Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,430
edits
We Come in Peace, Shoot to Kill: Difference between revisions
markup
m (Mass update links) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (markup) |
||
| (10 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 6:
[[Space Alien|Alien]]s' [[First Contact]] with Earthlings will go one of two ways, usually.
# [[Innocent Aliens|Peaceful aliens]] will be met with fear and greed, as humans try to kidnap, interrogate, dissect them, etc. They'll usually think the aliens want to attack. Said aliens may gain one or two human friends (the main characters) but most of the human race is shown to be primitive fools. [[Humans Are
# [[Aliens Are Bastards|Evil aliens]] will either outright attack, or manipulate themselves into positions of power over humanity, made more easy by the hordes of naive humans who just want to be friends, which shows most of the human race to be primitive fools. Only a few will know the truth, and try to convince everyone else that [[To Serve Man|"it's a cookbook!"]] This is a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Subverted Suspicion Aesop]] with its own flavor.
It's a [[
A subversion of [[I Come in Peace]]. Aliens who try this should read [[How to Invade An Alien Planet]].
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* In ''[[Soukou no Strain]]'', {{spoiler|the peaceful Emilies are dissected for their psychic power, leading them to attack; we learn from the two Emilies in the series that [[Last of His Kind|it doesn't go well]].}}
Line 21 ⟶ 20:
==
* In [[Archie Comics|Archie's]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', humans dissecting the occupant of a downed Xorda spacecraft caused the entire race to launch genetic bombs at the Earth, thus killing off most humans and causing evolutionary mutation that led to our furry friends, the Mobians, becoming a dominant species along with the human-like Overlanders.
* ''[[Superman|Action Comics]]''. [[Crystal Spires and Togas|An ancient and wise race]] is doomed by [[Earthshattering Kaboom|planetary destruction]]. Their greatest scientist [[Ignored Expert|is ignored by his peers]], so he sends his infant son, the [[Last of His Kind]], to Earth, where his ship lands in a field outside a town called Smallville ... And because this is the [[Fantastic Racism|institutionally anti-alien]] Earth of the 31st century, Jun and Mara blast the infant with a laser-rifle and bury the remains behind the barn. They're still talking about how right they were to do so some months later, when they get killed in passing by a deranged [[Alternate Universe]] Superboy. [[Karmic Death|That's karma for you]].
Line 32 ⟶ 31:
== Films ==
* Displayed quite nicely in ''[[Independence Day]]'', in which a [[Strawman Political|horde of
** This is not only a darkly funny [[Take That]] to ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'', but a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[War of the Worlds]]''. A group of astronomers tried to use semaphore flags to communicate their good will to a pit containing the Martian ship and a half-constructed tripod. [[Hilarity Ensues|Heat Ray-ity Ensues]].
* Subsequently parodied in ''[[Mars Attacks
* ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'' (the original) is the quintessential movie for demonstrating how badly humans would treat [[Innocent Aliens]].
* ''[[Starman (film)|Starman]]'' (the movie, and then the TV series based on it) was about a friendly alien who was hounded by the government. He first came to Earth in response to our friendly greetings carried aboard one of the Voyager probes... and was promptly shot down.
* ''[[Gamera]]: Guardian of the Universe'' (1995) featured a variation. Although not aliens, the army incorrectly decides that Gamera, a benevolent [[Anti-Hero]] [[Kaiju]] created specifically to protect the Earth, is the real threat, while the evil, destructive, man-eating Gyaos are a nuisance by comparison.
Line 54 ⟶ 53:
== Literature ==
* A somewhat clever twist occurs in one ''[[Maximum Boy]]'' novel where alien cows decide to visit earth: The cows state that they ''come'' in peace, but state that how they ''leave'' depends on what they find. [[Alien Invasion|Sure enough.....]]
* ''[[The Holy Land]]'', in which the [[Eagle Land|fundamentalist American government]]
* Skewered in George Alec Effinger's hilarious 1984 short story, ''The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything'': the aliens who visit, called the Nuhp, really do come in peace, and really are willing and able to help solve at least some of Earth's problems. Unfortunately, they're also such an ''annoying'' bunch of know-it-alls, that their presence gradually becomes more curse than blessing. Eventually, humanity leaves Earth in droves to get away from the Nuhp... and the resultant population reduction solves the ''rest'' of Earth's problems by default. Turns out this happens on ''every'' planet the Nuhp visit, and space is filled with species that left their homeworlds to get away from them.
* [[Stanislaw Lem]]'s novel ''Fiasco'' features a human starship on a mission to "peacefully make contact" with the inhabitants of the planet Quinta. This proves difficult when they discover that Quintan civilization is consumed with an internal conflict that has led the antagonistic factions to garrison their entire solar system with powerful automated war machines. Despite the humans having a substantial technological edge over the Quintans, a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and double-crosses ensues, accompanied by escalating shows of force {{spoiler|that culminate in the humans blowing up the entire planet}}.
Line 72 ⟶ 71:
== Live-Action TV ==
* New ''[[Doctor Who]]'' plays this one straight: [[The Master (trope)|The Master]] goes to Earth, creates a human identity for himself, and gets elected as Prime Minister. Then he calls in the Toclafane, who come to Earth under the pretense of sharing their technology in exchange for Earth's friendship. Moments after first contact, however, the Master and the Toclafane set their true agenda into motion: take over the world so they can build warships and conquer the rest of the universe. Earth humans are literally (in the Latin sense of the word) decimated.
** The Silurians have elements of Category 2, with the Doctor castigating UNIT for being trigger-happy. But the Silurians themselves are conflicted, with some of them wanting peace and others releasing a plague on London.
** The [[Big Finish]] audio drama "Blood of the Daleks" features a beleaguered human colony being contacted by "benevolent aliens". The clue's in the title. (And at the end {{spoiler|they make the same mistake with the Cybermen}}.)
** ''[[Doctor Who
*** There was a great line at the end of that episode.
{{quote|
'''The Doctor:''' It's not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory. }}
* Both variations are common in ''[[The Outer Limits]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' and similar anthology shows.
* ''[[V (TV series)|V]]: The Series'' (itself a followup to two miniseries) was about a hostile, sneaky, [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Nazi-like]] alien race using humanity's credulity against them.
** Originally conceived as a show about the presidency of a Father Coughlin like American fascist, but [[Screwed by the Network|the network]] demanded Nazis [[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE!]]
** The 2009 reboot makes it the alien leader's catchphrase: "We are of peace, always." (Major spoiler: {{spoiler|No, they aren't}}.)
Line 95 ⟶ 94:
* The main characters of ''[[Roswell]]'' are just three (or, for a while, four) teenagers who only want to live in peace until they figure out a way to get home, but they live in constant - and justifiable, given certain events of the first season - fear of the government and other alien hunters.
* Captain Archer of the NX-01 ''[[Enterprise]]'' sets forth on a mission of exploration and derides the need for powerful weapons, but three years of [[Villain of the Week|Close Encounters of the Worst Kind]] and the deaths of 27 crewmen in the Xindi conflict cause him to recommend that the NX-02 be better armed and have a squad of [[Space Marine|MACO's]] as well.
** The prologue to "In a Mirror, Darkly" takes the [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|beautiful]] ''[[Star Trek: First Contact|First Contact]]'' scene where humanity meets the Vulcans, flips it inside-out and drops it squarely into Type 1 of this
* On ''[[Babylon 5]]'', such an incident kicked off the pre-series Earth-Minbari War. {{spoiler|During the first contact between Earth and Minbari starships, the Minbari approach with gunports open, a cultural gesture of respect. The Earth captain overreacts -- the Minbari accidentally jam the Humans' jump drives with their scanners -- and assumes hostile intent. [[Hilarity Ensues]].}}
* In the [[Twilight Zone]] episode "To Serve Man" (based on the Damon Knight story of the same name), outwardly-benevolent aliens visit us and grant us all of their technological wonders, including indestructible force-domes that protect each nation from nuclear attack by any other nation. We accidentally get hold of their handbook, titled "[[To Serve Man]]". [[I'm a Humanitarian|Guess which kind of "Serve" they had in mind]]?
Line 103 ⟶ 102:
== Music ==
* A recurring line in [[wikipedia:The Firm (Star
* "Star Invasion" by [[Helloween]] has one such misunderstanding. An awful mess ensues.
== Newspaper Comics ==
* Doctor Fun has a version where [[Horny Vikings]] with skull and bones on the sail [[Implausible Deniability|try to pull this]]. See [http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/collections/1987/images/df1987-055.gif here].
Line 119 ⟶ 122:
* The [[Backstory]] to ''X-COM: UFO Defense'' has humanity repeatedly trying to contact the alien invaders and being ignored. Although the aliens weren't really bad guys at that point (there were UFO sightings, but relatively few abductions), there wasn't much of a problem other than the diplomatic equivalent of getting the cold shoulder. Then the aliens attacked a city. Let's round up a posse and kick their alien asses!
** In addition, in both ''UFO Defense'' and ''Terror from the Deep'', the aliens will try to convince territorial governments of their good intentions. If they succeed, the government ceases funding X-COM and the aliens actually don't attack them any more. If ''all'' governments sign non-aggression pacts with the aliens, then the aliens ''summarily destroy humanity''. Whoops!
** The [[
* ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'': "Republican Space Rangers" mocks this trope to hell and back as part of the [[Anvilicious]] satire.
* The trope title is a criminal offence in ''[[Startopia]]'', which will occasionally show up on criminal peeps that enter your station.
Line 126 ⟶ 129:
== Webcomics ==
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', a horde of fleshreaving, soul-devouring, [[
** Justified as this particular dimension has no concept of "evil" and just accepted the ridiculously [[Blatant Lies]] they were told even after the initial slaughter.
* This is one of the two strategies of the invading Martians in ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'', as explained in [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2413.html this strip], and the strip annotation references this very page.
Line 139 ⟶ 142:
* In the ''[[Superfriends]]'' episode, "Volcano," an alien ship crashes lands into an active volcano. Superman and Samurai come to render assistance, but the aliens are so paranoid that they are more determined to keep the superheroes away even while their ship is sinking into the magma. Meanwhile, the heroes rack their brains for a way to save the aliens before it's too late.
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "The Springfield Files", the trope is parodied when an alien (which later turns out to be Mr. Burns, made to look like an alien [[It Make Sense In Context|through various circumstances]]) greets the people of Springfield:
{{quote|
'''Lenny:''' It's bringing love! Don't let it get away!
'''Carl:''' Break its legs! }}
* REGIS in ''[[Megas XLR]]'' gives us this gem:
{{quote|
* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] in one old Gumby short. Long story short, Pokey needed to be rescued from a group of Native Americans, so Gumby and some pilgrims storm their camp and send the natives running with gunfire. Immediately thereafter, they claim that they "come in peace."
Line 150 ⟶ 153:
[[Category:Alien Tropes]]
[[Category:We Come In Peace Shoot To Kill]]
[[Category:
| |||