The Knight in Shining Armor's fashionable protective wear does well enough against swords and arrows, but as the field of battle became increasingly dominated by technology, any reasonable amount of protection a soldier may carry becomes obviously inadequate to face bullets, missiles, Death Rays and autonomous war machines — not to mention all manner of Big Creepy-Crawlies prone to invading planets. The solution? Power it up, of course!
Powered Armor is the Sci-Fi Counterpart of the iconic medieval plate armor, frequently used by Space Marines, Super Cops or futuristic Knights. The powered armor is built around an exoskeleton combined with a supplemental system that acts as artificial muscle, mimicking the wearer's own movements in a sort of purely mechanical Synchronization. As a result, it at the very least negates its own perceived weight and allows the wearer to carry thick, bulky armor plating without being encumbered. (In many cases, the wearer gains effective Super Strength). This is typically the most advanced form of personal protection available; it usually is at least Immune to Bullets or whatever else is used in Five Rounds Rapid in the local 'verse; superior models may mount Deflector Shields allowing the armor to No-Sell damage well above its apparent weight class. It also usually provides protection against environmental hazards that can't really be resisted or dodged by being a self-contained environment, allowing the user to exist comfortably in space, underwater, or in other areas that would kill unprotected humans, like a Hazmat Suit.
In order to boost the wearer's mobility, certain armor versions also have built-in thrusters that allow them to fly, at least for short distances or via rocket-assisted jumps. If this gives them good mobility and speed without sacrificing protection, the users often join the Lightning Bruiser camp, with the disadvantage, if any, being bulk and low maneuverability. There might, however, be variants that are (comparative) Fragile Speedsters, which forego the thick plating in lieu of even more equipment made to amplify the movements of its wearer, providing a boost to agility and movement speed.
As the powered armor allows for ample spare carrying capacity, it often comes equipped with many useful gadgets built in. If it does this with weapons, then it's a wearable Swiss-Army Weapon; expect at least one of these to be an Arm Cannon, or possibly a Power Fist. Shoulders of Doom (and in turn, Shoulder Cannons) are almost mandatory. It may also provide emergency medical support to the wearer, if they manage to get injured in spite of the armor's protection. A Man in the Machine may have such a suit doubling as a life support unit, likely unable to remove the suit without risking death. Some suits are also capable of taking over, being controlled remotely or autonomously if the wearer becomes incapacitated — or as a Restraining Bolt in case they refuse to follow orders. Often, the suit's computer is an Artificial Intelligence capable of acting as Mission Control, as well as controlling the systems the wearer can't pay attention to in the heat of combat. Some suits of Powered Armor are explicitly made to be Adaptive Armor capable of great versatility and effectively repairing and upgrading themselves. Too much of this can result in them becoming a sort of wearable Do-Anything Robot. With crystals.
Powered Armor is distinct from Clothes Make the Superman in that it is specifically designed for combat and is clearly armour rather than clothing. Distinct from Humongous Mecha in that Powered Armor is a suit worn on the body, while Humongous Mecha are vehicles that are controlled, either from a cockpit or with some Unusual User Interface. There are, however, the occasional mecha that sit on the line between Humongous Mecha and Powered Armor. A really advanced set of powered armor will usually be made of Nano Machines that make the hero into a Chrome Champion. The change may even be Instant.
While there are massive engineering challenges involved in solving such a suit's power supply and logistic requirements, as well as making it versatile and durable enough to participate in actual combat, powered armor is conceptually plausible. Unlike Humongous Mecha, it could actually be useful, especially in urban battles where tanks (or four-story robots) would be limited in movement. There would also be a number of different non-military uses for a suit that makes you strong enough to lift a car. The US military and many civilian R&D departments are currently conducting experiments with powered exoskeletons, perhaps making this a future Truth in Television.
Compare Clothes Make the Superman, Humongous Mecha, Scary Impractical Armor, Battle Ballgown. Bio-Armor is a living creature that has a similar function.
Not to be confused with Mini-Mecha, where despite the machine's size, the limbs are still fully mechanical (though the line can sometimes be a bit blurry). Nor with Meta Mecha which is Powered Armor for Mini/Humongous Mecha. Or The Power of Amore.
