The Weapons of Sci-Fi: The MORITA Rifle

In the original 1959 Starship Troopers novel, that became the founding literary classic of military science fiction, the powered armor wearing Mobile Infantry uses Atomic grenades and hand-held flamethrowers. There was no convention assault rifle, let alone the Morita, mention in original text that was prominently featured in the perplexing 1997 film adaptation. However, despite that fact, the Morita Rifle (especially the Mark I) has become one of the most popular and iconic weapons of science fiction. Here is everything and anything you wanted to know about the Morita Rifle.

Why is the Morita called "the Morita" and Was it in the Original 1959 Novel?

Unlike many sci-fi weaponry, the Morita has a proper name and that name is said in the film leaving no doubt about its identity (do you hear me Blade Runner?!). However, unlike many military weaponry, it has a Japanese last name that reminds most people of famed actor Pat Morita. In actuality, the Morita Rifle was named for the co-founder of Sony, Akio Morita. Sony Pictures released SST back in 1997. I've never been able to discover the genesis for the rifle being named for Mr. Morita...perhaps because of his involvement in some weapons development or as some weird tribute. When it comes to the original of the Morita Rifle, it was a complete construction of the 1997 film production and does not appear in Robert Heinlein's book...nor does any real rifle-based offensive weapon systems for that matter. Only weapons close in the SST world before the film was the "sci-fi" looking laser rifle of the 1976 Avalon Hill boardgame and the "standard rifle" of the 1987 Japanese OVA SST called "Uchu no  Senshi".

The Connection Between Total Recall (1990) and Starship Troopers (1997)

In the original 1990 Total Recall film, which is also directed by Paul Verhoeven, there is another bullpup brass-spitting rifle: the Federal Colony Soldiers' Muzzelite Carbine. Both the Morita Mk. 1 and that standard assault rifle of the Federal Colonies are made from the Muzzelite Bullpup Stock kit for the Ruger Mini-14. Both these futuristic firearms are designed based around Ruger Mini-14 rifles, however, both films had different armorers. 


The Morita Rifle Mk. I 
During the 1st Bug War, the Mobile Infantry and the Fleet use the iconic and (in)famous Morita Mk. I rifle that was the progenitor of the entire Morita family of MI firearms. This bullpup full sized assault rifle fires the NATO 7.62mm round from a 50 round magazine with an secondary 12 gauge shotgun with separate trigger for those close encounters. The weapon is over 44 inches long with an barrel length of over 30 inches(!). This science fiction rifle was created by Rock Galotti based on the notes from the studio that they wanted these MI troopers to be outfitted with a weapon to take down armies of bugs and they wanted a "real" weapon not a laser blaster.
Based on that requirement and the massive cinema battles between alien insects and humans that the Morita would be inolved, Rock Galotti used one of the most reliably blank-fire weapons: the Ruger Mini-14 and the AC556. Some of the Moritas on set where live-fire, others were rubber stun props, and most of the background Moritas were fiberglass; and only one had the working shotgun. The live-fire hero props were handbuilt and no two are alike. One interesting design element was the shotgun trigger located under the assault rifle trigger, allowing the user to operate with very minimum adjustment...handy when a bug comes a callin'. This design detail is seen in the real-steel FN EGLM grenade launcher.

The Morita Rifle Mk. II "Advanced Systems Rifle"

This Morita is a bit of a mystery, the Morita at the end of the 1997 film in a FedNet Propaganda segment. The weapon is called the "Morita Tonshi (Japanese for sudden death)" and it was not based on any real-steel weapon. It is on-screen for about 30 seconds, and it never appears in live-action form again. So, what the frak is it? The Morita Mk. II Advanced Systems Rifle was a major update to the individual destructive power of the MI trooper's Morita assault rifle. It is shown bring the hate on a mesa, but it is uncertain which barrel produced that blast or how.

Some sources state that the grenade launcher on the Mk. II ASR is the cause for the explosion. One website says that the Morita Mk.II is: "Microwave Accelerated Particle Rifle". After rewatching that short portion of the 1997 film, I am not certain which barrel is responsible for the landscaping. Either way, we never see the ASR again and it could be that the Mk.II ASR was a prototype that the Federation could not product in any numbers. Or that the ASR was to be heavy support weapon for the MI and not their standard assault rifles. It could also be true that Federation used the ASR as a tool of propaganda. In the 2005 SST PC game, there is a plasma DE rifle called the "PIG-1 Plasma Rifle", which resembles the Morita Rifle Mk. II ASR and could be the same weapon.

The Morita "E-Pulse 44" Directed-Energy Rifle

Okay...this is not completely an "Morita", but it deserves a place here. In the 2004 straight-to-video shitty Z-Rated sequel to the 1997 film, we see our hapless MI troopers locked in a deadly Rorke's Drift scenario. Instead of the familiar 7.62mm Morita Mk. I rifles, we see the MI troopers uses an DE weapon called the "E-Pulse 44 rifle"? SST II: The Hero of the Federation is not a good film and the inclusion of a DEW Morita could be due to budget. Blank ammo costs money and the laser gun flashes seen in the film could have been cheaper than blank ammo. In fact, after seen the film, I believe that the E-Pulse 44's trigger was rigged up to a lightbulb at the barrel of the prop gun to show the visual effects minions were to put in the DE laser flashes. The overall design of the E-Pulse 44 is not bad at all and unlike the Moritas from the 1997 film and 2008 films, this one was not based around a real-steel weapon, it is just a plastic-fantastic snowjob. The E-Pulse 44 rifle was only seen in the second film.

The Morita Rifle Mk. III

In the continuing trend of SST borrowing liberally from ALIENS, we now have a 10x50mm caseless variant of the Morita rifle: the Morita rifle Mark III. As seen in the 2008 not-too-bad 3rd film, the Morita III is similar in overall design to the Mk. I, but sports an traditional layout from the bullpup, an optical aiming system, flashlight, and a grenade launcher. The Mk. III feeds from an 90 round magazine of 10mm caseless rounds with a magazine-fed 30x71mm grenade launcher that has a 4+1 capacity. This allows M.I. and Fleet Marines to engage the bugs for longer and with more tools to cut down the number of incoming hostiles via the grenade launcher and the larger magazine.

During the 2nd Bug War, MI were trained to form firing lines, like 19th century infantry tactics, and concrete fire on the alien phalanx. Unlike the Mk. I, the prop gun was based around an South African R5 assault carbine, an clone of the IMI Galil, and not the Mini-14, however, both are 5.56x45mm. Much like the M41 Pulse Rifle, shell casings of the blank-fire ammunition can be seen despite being an caseless weapon. Some fans of SST believe that the Morita Smart Rifle from the Roughnecks animated series was the inspiration for the Morita Mk. III. IMFDB.org believes that the Morita III was inspirited by the old XM29 OICW. The Morita Ml. III is only seen in the 3rd film.

The Morita Rifle Mk. IV

There are several types of Moritas available in this 2005 PC game, and one being the Mk. IV "unlimited ammo" rifle. According to the in-game information, the Marauder Program MI Special Forces are the only ones issued the Morita Mk. IV and it uses an on-board plasma generator to plasma projectiles. Yes, the Marauders get plasma rifles in the 40 watt range here. While this sounds great, it overheats and it is short ranged. This weapon was designed for the Marauder Program so that the powered armor wearing MI trooper could engage several unarmored bugs at once. For armored targets, the player switches to the conventional ammo Morita Mk. I rifle. Given that the 2005 game connects the first and second films together, the Morita Mk. IV may or may not be another version of the DE weapon seen in Hero of the Federation, the mysterious E-Pulse 44.

The Morita "Invasion" Rifle 

In the computer animated 4th SST film, Invasion, we get yet another Morita rifle, the 5th in the generation of the Mortia. Not much is known or said about this weapon, and even the name is odd. According to my research, this Morita was called "the Mk. I" and may fire the .338 Lapua Magnum round instead of the 7.62mm of the older Moritas. It appears to feed from a boxy magazine in the from of the weapon(?) and this Morita can be fitted with an grenade launcher similar in design to the M203. This Morita has only been seen in the CGI Invasion film.

The SCION "Smart" Morita Rifle

 In the short-lived American animated series that was based on the 1997 film, the CGI Mobile Infantry troopers carry yet another variant of the familiar Morita: the Smart Morita Rifle. This interesting version of the Morita was more akin to the Colonial Marines M41A1 Pulse Rifle than what we saw on-screen in 1997. This seems to fire caseless rounds and is still bullpup, but the dense boxy magazine is loaded into the upper rear. The overall size of the weapon is more compact the Mark I, and this one, like the Mk. III, is equipped with a pump-action grenade launcher that also feds from an magazine as well. Oh, one of the bullshit grenade types is anti-matter. Fuck me that would be expensive to lob at some bugs.

In the series, the Smart Morita is used in all types of environments and  appears to more SMG/PDW than assault carbine, and could even fire a smaller high-velocity round, like the Pulse Rifle or even the FN P90. This is all based on the report of the weapon and a general feeling. Fleet uses a carbine variant as well. Of course, the Smart Morita was inspirited by the ALIEN Pulse Rifle and possibly the HK XM29 OICW. To me, this is a very cool Morita rifle and is more realistic for future soldiers to carry than the Morita Mk. I, however, the "smart" portion is never explained. Some websites have called this Morita the "pulse rifle Morita". This Morita was seen in the series, the Mongoose RPG games, and seen in some comics.

The Morita Rifle Variants

The Morita Carbine
In one of the cool real-world touches that the 1997 film uses in their firearms was the inclusion of an carbine variant and who uses them. In the film, Fleet personnel, Marines, Special Forces, and NCOs are seen with a cut-down carbine of the Morita Mk. I. The film gets the issue of who gets to use the carbine variant correct (to my surprise) and that the carbine is devoid of the shotgun attachment. During the climax of the 1997 film, we also see that the escape pods of the Roger Young have Morita Carbines stowed inside to fend off nasty bugs.

The Morita DMR
In the 1997 film, we see an interesting variant of the Mk. I Morita: the "sniper rifle" in the hands of badass Sugar Watkins of the Roughnecks. There is only one sniper variant of the Morita Mk.I seen in that film. This weapon is wrongly called a "sniper rifle", instead it is an Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) because it is using an existing assault rifle foundation for a more accurized weapon.

Of course, in the tongue-in-cheek SST universe, this is a fully automatic DMR with a massively oversized optical system AND an shotgun attachment is considered an "sniper rifle". We clearly see Watkins banging away with this Morita DMR on fully auto, spray bugs with no regard for the advanced futuristic scope system. The only time that the DMR Morita is used in the manner of an DMR is when Lt. Rasczak takes Watkins' rifle to kill a captured trooper. Other than that, it is spraying time. There is not another DMR/Sniper Rifle with the Morita moniker until SST: Invasion. 

The Morita Mk. III "Survival Rifle"

Much like the first film, Federal personnel are forced to abandon their starship and take to the escape pods in the 3rd 2008 film. Inside these escape pods are Morita IIIs. In the first film, they were the carbine variant, in the 3rd film, Marauder, they are an "survival rifle" that simply has the stock deleted. That's it. There is still the oversized optical system, the grenade launcher, and without the stock, it is wonder that anyone could fire it accurately.


The Force-on-Force DE Morita Trainer

Today, force-on-force training is done via IR MILES (laser tag) gear, simunition, and good ole paintball. In the future, as predicted by SST, there will be another options: laser beams. During the boot-camp scenes in the 1997 film, we see our fearless recruits of the MI battling in a force-on-force training ground at Camp Currie with "Training Beam" Moritas. These very Star Wars laser beams are blue and red and are highly visible to the naked eye. They operate similar to current MILES gear, but these training beams activate a violent shock feature in the MI vest. Much like MILES, the real-steel Morita are fitted with a training beam tip attachment, allowing for the real Morita to be used, allowing troopers to train-like-you-fight.

The Morita Mk. III SAW LMG

Well, it only took three movies for the Mobile Infantry to get an frakking light machine gun! The Morita SAW is an LMG variant of the Morita seen in the CGI Invasion film and the handheld phone game. There is nothing on this gun save for it being in the film. It is heavily dotted with barrel shroud for heat ventilation/air cooling and has a bipod. I'm guessing that if the Morita rifle calibers the .338 Lapua that the SAW would be firing the same round which seems completely insane and you would need powered armor to deal with the recoil of that package. 

What Do Those Morita Rifles Fire?

That question largely depends on what movie we are addressing. In the originally 1997 film, the Mortia rifles are said to be firing 7.62x51mm rounds. This round is mostly found in battle rifles, LMGs, and DMRs. In actuality, the prop gun under the plastic-fantastic covering is firing 5.56mm blanks. In the 2nd "film", the DEW Moritas fire some sort of directed-energy pulse beam, and the effect is mostly post-production. In the 3rd film, the MI troopers 3rd generation Morita fires an 10x50mm caseless round (similar to the M41A1 Pulse Rifle). The prop South African R5 under the plastic fired an 5.56mm, which spent brass can be seen in the frames of the film. In the last entry in the SST world, Invasion, those CGI Moritas are rumored to be firing the deadly .338 Lapua Magnum round. This round is mostly seen in sniper rifles in today's military and I am not sure how the .338 would perform in an assault rifle platform.

What Does the Morita Rifle Say About the Federation?

Actually, quite a bit. The 1997 film takes place in the 23rd century, but the Mortia Rifle seen in the film is very 20th century technology. We have to remember that there is nothing stopping you from constructing a Mortia Rifle today that is the same technological level as the M.I. Troopers have in the film. Hell, there was nothing futuristic about the Mark I Morita Rifle back in 1997 when the prop armorers constructed the weapon. In the 23rd century, the Federation's elite troopers, the Mobile Infantry are outfitted with a primary weapon that is three centuries out of date technologically speaking and lacks the most basic aiming system: iron sights.. Weapons of today are more advanced with more features than the Morita Rifle of the 1997 film. This may speak to how the Federation views the Mobile Infantry due to giving them rifles without iron sights and spray-and-pray tactics observed in the field. The Federation may view the MI as meat for the grinder and that numbers are more important than individuals. The more MI, the greater the volume of fire. This is similar to the thinking of Soviet-era commanders.

Under the Plastic: the Morita Rifle Blank-Fire Weapons

During the film of Starship Troopers, over 300,000 blank ammunition were fired. Most of the live-fire Moritas were Ruger Mini-14s and AC556k rifles due to their proven track record with blank-fire and given the script and the requirements, Rock Galotti knew that the Mortias need to be up to the task of firing blank ammo on full auto. Interestingly, the caliber that the Morita Mk. I are suppose to be firing, the 7.62mm. Not one of the real-steel gun under the plastic casting fired that caliber. When it came time for the sequel to SST, the Z-rated Hero of the Federation, no real-steel weapons were used under the plastic. However, that trend was ended with the 3rd film, Marauder, when the South African carbine variant of the Vekotr R4 5.56mm assault rifle, the R5, was used surrounded in a bulky plastic casting. What happened to the blank-firing Ruger Moritas? Due to firearm laws, the nearly trashed Mini-14s and AC556s were returned to the prop master, and any in private hands are void of the action. The shotgun attachment on the Morita Mk. I was an cut-down ithaca Model 37 12 gauge and according to sources, there was only one working Morita prop gun with an working shotgun, the others were visual fabrications.

Why is the Morita Rifle So Popular?
The Morita Mk.I has become one of the most popular science fiction weapons of all time, ranking up there with the M41A1 Pulse Rifle, the Lightsaber, and Deckard's PKD. Today, it is easy to find live-fire Moritas, even ones that fire airsoft, paintball, and display props littering the internet...but the question is why is the Morita such a popular sci-fi gun? One reason could be that the Morita rifles in SST films bang harder on-screen than pornstar Gianna Michaels and the bolt can be seen cycling away as brass flies in a nearly pornographic display of firepower.
More than 300,000 rounds of blank ammunition was used on SST and it says something about how hardcore the Morita is...this is no "phasers on stun" sci-fi weapon system! This more realistic hard-edged reality of the Morita over raygun laser sci-fi weapon could be another factor coupled with the spitting brass and huge muzzle flash. Also, SST is a cult favorite and a guilty pleasure, and combined with the coolness factor of the Morita itself, could be another source of the gun's popularity. To the fans of SST, the Morita is their Lightsaber or phaser, you cannot have a cosplay MI trooper outfit without the Morita.

The Things that Piss Me Off About the Morita

One of the things that really pisses me off about the Morita Mk. I is that it was a bullpup layout. Real world bullpup assault rifles are designed that way to take advantage of the mechanics being in the rear stock assembly over traditional layout. Thus, bullpup assault rifles can have traditional length barrels (16-20 inches) with the overall rifle length being similar to a carbine. That's the big advantage of bullpups over traditional assault rifles and SST is doing it wrong...very wrong. The Morita Mk. I is 44 inches long, about the same as FN FAL with the fixed stock and the 21 inch barrel. A weapon similar to the Morita Mk. I, the bullpup Steyr AUG is 31 inches in length with a 20 inch barrel. While I could not find the exact barrel length, it seems to be over 30 inches long!

So, why is the hell is the Morita a bullpup then? Simple answer: bullpups are future cool. That is my only answer. The armorers used the Muzzlite kit for the Mini-14 and being that the Muzzlite has a long history of being in science fiction films, allowed the Morita Mk. I to have a foundation...hence it is a bullpup. If the Morita Mk. I was the carbine, I wouldn't be bitching or if the full-length Morita Mk. I was the LMG variant...but it isn't. Another element that pisses me off is that the Morita Mk. I has no iron sights. That is bad tactics. Always have a backup rule and the KISS rule apply here, but not in the SST universe apparently. Of course, we are talking about the future starflung military organizations that offers no support to their infantry once they are dirtside. Lastly, there is the bulk of the Morita Mk. III seen in the 3rd SST film. That weapon was based around the HK XM29 OICW concept. Surely, in the 23rd century, firearms companies can construct something smaller and more compact that the bulky Morita Mk. III? And why is the "caseless Morita Mk. III fire a 10mm round that is longer than the regular cartridge round? The 10x50mm is longer than the 5.56x45mm round...does it need that much propellant or is someone not paying attention? Okay, rant over.

Where Else Have We Seen the Morita?

The Starship Trooper PC Game (2005)

Before Strangelite was bought by Rebellion, they gave us the 2005 SST PC video game. This had the player take the role of a powered armor equipped elite member of the Mobile Infantry's Marauder Program. Marauder Zero Six is tasked with a number of missions on planet Hesperus too tough for the regular troopers, and besides the powered armor, Marauder Zero Six has an entire armory of weapons, including two Moritas. The Morita Mk. IV is the endless plasma DE Morita and the Morita Mk. I is featured and is to be used against armored bugs. This game was raped at the time in reviews due to errors in the programing and a lackluster experience overall. However, it was cool to take on massive amounts of bugs with cool SST universe weaponry.

The Galoob SST film Action Figures

It is hard to believe that SST had a toyline and that said toys were marketed to children considering the hardcore gore and nudity in the first film. Galoob's line of SST toys did feature some of the core characters from the film, however, much like the Kenner ALIENS toyline, the characters are mere shadows of themselves. Some figures were packaged with the standard infantry Morita Mk. I. As you can see, the Morita is close to the film's and is just as long as the film's as well. This toyline sold poorly and was quickly forgotten. FWS will be explore and tying to explain the Galoob SST toyline in a future Military Sci-Fi Toys blog article.












IR "Laser Tag" Morita-like Rifles

Oddly, the Morita Mk. I rifles have been created for an IR laser tag game by a company called Battlefield Sports that operates international. These IR beam guns are called "Moritas" and are available in either "sniper rifles" or "SAW". The company states these IR laser tag guns are for more long range laser tag experiences and realistic battlefield experiences with the mess or pain of paint. They resemble the Morita Mk. I assault rifles in a more boxy format.



The SST Comics
There have been a number of SST comics over the years with some being published by Dark Horse and other smaller presses. Some are set the world established by the 1997 film while others are based on the 1999/2000 Roughnecks: the SST Chronicles. The SST comic follow some of the gear and weapons seen in those works, while some artists take liberties with the weaponry and design new Moritas. I contacted a few friends that have the SST comics, and they informed me that during the Dark Horse run, the Moritas were front and center with additional variants. They could not provide me with scans of those other variants,

The SST Minature Game 

In 2005, Mongoose Publishing released a miniature RPG wargame based on the Verhoeven SST universe. The game liberally borrow from heavily from the 1997 film, while other elements were culled from the Roughnecks animated series. The United Citizens Federation armies miniatures for sale had MI troopers from both the film and animated series with Moritas to match. The game was disconnected in 2008.

Next Time on FWS...

 Here it is...the blogpost I've been wanting to write since I started FWS way back in 2010: the complete the Forever War Graphic Novel series. After finally getting my hands on Volume 2, I now have the complete collection and it is time to write. Join this next time when FWS will be diving into a true Forgotten Classic of military science fiction comics!