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Ambiguously Human: Difference between revisions
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The Iron Queen in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' was this at first. She looked like an [[Humans by Any Other Name|Overlander]], but was married to the Iron King, an ox. [[Word of God]] claimed she was a badger at the time. However, when Ian Flynn brought her back, he reversed this. The Queen is indeed human, and the titles are purely honorary.
* There seems to be no real consensus as to whether the mutants in the various [[X-Men]] books are human or not. They refer to themselves as "Homo superior" which would make them not human, but it's unclear whether that's an accepted taxonomy or not. They can interbreed with humans, which should make us the same species, and they're often as different from each other as they are from a normal person, so if they're not human, it makes more sense to say each is a [[Single
** Additionally, there is also "Homo Supreme", a sort of super-mutant; the only known example is Mr. Immortal, who is theorized to have "evolved past death".
* Sometimes comics will have comic relief characters with tenuous-at-best ties to continuity - like Ambush Bug, 'Mazing Man, or Forbush Man - who have cartoonish bodies (oversized heads or feet, unnaturally thin limbs, no nose, etc.) but everyone they interact with is a normally proportioned human. Basically, they're [[gonk]]s. They're are assumed to be human because, well, what else would they be?
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== [[Fan Works]] ==
* Taylor Hebert after she merges with the Varga in the ''[[Worm]]/[[Luna Varga]]'' crossover ''[[Taylor Varga]]''. Although the appearance of her base form doesn't change (except for gaining a tail), and she can apparently still breed with other human beings, her body has been essentially rebuilt from scratch based on the Varga's extradimensional/demonic biology instead of Earth's, including [[Nigh Invulnerability]], [[Complete Immortality]], being an [[Extreme Omnivore]], and possessing four-stranded DNA. Amy "Panacea" Dallon's power insists she's not human at all.
* Mutants from the home timeline of Doug Sangnoir in ''[[Drunkard's Walk]]'' seem to be right on the edge. At one point, when describing the difficulty he and his wife have had in conceiving children, he mentions that between their respective mutations they were all but different species relative to each other.
* In the ''[[Sailor Moon Expanded]]'' project, "humanic" (human mimic) youma, who externally appear completely human. They are an incredibly tiny minority among the typically monstrous and demonic youma. And, it is strongly implied later in the stories, usually the illegitimate or disavowed offspring of one of Beryl's generals.
== [[Film]] ==
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** White Court Vampires' demon doesn't physically manifest, even though there are subtle physical changes when they draw on their demon
** Changelings; half-humans-half-Fae, are human unless they Choose to be Fae.
* The inhabitants of The Land in ''[[God Game (novel)|God Game]]'' by [[Andrew M. Greeley]]. According to experts who studied the narrator's tapes of the game, they ''look'' human at first glance, but have a visibly different physiology when examined more closely.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
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* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'':
** Princess Peach. Her species is a matter of some debate among the series' fans. As far as anyone knows, she's a native of the Mushroom Kingdom, unlike Mario and Luigi, but if so, how is it that a human could have been naturally born in a world inhabited entirely by weird fantasy creatures? And if she is, somehow, just a very humanoid Toad (the mushroom people, not the amphibian), why does she look so darned human?
*** At very least, she is stated to be human in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'', being a [[Door Step Baby]] from the human world.
** The kings in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3]]'' all look human, so she's not that big an anomaly.
** The series also gives us the Shy Guys, a sort of "tribe" of little guys so shy that they never expose a single square inch of their bodies to anyone. They wear long cloaks, shoes, belts, masks and gloves, and when they lose their masks the first thing they do is run away while covering their faces. It's unlikely, given the Mushroom Kingdom's populace, that they actually ''are'' human, but their basic shape indicates that they are.
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** Of course, then there's Cyborg, who [[Captain Obvious|is a cyborg.]] The only normal-human-looking main character is Robin.
** It's made clear that there's nothing ''ambiguous'' about Starfire -- even strangers she meets at a party know she's an alien, and her [[Bizarre Alien Biology]] is a frequent source of humor (and occasionally, plot points). Raven ''is'' more legitimately ambiguous, both in the sense that its unclear if anyone outside the Titans knows she's a nonhuman, and that it's never specified how different physically her demon heritage makes her from baseline humanity, beyond the obvious cosmetic aspects.
** Kitten, from "Date With Destiny". Understandably, being the daughter of someone like Killer Moth (whose own origins in this continuity is murky) who dates someone like Fang (a mutant thief who, if he previously human, certainly is not now) throws doubt on whether she is human or not, despite looking like an ordinary teenage girl. Also, she is at least strong enough to put up a decent struggle against Starfire, another hint that she might not be fully human.
* On ''[[CatDog]]'', there's [[Non-Indicative Name|Mr. Sunshine]], a green-skinned humanoid who speaks in a slow, languid voice. The ambiguity of his species is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in one episode when [[Jerkass|Rancid Rabbit]] starts arresting everyone for not having "licenses." (Dog doesn't have a "dog license," Lola doesn't have a "bird license, etc.) When he captures Sunshine, he says, "You're under arrest for not having a...not having a...not having a license!"
* Ms. Bitters, the "skool"-teacher on ''[[Invader Zim]].'' She looks like an old woman, yet she can hover, move sinuously, pass through walls and is burned by the sun. [[Word of God|One of the creators]] is on record as saying she's non-human, but her exact nature is never exactly quantified.
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* The Manji from the animated ''[[Jumanji (animation)|Jumanji]]'' series were a whole tribe of Ambiguously Human [[Malevolent Masked Men]]. One character outright questions if they are people when she first sees them, Alan replies simply that they are '[[Mathematician's Answer|Manji]]'. Basically, the giant masks that are treated as their faces are big enough that there could or could not be a humanoid head behind them. No one knows.
* ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]'' takes place in a galaxy full of all sorts of alien-looking races, most of which are identified by name if a significant enough character is a member. Buzz himself, however, is never specifically called "human", his home planet is never identified, and he never removes the purple "cloth" over the back of his head, even in civilian clothes - for all we know, it could actually be part of his head.
* Quite a few villains from ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]''. A lot of them have bizarre appearances and are a [[Little Bit Beastly]] but are never stated to be anything other than human. [[Word of God|Mr. Warburten]] said there were plans for an episode that explained this, [[Aborted Arc| but it was never made.]]
** Also, Numbuh Infinity, Numbuh Vine, and Numbuh 74.239; at least canon-wise, it is not confirmed that they are aliens, although that ambiguity would be done away with if the info in the "The G KND Experiment" ever becomes canon.
* The Gangreen Gang from ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''. It's never specified if they're humanoid monsters or weird-looking teenage boys.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:This Might Be an Index]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
[[Category:Not Quite Human]]
▲[[Category:Ambiguously Human]]
{{Template:Alien Continuum}}
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