Why bring flamethrowers?

cant really say about the flamethrower other than i dont think there is any organism that isnt afraid of fire.....it can also be a little homage to prometheus ya know inside joke..but thats obvious lol

I want to know why they would bring a bicycle, christmas tree, pool table!!! It seems like they are flying my first year halls of residence to the planet!:-)

Perhaps they were created ad hoc. Recall in Alien that Parker rigs up some incinerator units. It is suggested they weren't stock items on the Nostromo, much like the motion tracker Ash hacks up. Hey, they also have axes. I guess they're expecting to chop some firewood for a camp fire. Bet they even have marshmallows! :)

Legit Question, especially since even now (which would be like the Dark Ages to these future peeps) they were banned by the US Military and by international treaty (I think). However, they may be on board to serve as a way to clean or decontaminate parts of the ship. Much like the Stoner Ground Crew from the movie The 5th Element. They used the flame throwers to get rid of 'parasites' in the landing gear . . . Whatever the reason they're bada$$, so relax, sit back and enjoy the crispy goodness . . :)

I can understand making the ship feel like Home, but flamethrowers?? Methinks Weyland definately knew what they might encounter. The Homage is to Alien of course:O)

Why bring flamethrowers to a gunfight... Flamethrowers seem to be a pretty useful general destructive tool, versatile with, importantly, several potential applications. Even more importantly, if I recall correctly, these ones are some special Sci-FI, [Weyland], ones that draw their fuel from whatever combustible elements that they can detect in the immediate atmosphere, whatever that atmosphere is. It would seem, to me, to be a pretty handy thing and rational thing to have in the, "We Are A VERY Long Way From Home", Locker - along with all those axes you see in the trailers... Makes sense to me.

They may have been a suggestion from John Carpenter. :-)

"Perhaps they were created ad hoc. Recall in Alien that Parker rigs up some incinerator units. It is suggested they weren't stock items on the Nostromo, much like the motion tracker Ash hacks up." Them are some damn crafty fools . . . I would have been mid-construction . . . (noise on the left). . . ."what's that" . . . . SQUISH . . .

I think it's obviously just for effect and not very likely, considering the future setting and all....technology must be beyond axes and flame throwers by the time of Prometheus.

I think it is for effect too. I think that it will look great, a gush of flames on 3D. This is more RS the visual artist than a must have in the alien universe

Super-industrial-sized marshmellows?

Because Mac might ask for it, you never know when it comes in handy.

Well, wouldn't it suck if a gun/rifle penetrated the skin of the ship while in space? Ergo, Flamethrower instead...

@Dave_b, @anothergloriousdayinthecorps "Just for effect"? In [i]this[/i] film? LOL. And as a [i]contingency device?[/i] Technology can [i]never[/i] be "beyond", flame and an axe. Think about your feelings toward flamethrowers and an axes if you were to crash land in some remote rain forest - or distant alien planet - with most of your technology in pieces.

And graham crackers I hope, with Hershey-Weyland chocolate bars?? And maybe some of that milk running through david-8's veins!

@Dave_b What? Meaningless.

I would want a mini-gun, then I would feel safe. No Preditor link intended!

"Legit Question, especially since even now (which would be like the Dark Ages to these future peeps) they were banned by the US Military and by international treaty (I think)." Well... According to wikipedia: Flamethrowers have not been in the U.S. arsenal since 1978, when the Department of Defense unilaterally stopped using them. They have been deemed of questionable effectiveness in modern combat and the use of flame weapons is always a public relations issue due to the horrific death they inflict. They are not banned in any international treaty the U.S. has signed, thus the U.S. decision to remove flamethrowers from its arsenal is entirely voluntary. according to [url=http://www.cracked.com/article_17016_7-items-you-wont-believe-are-actually-legal.html]this[/url], flame throwers aren't illegal except for California: "There are currently no federal laws governing or restricting the ownership of flame-throwing devices. Some states have laws restricting possession of flamethrowers, with violations only considered to be misdemeanors, but 40 states have absolutely no laws whatsoever concerning flamethrowers. Only in America would a device capable of launching rivers of fire at people be less regulated than marijuana." legal references: http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5-2011/atf-p-5300-5-iowa-2011.pdf http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5-2011/atf-5300-5-maryland-2011.pdf http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5/atf-p-5300-5-indiana.pdf http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5/atf-p-5300-5-iowa.pdf

Think of it like this... if you were going on a ship into outerspace.. to unknown planets.. would you bring a flamethrower? I know I would...

Besides the fact that I happen to have a flamethrower in the trunk of my car at all times, I think the reason they also have them is because it is part of their protocol, like taking off their helmets and rolling around naked in alien biological weapon goo. When they first encounter the the big blue engineer, for example, their directive was to poke him in the ass with something sharp, it is just how they roll. Oh, and those flamethrowers are only to be used on other crew members, as per the Weyland employee handbook.

Fire or a device to create fire yes. No a flamethrower. A device to cut through stuff yes...just not an axe. Doesn't matter really, the film is gonna be awesome anyway.....maybe David will be watching Forbiden Planet?

How does the motion tracker work? It detects micro changes in air density. Micro changes in air density my ass, it detects sound waves!

Allinamberclad? What? Meaningless? What??

Well they're reliable as axes are, they don't cost much to make compared to guns and legally there is nothing really regulating this : "The use of flame weapons, such as Fougasse, the M202A1 Flash, white phosphorous, thermobaric, and other incendiary agents, against military targets is not a violation of current international law. They should not, however, be employed to just cause unnecessary suffering to individuals." ref: -http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/incendiary-legal.htm However this is stupid if used in space; a fire on board is the last thing you want, as air is precious but on planets with an atmosphere, where carbon based life forms thrive, I'd go with a flame thrower, than rather wasting an already limited stash of bullets. As for the fire axe, it's an economical and practical way to break glass, cut through certain plastics without creating a fire (lasers might be good outside the ship, but once inside you don't want to start a fire).

Flamethrowers on an Oxygen enriched space ship?? KABOOM!!!!

Fire is one of the mosr destructive forces, a fire can be used to clean up any contamination. Like if you wanted to wipe out a bio organism or most living things even most bacteria then fire does the trick most of the times. Weyland lists it use as a decontamination device.

A Ax is a VERY useful thing to have around. Exp if it been properly treated so you can use the blunt side without causing metal flaking. As for the flamethrower, A) its highly unlikely they are using a oxygen enriched air. B) Flame is great for getting rid of biologicals. And finally. [img]http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/128/623/kill-it-with-fire-demotivational-poster-1235695993.jpg[/img]

Yes BigDave, but you don't need a flamethrower to use fire.

@Huestess Okay well banned from usE 'voluntarily' by US Miltary . As in not used as a 'weapon' during military action. Point being that they aren't used as weapons by Combat Teams due to there being more effective, less cumbersome weapons available. There presence on the ship would make sense if they had an original use other than to be a weapon.

Exactly TexasDeathTip (is that a name for your genitalia?)! Those flamethrowers look like they were designed to kill Xeno's baby...Yeah!

@Dave_b "Exactly TexasDeathTip (is that a name for your genitalia?)!" Holy Crap I forgot to change that back . . . That was a drunken typo. . .

It's simples, decomtamination of the vehicles when they come back to the ship from excursions.

This movie has rubber flying killer cobras in it and you have a problem with flamethrowers seeming a bit unrealistic?

Just make sure you wrap that rascal Tex:O)

well, if you can think of a slower, more painful way to kill something, you let me know.

[i][b]"It's simples, decomtamination of the vehicles when they come back to the ship from excursions."[/b][/i] Why can't they decontaminate in a scaled up method similar method to how they do the people? Also it's unlikely a flamethrower would reach every nook and cranny of a vehicle (underneath, behind wheels, etc.)

A flamethrower on a spaceship is probably better than a gun which could pierce the hull and cause decompression. A flamethrower on the other hand will just burn up all that precious oxygen causing you to suffocate. But at least that multi million pound ship will still be intact.

It's a "portable Decontamination Pack, not a flamethrower. Check the Weyland website - corporate timeline, in 2059 it's introduced: "Weyland introduces unique expedition security apparatus able to decontaminate indoor and outdoor environments. Apparatus mines surrounding air for flammable compounds, making it ultra light-weight as well as self-replenishing."

Thank Ridley there is at least an attempt to justify the flamethrower etc...

Fire needs oxygen. Explore team wears helmets/ suite via atleast first trip. Making atmosphere seems unfriendly. Oxygen? A gaseous atmosphere say meth gas could be explosive, but maybe not without oxygen. So would equipment even work if no oxygen. Seems kind off. I wouldn't think they would over look a basic