Easily-Thwarted Alien Invasion: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"You guys couldn't take over a damn bowl of Jell-O!"''|'''Frylock''' on ''The Plutonians'', ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Animation)|Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]''}}

The easiest way to write an [[Alien Invasion]] is to make the invaders [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|nigh unstoppable]] by giving them technology and weapons we can't even [[Faster Than Light Travel|comprehend]], [[Death Ray|defend against]] or [[Deflector Shields|overpower.]] If they were just like a human army, it might as well be a war story; there ''must'' be something about the aliens that makes them distinct from any other army.

The easiest way to write an [[Alien Invasion]] is to make the invaders [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|nigh unstoppable]] by giving them technology and weapons we can't even [[Faster-Than-Light Travel|comprehend]], [[Death Ray|defend against]] or [[Deflector Shields|overpower.]] If they were just like a human army, it might as well be a war story; there ''must'' be something about the aliens that makes them distinct from any other army.

But the heroes and humanity can't just be dispassionately crushed under a cosmic steamroller, because a [[Cosmic Horror Story]] would be a box office dud due to the bleak narrative and [[Downer Ending]]. Besides, [[Most Writers Are Human|who would]] [[Viewers are Morons|want to read]] that kind of story?

So what authors do is craft an Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion. To [[Drama Preserving Handicap|compensate]] for the aliens' unstoppable power they [[Flaw Exploitation|build in]] a [[Kryptonite Factor|glaring]] and [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere|common weakness]] that the heroes and humanity can use to beat back this alien menace once it's identified.

So what authors do is craft an Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion. To [[Drama-Preserving Handicap|compensate]] for the aliens' unstoppable power they [[Flaw Exploitation|build in]] a [[Kryptonite Factor|glaring]] and [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere|common weakness]] that the heroes and humanity can use to beat back this alien menace once it's identified.

This doesn't just apply to [[Keystone Army|armies]], but can be done for individual aliens and non-sentient alien monsters. Maybe [[Nigh Invulnerable|their skin is tough enough]] to [[Five Rounds Rapid|stop bullets]], or they're [[Telepathy|telepathic]], or they have [[Mind Control|mind-control]] powers, or they have some sort of martial society and [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?|cannot comprehend]] "[[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|mercy]]", "[[Proud Warrior Race|surrender]]" or "[[The Virus|peaceful coexistence]]". Whatever their advantage or power, it's always balanced by a vulnerability to an [[Mundane Solution|over the counter product.]]

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* ''[[Signs]]'' with water. Although it's not really necessary, given that this is a race that can be stopped by a pantry door that probably wouldn't have kept a determined human in. Seriously. It's like if humanity invaded the acid-covered world, with acid rain, and invaded the natives by wandering naked into the rural farmhouses.

* ''[[Evolution (Film)|Evolution]]'' had the aliens thwarted by {{spoiler|[[Product Placement|Head and Shoulders Shampoo's]]}} Selenium Sulfide.

* ''[[Prince of Space]]''. The chickenmen of Krankor are able to travel [[Sci Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale|half a million miles]] to invade Earth, even though their fuel capabilities lag far behind ours, where they have their asses handed to them [[Villain Decay|repeatedly]] by a man who has no superpowers, but can skip reasonably well. Turns out that [[Shooting Superman|their weapons have no effect on him]].

* ''[[Prince of Space]]''. The chickenmen of Krankor are able to travel [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale|half a million miles]] to invade Earth, even though their fuel capabilities lag far behind ours, where they have their asses handed to them [[Villain Decay|repeatedly]] by a man who has no superpowers, but can skip reasonably well. Turns out that [[Shooting Superman|their weapons have no effect on him]].

** Isn't "invulnerable" a super power?

** The dissonance comes from the fact that in the original he wasn't immune to their weapons, but was dodging them. In the dub he claimed that their weapons couldn't hurt him - but still dodged when they shot at him.

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** And not much in the way of attitude, when you get down to brass tacks. Nonetheless, five teens restricted to a single city with no military skill or training whatsoever fend off entire ''armies'' that know where they live, who they are, and what they like to do in their free time.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smwd8b0ycBg Better call Apeldoorn... or maybe not].

* ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' loves this trope, with dozens of aliens invasions ranging from single vessels to vast fleets ([[The World Is Always Doomed]], after all) being Easily Thwarted by a single man with unusual dress sense. The spin-off series ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures (TV)|The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' plays it even more straight than its source material.

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' loves this trope, with dozens of aliens invasions ranging from single vessels to vast fleets ([[The World Is Always Doomed]], after all) being Easily Thwarted by a single man with unusual dress sense. The spin-off series ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures (TV)|The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' plays it even more straight than its source material.

** This generally reaches its extreme whenever the Doctor fends of Dalek fleets. For reference, Daleks are the scourge of the universe, with precious few ''civilizations'' being able to stand against even small amounts of them.

* The Science Fiction Sketch of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', in which blancmanges from Andromeda seek to win Wimbledon by turning everyone in the world into a Scotsman. They were thwarted when two people ran out onto the tennis court and ate the blancmanges.

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[[Category:Plots]]

[[Category:Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion]]

[[Category:Trope]]