Human Aliens: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:JLAliens_6167JLAliens 6167.jpg|link=The DCU|frame|"Justice League of Aliens." Yep, [[Superman|the guy with the big red "S" on his chest]], the [[New Gods|white dude with the silver helmet]], and the [[Green Lantern|Guy]] with the buzzcut, too.]]
 
{{quote|'''Amy:''' But you look human.
'''The Doctor:''' No, ''you'' look Time Lord. ''We'' came first.|''[[Doctor Who]]'', "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S31/E02 The Beast Below|The Beast Below]]"}}
|''[[Doctor Who]]'', "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S31/E02 The Beast Below|The Beast Below]]"}}
 
When a creature from a planet other than Earth looks like a human, sounds like a human, acts somewhat like a human and gets confused for a human.
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In 1950's movies, this also could be used as an actual part of the theme of the story, as the idea that these sorts of aliens could pass completely for humans made a rather handy [[Red Scare|metaphor for Communism]].
 
The bottom rung of the [[Alien Tropes|Alien ladder]], below [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]] and [[Intelligent Gerbil|Intelligent Gerbils]]s. Note that, for this trope, the alien must be '''visually indistinguishable from a human'''. "Human, but with blue (or purple, orange, [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|green]], etc.) skin" falls under [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]]. Aliens with cultural rather than biological similarities fall under [[Inexplicable Cultural Ties]].
 
Technically there could be another rung below this one on the [[Alien Tropes|Alien ladder]]: [[Humans Are White|Caucasian Aliens]]. There are many fictional planets where the aliens not only look human, they are all Caucasian-looking. This is rife with [[Unfortunate Implications]]. The opposite situation, where the alien race is genuinely alien, but they are all African-looking, or Asian-looking, etc., is vanishingly rare (and would probably carry a ''different'' batch of [[Unfortunate Implications]]).
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]]Played Straight ==
== = [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* ''[[Magical Project S]]'' the people of the magical kingdom are referred as not being human (even tough besides having magic they are identical in every aspect)
* ''[[To Heart 2]]'' brings us Lucy Maria Misora, aka Ruuko Kireinasora.
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* Barring their monkey-esque tails (which can be permanently removed), Saiyans from ''[[Dragon Ball]] Z'' look exactly like humans, and can even [[Half-Human Hybrid|interbreed with them with ease]]. Of course, the "Earth" of ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is also inhabited by five foot tall talking foxes, dogs, cats, pigs, sea turtles... and [[Weirdness Censor|nobody ever thinks any of it is strange]].
** Also, [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Ginyu Force]] member Recoom, who looks almost exactly like a human, unlike the rest of his team. A filler arc also had some that were fleeing from a world attacked by Frieza.
** Some of Freeza's [[Mook|mooksmook]]s look human, as well.
* Similar to the Saiyans above, Lala's race from ''[[To Love LOVE-Ru]]'' are indistinguishable from humans apart from their [[Fantastic Arousal|tails]]. In a similar vein, there is Ren/Run, whose only difference from humans is his [[Involuntary Shapeshifting|uncontrolled]] [[Gender Bender|Gender Bending]]. There are other examples of Human Aliens, but it is shown that there also exist [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]] and [[Plant Aliens]], so at least the universe has some variety.
* The S and Stars seasons of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' brought '''so''' many Human Aliens (or at least aliens that were ''originally'' human in appearance) from across the galaxy [[Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe|to Tokyo]] that one could wonder if non-humanoid intelligent lifeforms really existed at all! Even the [[Talking Animal|talking cats]] Luna and Artemis, who were aliens from the planet Mau in the manga, could assume human forms. (Rei's crows Phobos and Deimos were also revealed to be aliens who could take human form in the manga.) The filler arc villains Eiru and An from the start of the second season were also aliens who could assume human form, though the villains from the first season and the rest of the second season were originally from Earth.
** The Moon Kingdom inhabitants and the Senshi of the past could also count, since they're technically not from Earth. This also means {{spoiler|Queen Nehelenia/Zirconia}}, the [[Big Bad]] from SuperS, would count, even though the rest of her minions are either from Earth originally (animals given human form, some girls from the rainforest given powers) or are dream-monsters (the Lemures).
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* ''[[Bakugan Battle Brawlers]]'' New Vestroia introduces an extra-dimensional race known as the Vestals. There's not much difference between humans and Vestals, aside from their eyes. Human eyes have distinct, black pupils, while the Vestal pupil is just a darker shade than their iris. Given this style of pupil can be the norm for humans in other shows, one might not notice the difference immediately.
* The aliens from ''Niea7'' are human for all practical purposes, save for the shape of their ears and conspicuous antennae (for most of them) on top of their heads. Chada is somewhat of an exception, since he is plain ... weird.
* {{spoiler|Yuki, Ryoko and Kimidori}} from [[Suzumiya Haruhi]]
** Those are the {{spoiler|Humanoid Interfaces}} created by the actual {{spoiler|[[Starfish Aliens]] who are so alien that they don't even seem to have physical forms}}. Technically {{spoiler|Yuki}} and the others are [[Artificial Human|gynoids]], and not aliens themselves.
* The Altirrans in ''[[Birdy the Mighty]]'', including the title character herself, look pretty much human and most pretty much are. That said though a few of them, again including Birdy, have super powers thanks to various {{spoiler|[[Super Soldier]] projects, including [[Super Serum]] projects and [[Artificial Human|bio-engineering super soldiers]]}}, the latter involving Birdy herself.
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* Haruko Haruhara from ''[[FLCL]]''... maybe. She claims to be a 19-year-old space patrol officer, but is actually a galactic criminal out to find the Pirate King Atomsk. Its kinda hard to be sure of anything Haruko tells anybody. Other than pink hair and yellow eyes, Haruko is entirely humanoid. Also she fights with a Rickenbacker guitar, uses a house cat as a walkie-talkie, and has a flying Vespa.
** She can change her voice and probably appearance at will, as seen in episodes 1 and 5, which puts her in the [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]] category. Which would also explain what happens to her face when she's angry.
* In ''[[World of Narue]]'', Narue is half-alien half-human, but her father, sister, and all other members of her species look completely human. They also come from planet Japan, which also appears to have a history very similar to the Japan we know, so go figure.
* In [[Asobi ni Iku yo!|Asobi Ni Iku Yo]], not only do the Catians look exactly like humans except for the [[Catgirl|cat ears and tail,]] they even called THEIR''their'' planet "Earth" until they decided to make contact with us, then re-named it to Catia for our convenience. This seriously ticks off Beautiful Contact, a group of hardcore sci-fi fans who insist that humanity's [[First Contact]] with an alien species should be with a race that looks more dignified and unearthly.
** There's also an antagonistic race of dog-eared humanoid Dogisians.
* Mizuho Kazami and her family from ''[[Please Teacher!]]'' and ''[[Please Twins!]]'' look like humans with weird [[Hair Colors]]. She is herself a [[Half-Human Hybrid]], but her [[Hot Mom]] isn't.
** Not surprisingly, the same trope is in effect for Ichika Takatsuki in the "remakethird show in the same universe," ''[[AnoWaiting Natsuin dethe MatteruSummer]]''.
* The Yato from ''[[Gintama]]'' appear very human, although they do have super strength and are weak to the sun. Even their coloring isn't unnatural -- Kaguraunnatural—Kagura and Kamui's orange hair and blue eyes would be uncommon in Japan, but have been seen elsewhere. Other Yato characters are shown with even plainer coloring.
* The aliens of ''[[Please Save My Earth]]'' are only the size of a human thumb, but look exactly like humans.
 
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
 
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Superman]], [[Supergirl]], and all other Kryptonians are outwardly indistinguishable from humans, despite obvious biological differences. Exactly ''how'' close or distant humans and Kryptonians are can vary [[Depending on the Writer|depending on the work]]:
** According to some [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] stories, Kryptonians were descendants of humans plucked from Earth by a more technologically advanced race. Some [[Post-Crisis]] stories imply this as well.
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* The many worlds of the [[Cross Gen]] universe seem quite prone to humanity as a dominant population. Possibly explained by Geromi in ''Crux'', who mentions a mass exodus from Earth at some point that led to many other worlds being colonized, and that nobody's a true human any more. Discussed in the world-hopping storylines of ''Sigil'' and ''Mystic'', when Sam and Giselle encounter humans on a variety of strange worlds (in fact, it initially takes Giselle a while to realize she's not on Ciress any more).
 
=== [[WebFan ComicsWorks]] ===
 
== Fan Fic ==
* In [[Keepers of the Elements]], everyone from the magical planets Alma, Spectra, Erendor, Wispera and Nadir resemble humans, with few exceptions.
 
=== [[Film]] ===
 
== [[Film]] ==
* All the alien races in ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'' series. This gives the superficial illusion of [[Absent Aliens]], but there are a few here and there revealed to be aliens. Such as the air elemental, who looks like <s>a normal old lady</s> Dame [[Judi Dench]], but can turn into mist as she chooses. And there's the protagonist, Riddick, who's Furyan.
** Although neither are positively identified as aliens; the Elementals may simply be humans who have developed certain skills or been modified in some unexplained, apparently supernatural way - this apparently being possible in the Riddick Universe, judging by the Lord Marshal - and it is never explicitly stated whether the Furyans are an alien race, or merely a particular human population. In the Alan Dean Foster novelization Furyans are simply humans from a world of high gravity and Riddick is the last one, explaining his strength and speed on worlds with lower gravity.
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* {{spoiler|Ella}} was an alien who took on human form in order to blend in among humans in ''[[Cowboys and Aliens]]''.
 
=== [[Literature]] ===
 
* [[Robert Rankin]] shamelessly [[Lampshade|lampshadeslampshade]]s this in one of his stories (''Armageddon, the Musical'' I think) where it is advanced as proof that there is a [[God]] who designs dominant species in his own image. "As any [[Science Fiction]] fan knows, the basic human shape, Head at the top, two feet at the bottom, wedding tackle about halfway down, is the standard for intelligent life the universe over. They often speak good English with a noticeable American accent, too. Facts that should serve up friend Atheist with a workload of eggs, faces for the use of."
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Robert Rankin]] shamelessly [[Lampshade|lampshades]] this in one of his stories (''Armageddon, the Musical'' I think) where it is advanced as proof that there is a [[God]] who designs dominant species in his own image. "As any [[Science Fiction]] fan knows, the basic human shape, Head at the top, two feet at the bottom, wedding tackle about halfway down, is the standard for intelligent life the universe over. They often speak good English with a noticeable American accent, too. Facts that should serve up friend Atheist with a workload of eggs, faces for the use of."
* In one [[Discworld]] book (though it was referring to gods, the spirit's the same), it's mentioned that if you ask someone to come up with an alien-looking being, it would basically be a man in an animal mask.
* [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] did this all over the place starting back in [[Older Than Radio|1912]] with ''[[wikipedia:A Princess of Mars|A Princess of Mars]]''. Everybody on Mars except the Green men looked human, but [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|hotter]]. The earth born hero [[John Carter of Mars|John Carter]] and his Martian Princess wife have two kids, despite massive [[Bizarre Alien Biology|biological differences]] including Martians being oviparous. This doesn't even begin to cover some of the [[Bizarre Alien Biology|wild biology]] that shows up in the Land that Time Forgot stories.
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*** The beavers in ''The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe'' claim she was descended from Lilith, which just raises further questions. Of course, they aren't exactly experts on Jewish apocrypha.
*** Specifically, she is claimed to be descended from the Djinn on one side of her family, and the Giants on the other, and to have no human blood at all. One of the themes in the books is that being that look like humans but aren't are, invariably, wrong in ways that make them inimical to humans.
* The [[Noon Universe]] novels of the [[Strugatsky Brothers]] feature a lot of [[Planet of Hats]] Human Aliens civilizations, though their cultural, technological and historical development is rarely 100 % identical to that of the Terrans. [[Playing with a Trope|Among the most inventive examples]] are the people of the planet Saraksh, whose entire philosophical and religious system has been heavily influenced by the immense optical refraction phenomenon present in the atmosphere of their homeworld. From the surface it looks like the horizon is above the observer, which makes the Sarakshans think that they actually live inside a hollow cave in an endless piece of rock, rather than on a round planet floating in space. They call all who claim otherwise [[Pardon My Klingon|"Massaraksh"]] ("of the world inside-out"), a term which is also an [[Unusual Euphemism]] for "insane".
** Then there are the Leoniders, who are essentially a whole race of [[Space Amish]].
** The Noon-verse is also a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], since it features several [[Intelligent Gerbil]] (e.g. Tagorians, Golovans) and [[Starfish Alien]] races (e.g. [[Precursors|Wanderers]], Ark Megaforms).
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* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in Sergey Lukyanenko's ''A Lord from Planet Earth'' trilogy, where all races in the Milky Way (except {{spoiler|humans}}) have been [[Panspermia|seeded]] by a mysterious [[Precursors|precursor]] race. Played straight with Human Aliens from a faraway galaxy.
* Thomas in The Man who fell to Earth.
* In Sergey Volnov's ''Army of the Sun'' trilogy, there are three alien races who are dead ringers for three of the major human "sub-races" (the term used in the books): whites, blacks, and Asians. Nobody knows why that is the case, although there are plenty of other humanoid races. The leading theory is that they have been transplanted to other planets from Earth by [[Precursors]]. This theory is partially supported by several ancient records of the "Asian" race that look eerily similar to Ancient Chinese. To top it off, the name of their legendary ancient leader is very similar to "Genghis Khan". In any case, during the centuries of galactic domination of the [[The Empire|EarthStella Empire]], these three races were shown preferential treatment due to their, at least external, similarity to humans. After the aliens rebelled (justified, as Imperial humans were [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|bastards]]), they killed off many humans and enslaved many others. Those who survived and were not enslaved are still treated as second-class citizens (if that). As such, most traveling humans tend to pass themselves off as members of one of these human-like races, as aliens have no beef with them.
* This is the whole point of [[Zenna Henderson]]'s [[The People]]. They may be from a galaxy far, far away and have godlike paranormal abilities, but they look exactly like us. (In one story, "Deluge", there's a hint that they may have changed some to match Earth's environment.)
* The Elyins and the Kin in Geary Gravel's 1984 novel ''The Alchemists''.
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* The people of Ginen in ''[[The Shadow Speaker]]'' look like black Africans.
 
=== [[Live -Action TV]] ===
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' did this more times than can be counted. The most famous examples are, of course, the Doctor himself and the other Time Lords. Their most noticeable physiological differences (two hearts, 60-degree Fahrenheit body temperature, a far more complex brain structure, a respiratory bypass system, "symbiotic nuclei" in their cellular structure, and whatever organs or systems are responsible for their ability to regenerate) were effectively invisible to the television viewer.
** The [[Expanded Universe]] did a [[Lampshade Hanging]] by having a racist founder of Time Lord society, who thought that the Time Lord form was supreme to any other, go around the universe and infect species with a virus that would cause them to evolve into humanoid forms.
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* ''[[Odyssey 5]]'' had Synthetics, which were human bodies created by artificial intelligences. At one stage the team consult a sci-fi writer, pretending they're looking for help with a sci-fi novel. The writer complains how cliched the idea of Synthetics is: [[Conversational Troping|"It's just a cheap tool TV shows use to save on special effects!"]]
* A nice [[Hand Wave]] comes from the TV show ''[[Something Is Out There]]''. "God created human beings in his image, right? How many images do you think he has?"
* Pax and Crona from ''[[Vintergatan|At The End Of The Milky Way]]'' both look human, but with three differences -- theydifferences—they constantly crave sugar, their hair changes color depending on their emotions, and they make quick, pig-like noises when they're upset. Strangely enough, only Pax shows the two last signs, leading one to believe that it's either an [[Informed Ability]] for Crona, or he's just so slick he never changes emotion from 'groovy'.
* The aliens in ''[[The Event]]'' are distinguished from humans only by their longer lifespans and certain undescribed "skeletal and serological abnormalities". The latter are pronounced enough that a blood test will reveal them, and one plants himself with a tube of human blood to avoid arousing suspicions during a blood test. A DNA test will also reveal them, and [[Evil-Detecting Dog|dogs sometimes bark at them]].
* So you're watching ''[[Blake's 7]]'' and you find yourself wondering whether the very-human looking primitive tribe on this episode's guest planet are alien humanoids or descendants of a lost human colony? Don't bother thinking about it that hard. The series itself even lampshaded this in the 4th season:
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* In the recent [[Syfy]] version of [[Flash Gordon (TV series)|Flash Gordon]], Flash calls the inhabitants of Mongo "aliens" even though they look entirely human and even (inexplicably) speak English.
 
=== [[Radio]] ===
 
== Radio ==
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' has several examples, most notably Ford and Zaphod's unnamed species from the Betelgeuse system (the latter's extra head and arm are due to surgery). The only known differences are biological incompatibility with humans and multi-centennial lifespans.
 
=== [[Video Games]] ===
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]: Original Generation'' reveals that all the Human Aliens are actually humans, who left Earth long ago voluntarily. The Mysterious [[Cosmic Horror|Lovecraftian Aliens]] refer to Earth as the "Land of Beginning", where sentient life first evolved.
* ''Galactic Civilizations II'' has a race called the Altarians, who are essentially Humans With [[Psychic Powers]]. The Altarians even call the [[Humans by Any Other Name|Terrans]] their "lesser cousins." It's implied in the backstory, however, that the two races might have a common origin.
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* ''[[Escape From St. Mary's|Escape From St Marys]]'': You first think you're looking for a shriveled green man, for your search's actual result turns out more like this.
 
=== [[Web OriginalComics]] ===
 
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [[Fall City Blues]]: Eiffel.
* [[Irregular Elis]]: Hala River.
 
=== Web Original ===
 
== Web Original ==
* The Tautiq, a race of alien refugees who now live on earth in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', basically look like taller, thinner humans with odd hair-and-skin color combinations. They aren't "sexually compatible" with humans, either, but you can't tell that without seeing them naked.
** The Pelkons, another group of alien refugees who now live on earth are even more human-like than the Tautiq, (the primary difference are leopard-like spots on their chests and backs and milk-white, pupilless eyes), as they ''are'' "sexually compatible" (but are not cross-fertile) with humans.
* Almost all characters in ''[[Chaos Fighters]]'' are this. The exceptions are {{spoiler|Irtial and Muranyl, who are from Earth.}}
 
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[Atomic Betty]]'', Betty Barrett is an alien girl from the planet Bane of Fragnog.
* In ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'', Alan is a [[Half-Human Hybrid|Pyronite crossbreed]] who looks human except for when he's using his powers, and it's revealed that {{spoiler|Gwen is a [[Half-Human Hybrid]]}} and gets her powers from her alien grandmother (the logical extension is, of course, that anyone without an Omnitrix strapped to their wrist who has powers is an alien or part-alien. The fans have had fun with this).
* [[Word Girl]] is an alien from the planet Lexicon, but looks nothing remotely exotic.
 
== Aversions and subversions ==
----
=== [[LiteratureAnime]] ===
 
= Aversions and subversions =
 
== [[Anime]] ==
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', oddly enough several of the Angels are roughly humanoid, others are more... [[Eldritch Abomination|interesting.]] Notably, the two most powerful ones are basically cloned [[Half-Human Hybrid|Half Human Hybrids]].
** But it's not surprising considering that in the Eva universe, {{spoiler|humans were descended from the 2nd Angel, Lilith. As such, one of the aforementioned [[Half-Human Hybrid|Half Human Hybrids]] (Kaworu) refers to humanity as "Lilim". Then in ''End of Evangelion'' Misato puts forth the theory that humanity, collectively, is the 18th Angel.}}
 
== = Film ===
 
== Film ==
* The First Breed from ''His Majesty's Starship'' look nothing like humans.
** Although books are naturally far less vulnerable to this trope than [[Live Action TV]], given that it takes significantly less effort to write a character as a "20-foot arachnid" than it does to act said spider.
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* Mostly averted in the [[Star Wars]] series. It does feature a few human-looking (possibly) aliens, although those may just be human colonies. It also features plenty of [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]]. But then there are also many species that are very non-human-looking. It's a richly diverse galaxy.
* Subverted in ''[[Galaxy Quest]],'' as the aliens initially appear human, but are using technology to change their appearance because their true form is . . . unsettling.
* Subverted in the remake of ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''; Klaatu's human form is implied to have been grown inside his initial containment suit to allow him to be compatible with the Earth's environment.
 
=== [[Literature]] ===
 
== [[Literature]] ==
* Averted in the novel ''Quest'' by Andreas Eschbach, when it is explained that: 1.All human races originated on earth and just evolved differently due to different environments. 2.All of the galaxy's life originated on one planet and cells of it have been spread by comets.
* Averted in the novel ''Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday'' (a prequel to the film), where Starscream claims that any sufficiently advanced race would naturally build machines that were similar to Cybertronians, as the Decepticons believe that they are the most perfect lifeforms in the galaxy. However, he also may have been simply trying to explain away the fact that the human spaceship ''Ghost 1'' seemed to be built using Cybertronian technology (i.e. that Megatron, the Decepticons' true leader, has been found).
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* ''[[Animorphs]]'' pointedly averts this trope. The most humanoid alien ever mentioned in the series is a species of amphibious monkey. Also, the Hork-Bajir feature basically the same head/two arms/two legs body shape, but otherwise go even beyond [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]] (in fact, they more closely resemble dinosaurs. The torsos of Andalites look fairly human, and the head has a [[Rubber Forehead Alien]] quality to it, but otherwise they are very different (having a basic body structure like that of a Centaur). Aside from those three, none of the alien races/species portrayed or mentioned in the books look anything even remotely human. Some of them even stray into [[Starfish Alien]] territory.
 
== = [[Live -Action TV]] ===
 
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had a strange inversion. The Vorlons are so alien looking that for the first two seasons we don't know how much of them is clothing and how much is their real body. Their true form appears to some kind of energy being, but every species perceives a Vorlon to look like their species' version of an angel -- itangel—it is suggested that this is the result of the ancient Vorlons having not only genetically tweaked the other species, but also appeared to them ''as'' angels at appropriate times in their respective development, creating a basis for the legends, taking advantage of them, or both.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
** It is also suggested that they have to telepathically maintain this illusion. This explains why Kosh claimed he had to rest after being seeseen by so many the first time we see a Vorlon as an 'angel'. And why we eventually see their true forms, when the two Vorlons present are too occupied to care about the witnesses around them.
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had a strange inversion. The Vorlons are so alien looking that for the first two seasons we don't know how much of them is clothing and how much is their real body. Their true form appears to some kind of energy being, but every species perceives a Vorlon to look like their species version of an angel -- it is suggested that this is the result of the ancient Vorlons having not only genetically tweaked the other species, but also appeared to them ''as'' angels at appropriate times in their respective development, creating a basis for the legends, taking advantage of them, or both.
** It is also suggested that they have to telepathically maintain this illusion. This explains why Kosh claimed he had to rest after being see by so many the first time we see a Vorlon as an 'angel'. And why we eventually see their true forms, when the two Vorlons present are too occupied to care about the witnesses around them.
*** And, when we finally do see the (apparently) true form of Vorlons, it looks like {{spoiler|a snake with feathered wings}} more than anything else, neatly covering a large swath of cultures that don't have anything resembling angels in their mythologies.
* ''[[Firefly]]'', a verse with [[Absent Aliens]], pointedly avoids this trope. If the people on the next planet over look human, that's because they are.
* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' had a weird variation once: apparently, it's not just humans that have doubles. "Who Watches the Watchers?" features a alien species that are physically identical to ''Vulcans'' (or at least Romulans, who are basically Vulcans with a ridge to make them distinct from their Federation cousins) without being a descendant. Strangely enough, they were apparently also ''mentally'' similar to Vulcans (the whole logic thing).
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' in which astronauts are surprised to find Mars inhabited by human beings.
* Famously subverted in ''[[V (TV series)|V]]'' - the Visitors look human, but are really [[The Reptilians|Reptilian Aliens]] using [[Latex Perfection]] to disguise themselves.
 
 
=== [[Radio]] ===
* Parodied in the ''[[Kenny Everett|Captain Kremmen]]'' radio spoof, when Kremmen first encounters the Thargoids.
{{quote|"Except for their large transparent heads, three lips and sixteen nostrils, they looked just like you or I!"}}
 
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
 
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Subverted in ''Cthulhu Tech''. The Nazzadi look like [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]], but that is because they are actually genetically engineered from humans by the very alien [[Starfish Aliens|Migou]].
* ''[[Traveller]]'' [[Role -Playing Game]] both uses ''and'' subverts this; there are humans and humanoids [[Transplanted Humans|spread]] by mysterious [[Precursors]], and there are [[Starfish Aliens]], some of them ''very'' alien.
 
 
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]'' has an ironic subversion, since all the Necromorphs are made from human corpses and several of them look pretty damn close to a plain old human.
* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has many races that are distinctly non-human. The Elcor look like a cross between small elephants and gorillas, and the Hanar look like floating jellyfish.
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** Played with with Quarians as well. {{spoiler|As an unmasked Tali reveals}}, their faces are nigh identical to humans, with the exception of having different eye colors, but the rest of their anatomy is very different, like having three claw like fingers instead of hands, bowed legs, and more pronounced sexual dimorphism (ie, men have huge chests, women have large hips), in addition to having completely different DNA and biochemistry. Still, Quarians and Humans are very similar, and easily the two species closest in appearance in the entire series.
 
=== Web Comics ===
 
== Webcomics ==
* [[Alien Dice]] has numerous examples of aliens who look similar to humans but with subtle differences, such as exotic [[Hair Colors]] or [[Cute Little Fangs]]. It also has a rather interesting subversion when it is [[The Reveal|revealed]] that {{spoiler|the reason that the blueskinned Rishan look human is because they '''are''' human, having been created using genetic material taken from Earth humans generations ago}}.
* ''[[El Goonish Shive]].'' Aliens and magical beings get around by wearing T-shirts that say "Human" or some such. (''One'' person notices that his coworker is an alien. Her denying it is enough to convince the others, and she and this coworker wind up sending silly notes back and forth to each other about it.) Of course, Uryuoms being natural shapeshifters ''and'' the creators of [[Transformation Ray]] technology, they could hide by simply becoming human. Of course, [[Rule of Funny|that wouldn't be funny.]]
** Two of them hire Ted (seen in a flashback) to design human forms for them, and provide the technology for it - apparently there are legal/political/religious reasons why they can't do it themselves, rather than an inability to do it themselves. Also, once they've been raygunned into humans, they can (implied) shift back and forth freely.
** It gets better. Uryuoms don't consider themselves actual aliens--asaliens—as one of the pair who hired Tedd said, he's a natural-born American! Hence the above argument--theargument—the other characters knew she wasn't ''human'', but she's not ''alien''. Wonderful thing, jus soli, eh?
* ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]].'' Except for the cameo crossovers with ''[[Melonpool]], [[Zortic]],'' and ''Zeera the Space Pirate,'' all aliens depicted have been [[Starfish Aliens|nonhumanoid]] in their true forms--althoughforms—although the Nemesites will typically [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|disguise]] themselves as humans when dealing with Earthlings.
 
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[Inverted]] [[Played for Laughs|For Laughs]] in ''[[Invader Zim]]''. [[Villain Protagonist|Zim]] looks nothing like a human (having green skin, antennae and no nose or ears), but with a minimum of effort absolutely nobody on Earth notices except for [[Hero Antagonist|Dib]].
** But he has [[Paper-Thin Disguise|his human disguise]]! He puts in his contacts and wears a wig - INGENIOUS!!! [http://www.quizilla.com/user_images/P/PorkCow/1042793471_InvaderZim.jpg evidence]
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{{reflist}}
{{Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism}}
{{Alien Continuum}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Bizarre Alien Biology]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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[[Category:Not Quite Human]]
[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]
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