Human Aliens: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|'''Amy:''' But you look human.

 

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.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

** 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.

* 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.

** There's also an antagonistic race of dog-eared humanoid Dogisians.

* 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—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.

 

* [[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.

* 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).

 

* In [[Keepers of the Elements]], everyone from the magical planets Alma, Spectra, Erendor, Wispera and Nadir resemble humans, with few exceptions.

 

* 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.

* {{spoiler|Ella}} was an alien who took on human form in order to blend in among humans in ''[[Cowboys and Aliens]]''.

 

* [[Robert Rankin]] shamelessly [[lampshade]]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."

* 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.

* The people of Ginen in ''[[The Shadow Speaker]]'' look like black Africans.

 

* ''[[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.

* 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.

 

* ''[[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.

 

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

 

* [[Fall City Blues]]: Eiffel.

* [[Irregular Elis]]: Hala River.

 

* 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.}}

 

* 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.

 

* ''[[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.}}

 

* 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.

* 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.

 

* 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).

* ''[[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.

 

*** 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.

* Famously subverted in ''[[V (TV series)|V]]'' - the Visitors look human, but are really [[The Reptilians|Reptilian Aliens]] using [[Latex Perfection]] to disguise themselves.

 

{{quote|"Except for their large transparent heads, three lips and sixteen nostrils, they looked just like you or I!"}}

 

* 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.

 

* ''[[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.

** 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.

 

* [[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.]]

* ''[[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—although the Nemesites will typically [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|disguise]] themselves as humans when dealing with Earthlings.

 

* [[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]

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bizarre Alien Biology]]

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Not Quite Human]]

[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]