The soldier of the future will be "flooded with pain-numbing stimulants," cybernetically enhanced, and, one official sort-of joked, must be eventually "terminated."

The Pentagon is looking toward a future where the U.S. deploys "super soldiers" directly inspired by Captain America and Iron Man, officials said at a recent conference.

Militaries across the world are trying to give their soldiers an advantage and technology has long played an important role in that. On Wednesday, a group of military and military-adjacent scientists gathered at a conference to discuss the possibility of creating a super soldier. They discussed breeding programs, Marvel movies, The Matrix, and the various technologies the Pentagon is researching with the goal of creating a real life super soldier complete with cybernetic implants and thorny ethical issues surrounding bodily autonomy.