster who lands on Earth and immediately goes on a rampage. He lives only to wreak havoc, instinctually killing everything in sight. After plowing through several members of the Justice League, he engages in a brutal brawl with the Man of Steel. His sheer strength and durability are enough to match the Kryptonian blow for blow. In the end, they both lie dead in a pile of rubble. Where could such a hellish enemy come from?

Doomsday’s origins may vary, but he’s often a product of science. The comics explain that an ancient Krypton scientist continually cloned a being from the previous clone’s remains. Justice League Unlimited, on the other hand, asserts that he’s a malformed clone of Superman created by a shady Earth organization. Then again, Reign of the Supermen traces his origin back to Darkseid, an alien dictator who crafts the creature as a biological weapon against the heroes. Whatever his roots, Doomsday is the bane of Superman and every other life form.^[8]

2 X-23

X-Men fans know that Wolverine suffered from experimentation, but his daughter somehow gets it even worse. When an underground organization commissions mutant weapons, its scientists craft a clone of the Canucklehead, albeit a teen girl version. They then replicate the Weapon X program by giving her bones the same metal coating. The result is an adorable little psycho.

Laura Kinney, aka X-23, has all the perks of her predecessor and the energy of youth. Her healing factor lets her regenerate from virtually any injury. Even then, her wounds are only superficial, thanks to the unbreakable metal covering her bones. That same metal doubles as a weapon by coating her retractable claws. As a bonus, these tools come out of both her hands and feet. Such sharp attributes frequently go toward gutting and dismembering her enemies, especially since her childhood trauma means she’s even more damaged than her dad. You know it’s bad when Wolverine, of all people, must calm her down.^[9]

1 Frankenstein’s Monster

Easily the most infamous example, this unholy creation is the centerpiece of Frankenstein. In Mary Shelley’s seminal work, the ambitious Victor Frankenstein makes a breakthrough in reanimating dead matter. The scientific possibilities are too enticing to ignore, so he takes the next step: craft an entirely new person from scratch. Sadly, his resources don’t match his vision.

The would-be man comes out malformed in every way. To begin with, he consists of body parts stolen from the local corpses. This makeshift composition gives him a hideous appearance, but his brainpower offsets that deformity. He can read, perform motor functions, and even speak multiple languages within a year. That awareness makes him all the more ashamed when people shun him. Moreover, his intelligence makes him a merciless foe when seeking revenge on his creator. It’s the prototypical lesson of playing God.^[10]

fact checked by
Darci Heikkinen