Danger Room
| Item: Danger Room | |
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| First Seen: | May 2003 |
The Danger Room is a training facility for the X-Men, located in the sub-basement of the mansion. It contains various mechanical and holographic training devices, and is programmed and controlled from an elevated "control room" complex.
The Danger Room is approximately 25m high and 80m in length and width, with a size that is often compared to a large gymnasium or small sporting complex. A sliding security door is used to enter the Danger Room itself, sealed both by a passcode and retinal scanner.
Inside, the Danger Room normally appears as a dull metallic space, with the walls, ceiling, and floor crisscrossed by a faintly luminescent grid. All the surfaces of the Danger Room are movable, to an extent, to simulate varying elevations and obstacles, as well as buildings and landmarks.
The construction of the Danger Room is such that it can withstand an incredible amount of damage. The walls are made of high-strength steel, interwoven with a vibranium mesh to absorb impact and polycarbonate fibers to provide resiliency.
The Danger Room also incorporates a number of holographic projectors, designed by Hank McCoy, to provide an immersive environment for more realistic training. Various types of robotic and mechanical 'drones' are also utilized for anything from targets, civilian hostages, or lifelike opponents (utilizing the hologram system). These drones can be equipped with offensive capabilities ranging from small electric shocks to rubber bullets. All training devices in the Danger Room are specifically designed to be non-lethal, even with the safety locks disengaged.
The room also contains various devices used to test a mutant's power levels, such as piston-driven presses to gauge strength and laser-equipped rangefinders for calculating the speed of fliers in an enclosed area.
Training programs utilizing the Danger Room often take the form of:
- an obstacle course, to test the X-Men's agility, teamwork, and physical conditioning
- a recreation of a field mission, to evaluate tactics and strategy
- an original simulation of a field condition, often used to test decision-making skills and expertise in use of powers
Use of the Danger Room was originally restricted to the X-Men team members and those trainees who have reached the point in their training to be tested under simulated field conditions. However, over time it was opened up to specialised powers training and the New Mutants, although under strict supervision. Other than the Cerebro chamber, the Danger Room is one of the most secure areas of the mansion's sub-basement complex.
Only X-Men have unsupervised access to the Danger Room. Trainees, students, non-team staff and outside elements (like X-Force) only have supervised access to the room, with one of the X-Men observing the simulation.
The room can be controlled through the control room/observation room, or remotely through voice commands in the room itself.
The room has established safety procedures for programs for group and individual training which minimizes the risk of accidential injury. However, certain training programs for some X-Men (such as those meant for those with superstrength, for example) represent a risk if used by X-Men it was not intended for, so the Danger Room can be dangerous if used improperly.
There are emergency systems that can freeze a simulation or end one immediately, shutting down any drones or systems in use at the push of a button or a specific word as a final backup safety procedure.
