The Reptilians: Difference between revisions

[[File:reptitian_4735.jpg|frame|The typical appearance of a Reptilian. Or at least, when they don't [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|look just]] [[They Look Like Us Now|like us]].]]

Since they are reptiles they, of course, [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|are almost always evil]]. Unlike their Grey and Green cousins, though, [[The Reptilians]] tend to be portrayed as [[Always Chaotic Evil|even more vicious and sadistic]], often abducting humans as a [[Slave Race]] or as a [[To Serve Man|food source]]. They are frequently [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shape-shifters]], changing into human form in order to infiltrate our ranks and take over the world before we even realize it. Sometimes, like [[Little Green Men]] and [[The Greys]], they can be more enigmatic invaders whose only direct contact with humans is through abductions. The trend nowadays, though, has been to give [[The Reptilians]] a more detailed culture than those two, typically as either [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens]] or as the vanguard of a vast but decadent empire. They commonly have hidden bases [[Beneath the Earth]], which probably stems from a fusion of the [[Primal Fear|Primal Fears]] of both reptiles and the underground.

If the biological history of [[The Reptilians]] gets mentioned, they are frequently revealed to be dinosaurs who attained sentience, somehow survived the K/P Extinction event, and moved elsewhere among the stars, not necessarily in that order<ref>To be technical, many believe humans and other mammals themselves evolved from reptilian proto-dinosaurs (i.e. synapsids), so having the Reptilians actually stay strictly reptilian would be quite a stretch, especially if they moved to a planet with a very different environment from Earth's to evolve in</ref>. Such dinosaur-derived creatures are sometimes called "Dinosauroids," a term first popularized by paleontologist Dale Russell's hypothetical ''Troodon''-descended humanoid. Naturally, those dinosaurs often turn out to have been descendants of the carnivorous ones such as ''[[Raptor Attack|Velociraptor]]'' or ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]'' (it helps that many theropods are considered to have been the most intelligent dinosaurs there were). Alternatively, they evolved on a planet whose evolutionary history is just like that of Earth, but [[Evolutionary Levels|stalled out]] before mammals could take their [[Humans Are Special|rightful place at the top]].

Compare [[Lizard Folk]] and [[Snake People]], which are generally the [[Fantasy Counterpart|Fantasy Counterparts]] to this trope. The former also tend to be more like dumb scaly orcs in contrast to the advanced Reptilians.

* One of the ''[[Doraemon]]'' movies deal with [[The Reptilians]] whose civilization thrives [[Beneath the Earth]], and seek to alter the timeline so it's them, not the humans, who flourish above ground. Despite their sinister motives, they are actually no less moral than humans, if not objectively better (their technology being far more eco-friendly, for example). The finale of the movie have them agreed to stay under the earth, because [[Deus Ex Machina|Doraemon's future gadgets]] saved their ancestors from extinction.

* One of the older [[Star Trek]] novels- ''The Captain's Table: War Dragons''- had the humanoid reptillian Anjiri and the theropod-like Nykkus {{spoiler|which turn out to be [[Bizarre Alien Biology|two forms of the same species]].}} While their dialogue does not use [[Sssssnaketalk]], their language relies so heavily on gestures that [[Universal Translator|Universal Translators]] can't handle it. While the first ones to show up are basically incompetent [[Space Pirates]], it turns out that neither of these traits [[Planet of Hats|is their hat]].

* The Visitors from ''[[V]]'' are the [[Trope Codifier|Trope Codifiers]]. They infiltrate many parts of human society, and they want to ''[[To Serve Man|eat us]]'' (along with other tasty mammals). Rather than shapeshifting, however, they use fake human-like skin to mask their true appearance, a method best exemplified by the iconic shot of Diana peeling back the skin on one side of her face to reveal green scaly skin and a catlike eye. It should be noted that, aside from [[Follow the Leader|inspiring the creation of other fictional Reptilians]], ''V'' led to the plethora of conspiracy theories about Reptilians, which were pretty much nonexistent before the show aired.

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has the Silurians and their aquatic cousins the Sea Devils<ref>Both of these are technically [[Fantastic Slurs]]: the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] has "Earth Reptiles" as a more respectful term, and the Eleventh Doctor uses the taxonomically inaccurate "homo reptilia"</ref>. They are not extraterrestrials, but the previous inhabitants of Earth before humans came around. They do live underground and abduct people, though, which still fits in with Reptilian lore. There are also the Ice Warriors, the inhabitants of Mars, though their reptilian features aren't emphasized as much.

* The [[Snake Talk|snake-talking]] Thrynn in [[Starflight]]. Interstellar merchants and con-artists who, despite their depiction as having purely carnivorous dental structure, find themselves in constant war with their [[Plant Aliens|neighbors, the Elowan]]. The Thrynn have [[Eats Babies|a taste for Elowan "headfruit"]] you see. Despite this habit, they are generally peaceful with other races, and selling plutonium to them can be highly profitable--unless you have an Elowan aboard, that is.