Mecha tank



Mecha tanks are large, mechanized suits manufactured by Hiroshi Sato for the Equalists.

History


After receiving a tip from a Future Industries worker, Korra, Tenzin, and Lin Beifong met an informant beneath the Silk Road Bridge. There, he explained that Hiroshi Sato manufactured Equalist weapons underneath his mansion and was working to create a new, more powerful weapon for the revolutionary group. Later that night, once the Metalbending Police Force had found and infiltrated Hiroshi's secret Equalist factory, they discovered that the new weapons were these large, mechanized robots.

The mecha tanks, which are controlled by Equalists from the inside, attacked Korra and the other intruders. The robots were easily able to knock Korra, Tenzin, Lin, and the other police officers unconscious during the battle. The group, however, was rescued by Bolin and Mako while the Equalists were busy loading the police officers into their trucks.

Design
The mecha tanks are large, mechanized robots made out of platinum - a form of metal so pure that metalbending has no effect on it. They are capable of movement by utilizing two tank-like treads. The mechs also have two claw-like hands with three large digits and can shoot a retractable two-pronged claw via a metal cable in the middle of their hands. They are capable of producing electricity and dispersing it through their metal hands and claws to electrocute their opponents. In addition, the mechs are capable of shooting out spiraling disks, located in the holes between each digit, that contain metal cables that tangle around their victims and then electrocute them. The tanks also sport a number of green lights on their torso.

The torso and head of the machine sport a number of glass windows, which in turn provide the operator with a 360 degree view of their environment. In addition, the torso is made up of numerous metal plates that open and close to allow Equalists to enter and exit the mecha.

Trivia

 * A schematic for the mecha tanks can be seen on the wall during the Lieutenant's conversation with Amon when Korra announced her arrival in Republic City.
 * The Equalist mechs appear very similar to the steampunk-style Big Daddy from the Bioshock video game series.
 * Like various other mechanized modes of transportation in the World of Avatar, the mecha tanks are computer generated, as opposed to being hand-drawn.
 * In real life, pure platinum is a very malleable metal, almost as soft as gold, and would be useless as armor (although the lack of firearms might render this less of an issue). In addition, platinum is very expensive, furthering its usage in armor being problematic at best. It does however have a very high melting point (3214.9 °F), making it useful against firebending attacks.
 * The mecha tanks draw many parallels from the Sentinels in X-Men, as well as the Amplified Mobility Platform from the James Cameron film "Avatar".
 * The tanks and Equalists' goal of wiping out benders is similar to the first Avatar video game, where the final boss was Lian's Ultimation, a machine extremely similar to a mecha tank that was capable of using the elements.