History Main / AlienInvasion

** The Black Arms invade in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', though the all-out assault on Earth had been planned out at least fifty years prior. The purpose, however, is not so much to conquer or destroy as it is to obtain the Chaos Emeralds.

** The Marauders in ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'', though not strictly aliens, do arrive en masse from an alternate dimension, and their attempt to conquer Earth plays out very much like one.

* ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' involves the aliens misinterpreting the recordings of arcade games from TheEighties as a hostile message and modeling their attack on Earth as classic video game characters, such as VideoGame/PacMan and VideoGame/DonkeyKong. Creator/AdamSandler and Creator/KevinJames assemble a team of retrogamers to fight them with video game-inspired weapons.

* In his opening paragraph to ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', Creator/HGWells cited the British treatment of the Aborigines of Tasmania as morally akin to the Martians' invasion. Raphael Lemkin, coiner of the term "genocide", cited the extermination of the Tasmanians as an example of the concept. Thanks in large part to a deliberate campaign of extermination, which included bounties for dead children, betwen 1820 and 1840, the native population of Tasmania fell from about 1500 to just 47.

* ''Anime/VoltesV'': The Boazanians are a HigherTechSpecies that are renowned for their GalacticConqueror abilities thanks to their vicious military and culture of honour. The plot of the anime is kicked off when they decide to invade the Earth, but in a twist of events, it turns out the humans saw it coming and prepared accordingly. [[spoiler: The scientist who warned them of the invasion, Kentaro Go, is actually a Boazanian himself. He was once the Boazan Royal Prince Gohl, but when his secret was exposed - that he was a [[SlaveRace Hornless Boazanian]] in spite of his RoyalBlood - he was imprisoned, humiliated and forced into slavery by his evil cousin, Emperor Za,bajil. Using his skills in technology and science, he created many weapons to aid slave rebellions across Boazania, and upon the urging of his people, escaped to Earth, where he was safe from oppression. Knowing that the Boazanians would eventually threaten Earthern tranquility as well, he created the robot Voltes V. The robot eventually flies to Boazania and overthrows the corrupt regime, with Gohl reuming his rightful position as King.]]

* ''Anime/{{Albegas}}'': In the first episode the Dellinger Empire invade Earth, which was coincidentally around the same time when Aoba High School was holding a robot building competition and three students created robots formidable enough to repel them. These three robots were fused together by Dr. Mizuki into the titular Albegas, which becomes the Dellinger's arch-enemy as it regularly counters their invasion efforts.

* ''Anime/{{Albegas}}'': In the first episode the Dellinger Empire invade Earth, which was coincidentally around the same time when Aoba High School was holding a robot building competition and three students created robots formidable enough to repel them. These three robots were fused together by Dr. Mizuki into the titular Albegas.

* The plot of all three entries of the ''Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy'' (''Anime/CombattlerV, Anime/VoltesV, ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'') is kicked off with an alien invasion, each led by their own ConqueringAlienPrince.

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':

** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E51TheInvaders The Invaders]]" featured Creator/AgnesMoorehead (Endora from ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'') fighting off an invader that was about as big as a mouse. The TwistEnding was that [[spoiler:the "invader" was a US Air Force pilot from Earth]].
** Once the main plot of "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E64WillTheRealMartianPleaseStandUp Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up]]" concludes, said Martian reveals that he's come to Earth on a reconnaissance mission as a prelude to an invasion by the Martians. And then the TwistEnding kicks in: [[spoiler:Venus beat them to it.]]
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "A Day in Beaumont", Dr. Kevin Carlson and Faith see a FlyingSaucer crash in the desert and immediately assume that its [[InsectoidAliens insectoid crew]] are planning to invade Earth. [[spoiler:It turns out that they are correct but not in the way that they think. It is all part of a commando training simulation on Altair IV to prepare troops for a future invasion. Kevin and Faith are themselves aliens who suffered memory loss and came to believe that they were humans.]]

* ''Anime/FutureRobotDaltanious'' is set in the BadFuture of 1995[[note]]The anime is from 1979[[/note]] where the Zaal Empire has successfully invaded Earth. While things look bleak at first, when the heroes discover the Heliosian SuperRobot Daltanious, they realize there's a chance for them to fight back. Daltanious's victiories against the Zaal set off a chain of LaResistance movements all over the galaxy.

* ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'' is set in the BadFuture of 1995[[note]]The anime is from 1979[[/note]] where the Zaal Empire has successfully invaded Earth. While things look bleak at first, when the heroes discover the Heliosian SuperRobot Daltanious, they realize there's a chance for them to fight back. Daltanious's victiories against the Zaal set off a chain of LaResistance movements all over the galaxy.

%%* ''Anime/FutureRobotDaltanious''

!!Examples:

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* True to form, ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' has dozens of these; they tend to be split between background context in flashbacks and "live" events during the course of the main story.
** In "Confession", the city is taken over by the Enelsians after they manage to get many of the city's heroes imprisoned.
** In "Doing Battle", the alien Imperion leads an army of half-protoplasm cyborgs to conquer the world and restore his lost honor.
** "Her Dark Plastic Roots" starts with an attack from the Torori, who want to turn humans into slaves and [[ToServeMan foodstock.]]
** Madame Majestrix leads an assault on North America on the same day that the Silver Agent is scheduled for execution.
** The Mrevani attack Romeyn Falls in "The Sky's the Limit".
* Happens all the time in Franchise/TheDCU. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis All. The. Time]].
** In ''ComicBook/{{Invasion|DC Comics}}'', An alliance of several extraterrestrial militaries invades earth, prompted by the supposed potential danger posed by the adaptability and powers inherent in the meta-gene present in some humans.
** In the 1998 maxi-series ''JLA: Year One'', which depicts the first year of the Justice League in the Post-''Zero Hour'' continuity, the premise of the series is that the heroes fended off the forerunners of an alien invasion, causing them to join forces to operate as a team. Turns out, the true masterminds worked in the shadows to bring a ''true'', full-scale invasion, which serves as the GrandFinale of the title.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptonNoMore'', ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} have to fight the J'ai, a belligerent warrior race who intends to massacre planet Xonn's inhabitants.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', Bizarro World is coming under attack from an alien monster called "Ash'ka'phageous" and its spawn.
** In ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', Supergirl and the [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Red Lanterns]] travel to planet Grax, which is being invaded by a race called the Diasporans whom they manage to beat back.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanBirthright'', ComicBook/LexLuthor fakes one in order to smear Superman.
** Invoked in ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'' when Supergirl is accused of spearheading a Kryptonian invasion.
** ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'': Over three thousand years before the birth of Superman, Krypton was invaded by an alien race known as the Vrangs, who ruled Krypton with an iron fist for two decades until they were thrown out by a planetwide slave revolt.
** "ComicBook/TheSuperSteedOfSteel": Shortly after meeting Comet, Supergirl must stop a race of alien fishmen from subduing Earth.
** ''ComicBook/RelativeHeroes'': It turns out the reason the D.E.O. is using such heavy artillery to try to subdue a bunch of orphans is that one of them is an amnesiac scout for an invading extraterrestrial army, and the thing he thinks is his houseplant is another scout that has not lost her memory.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
*** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Saturnians have been plotting an invasion of Earth for some time, and abducting humans to force them to help build the infrastructure to do so. They make a mistake when one of their agents nabs Wonder Woman and the Holliday Girls, leading to the derailment of their plans.
*** In the final arc of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'' an extraterrestrial collective known as The Citizenry attack the earth with the intent of liquifying the majority of the inhabitants to use as food and fuel, mostly because their leader is a cruel sadistic woman. They try to start with Washington DC, which they block off from outside aid using a dome that is partially powered by stolen ComicBook/GreenLantern tech.
* Also pretty common in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
** An early adventure for the ComicBook/FantasticFour had them defeating the advance scouts for an invasion by an alien race called the Skrulls. The Skrulls have gone on to make multiple attempts over the decades, some more successful than others.
** In the first ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'''s story, Dr. Donald Blake was visiting Norway when the arrival of the Stone Men of Saturn drives him to hide in a cave, where he finds a wooden stick which transforms into Thor's magic hammer, Mjölnir... and the rest is history.
** ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'': Played with in "The Goldberg Variation", in which the Exiles inadvertantly foil an alien invasion by buying a cheese danish.
** ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' depicts an invasion by the shapeshifting Skrulls on two fronts: by replacing heroes and infiltrating governments, and a full-scale attack on Earth to take the planet for themselves.
* ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire'': An alien race attempts to invade New Hong Kong in "Field of Screams". It goes very badly for the invaders.
* In the third issue of ''ComicBook/TheFlintstones'' comic, aliens invade Bedrock, but turn out to be on Spring Break, but still mess up the place so the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes have to kick them out.
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''ComicBook/LaGuerraDeLosAntartes'': A recurring theme in Oesterheld's works.
* In ''ComicBook/NelvanaOfTheNorthernLights'', an alien invasion was as initiated because of the annoyance of Earth's radio broadcasts but later it was revealed the aliens were being manipulated into attacking Earth.
* ''ComicBook/PaperGirls'': Four newspaper delivery girls confront an alien invasion of their [[EverytownAmerica midwestern suburb]] on the day after Halloween, 1988.
* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'':
** This Italian Disney series features the Evronians, a hostile species of [[Franchise/{{Alien}} H.R. Giger-inspired]] aliens, planning the invasion of the Earth. The main thing standing in their way? ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' ''in a superhero suit''.
** It also features the Xerbians in the role of the good aliens. Sadly the Xerbians are the survivors of a previous Evronian invasion and have little military power left (their help is more [[spoiler: attempting to]] FlingALightIntoTheFuture). Then there's Xadhoom, a Xerbian who had missed the invasion due an experiment that made her a PhysicalGoddess and wants to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge exterminate the Evronians to the last]]...
* ''ComicBook/TheScrameustache'': This happens a few times:
** The Stixes tried to invade the Earth, more specially Quebec, in the third album.
** The Kromoks invaded Aktarka with the help of Zirka, an alien scientist.
** The Stixes' invasion of the Galaxian's home moon through a Trojan Horse ploy.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'': in the distant past, Mobius, then known as "Earth", was home to humanity, who killed an envoy of the Xorda race. In revenge, the Xorda invaded Earth and bombarded the planet with Gene Bombs with the hopes of devolving humanity back into a primitive state. In doing so, they inadvertently created the Mobian races (such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, etc.). When they discovered that they hadn't succeeded in wiping out life on Mobius, the Xorda invaded again, this time intent on destroying the entire solar system it inhabited.
* ''ComicBook/StarTrekEarlyVoyages'': {{Played with}} in the two-part story "The Fallen". The Chakuun Cohort General tells Gabrielle Carlotti that they periodically attack Federation colonies on behalf of the Tholian Assembly because the planets in question are Tholian territory, which is realigned every eight years. They regard humans as not only aggressive alien invaders but a primitive, arrogant child race. However, the [[DisproportionateRetribution retribution is definitely disproportionate]] as 100,000 people were killed in the attack on the Jubal colony alone.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsInvasion'': The series focuses on the early days of the Vong's relentless invasion of the galaxy.
* At the beginning of ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri'', Earth has been besieged by alien PlanetLooters for four years. Humanity is so desperate that they develop a process of giving super powers to humans; the only drawback is that the hosts die in less than a year.
* ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'': Aliens attempt to invade Earth in "De Gezanten Van Mars", "De Stervende Ster", "De Wolkeneters" (''The Envoys of Mars'', ''The Dying Star'', ''The Cloud-Eaters'')
* ''ComicBook/TraggAndTheSkyGods'': The Yargonians who return to Earth a generation after their first visit represent an expansionist, exploitive regime that seek to turn Earth into ''lebensraum'' and enslave the locals with their mesmegas, i.e., hand-held {{Mind Control Device}}s.
* In IDW's ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'', the Decepticons take a combined approach to invading planets. They follow a six-phase infiltration protocol that gradually softens up the local population in preparation for Phase Six, an all-out assault that annihilates the locals and strips the planet bare of its resources.
* ''ComicBook/WarlordOfMars'': Some took place - the second series opens up with Mars being invaded by aliens lead by an human just like Carter. ''Dejah Thoris'' prequel has her thwarting an attempted invasion by vampire aliens from Saturn. And at least in one possible Bad Future, this trope is inverted when Mars is invaded by Earth forces.
* ''ComicBook/WildsEnd'' Tells the story of mysterious, mechanical aliens invading the English countryside. Their motives are unknown, but they are aggressive with their classic [[DeathRay death rays]].
[[/folder]]

** In ''ComicBook/KryptonNoMore'', Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} have to fight the J'ai, a belligerent warrior race who intends to massacre planet Xonn's inhabitants.

** In ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', Supergirl and the [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lanterns]] travel to planet Grax, which is being invaded by a race called the Diasporans whom they manage to beat back.

** ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

*** In the final arc of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'' an extraterrestrial collective known as The Citizenry attack the earth with the intent of liquifying the majority of the inhabitants to use as food and fuel, mostly because their leader is a cruel sadistic woman. They try to start with Washington DC, which they block off from outside aid using a dome that is partially powered by stolen Franchise/GreenLantern tech.

** An early adventure for ComicBook/TheFantasticFour had them defeating the advance scouts for an invasion by an alien race called the Skrulls. The Skrulls have gone on to make multiple attempts over the decades, some more successful than others.

** This Italian Disney series features the Evronians, a hostile species of [[Franchise/{{Alien}} H.R. Giger-inspired]] aliens, planning the invasion of the Earth. The main thing standing in their way? ''Franchise/DonaldDuck'' ''in a superhero suit''.

%%* ''Anime/MiraiRoboDaltanious''
* Subverted in Dowman Sayman's ''Paraiso''. In simple [[{{Yonkoma}} 4koma]] format, the audience is shown a schoolgirl attempting to take down another girl and [[BlackComedyRape rape her]]. As this is happening, a nearby UFO's [[TheGreys occupants]] are shown [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil being repulsed]] and stopping whatever plans they had for a future invasion.

* At the beginning of ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri'', Earth has been besieged by alien PlanetLooters for four years. Humanity is so desperate that they develop a process of giving super powers to humans; the only drawback is that the hosts die in less than a year.
* In IDW's ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'', the Decepticons take a combined approach to invading planets. They follow a six-phase infiltration protocol that gradually softens up the local population in preparation for Phase Six, an all-out assault that annihilates the locals and strips the planet bare of its resources.

* ''Fanfic/EquestrianAllianceProjectOblivion'' centers around an invasion by deadly creatures from another dimension, combated by [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic ponies]] and [[PrivateMilitaryContractors security personnel from the ProteC corporation.]]
* ''Fanfic/SonicTheHedgehogHeroesOfMobius'' has had ''three'' so far, first by the Martians, then by the Devatrons, then by the Black Arms.
* In the Warhammer 40k roleplay ''Roleplay/InTheBeginningThereWasMan'', the usual grimdarkness of the 43th millenium gets even worse as the Imperium cracks under pressure from the multitudes of Xeno races that assault it and a finishing blow coming in the form of the last Black Crusade. The God Emperor of Mankind must rally His people and deliver Humanity from its [[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/in-the-beginning-there-was-man-wh40k-x-sc-aka-omake-quest-aka-40k-warp-god-waifu-simulator.9721/ darkest hour.]]

* In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Episode 14 deals with the Stardroids coming to Earth.
* The ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': During the Dark World arc, it's revealed that at some point during the [[BadFuture Epilogue timeline]], Equestria was invaded by what is strongly implied to be the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Imperium of Man]]. This forced all of [[EvilOverlord Discord's]] remaining enemies to [[EnemyMine ally with him]] in order to repel the invasion, which they eventually succeeded in doing.
* In ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'' story ''The Master Plan'', an alien parasite known as the Vimelea attempts to invade the earth by possessing [[spoiler: Mufasa and Sarabi.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheNewAgeOfMonsters'' features the first Mechagodzilla and Gigan who both came from space and had the original mission to conquer the planet for their creators. Luckily, Mechagodzilla has since been reprogrammed and Gigan has broken free from their control long ago. [[ForTheEvulz Now he is doing it for fun]].

* The fifth story of the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP:FiM]]'' fan fiction ''Fanfic/TheMonsterMash'' features an alien invasion of the infiltration variety.
* ''Fanfic/WorldwarWarOfEquals'' has [[LizardFolk The Race]] invading Earth in 2011 instead of 1942.
* ''Fanfic/YoungJusticeDarknessFalls'' points out that this has become a recurring issue for the league, with first the kroletaens, then the reach, then Despero, then Mongul, then Starfire, and finally Darkseid all being threats that came via alien invasion to their planet. ComicBook/BlueBeetle even gives a little note to Starfire that 1 is more than enough for a year. (Star ends up being good, but that's besides the point)
* ''Fanfic/{{Worldfall}}'' features two ''simultaneous'' alien invasions of Earth by the [[Literature/{{Worldwar}} Race]] and [[Literature/{{Footfall}} Fithp]].
* Subverted in ''Fanfic/WanderOverFostersAUOneshot''. Bloo thinks that Wander is an alien spy sent to teach his invader comrades about Earth, but he isn't. Wander is just a benevolent alien who is stuck on Earth.
* ''Fanfic/WarboundWidow'' has this happen with planet Earth via the Alternian Empire, which kickstarts the plot.

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', the [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Red Lantern Corp]] invaded Earth and tried to wipe out its population, causing the Green Lantern War to intervene and start the eponymous Lantern War. The devastation wrought by the conflict caused public opinion to turn against aliens in general, forcing alien superheroes and their supporters to go underground if they weren't killed.
* ''Fanfic/EarthsAlienHistory'' is a MegaCrossover which contains many of the other examples on this page happening one after the other. This, along with the fact that [[HumansAreWarriors humanity keeps fighting them off]], becomes the source of both an in-universe RunningGag about everyone attacking Earth and an in-universe view of humans as a species-wide MemeticBadass.

* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} and his Apokoliptian troops strike both Earth and New Genesis during the second story arc.
* In ''Fanfic/ProjectIgnition'' it happens ''twice'', by the same aliens, just a few hundreds of years apart.
* ''Fanfic/SupermanOf2499TheGreatConfrontation'': At the beginning of the second part, Adam Kent is scheming to lead the Rokynians to invade Earth.
* In the distant future ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' fanfic, ''Fanfic/ToTheStars'', humanity is fighting a genocidal war against an alien race. Given the possibility of human extinction, the war was the precipice that lead to magical girls dropping the masquerade.

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/BattleForTerra'', where it's the humans who are invading the titular planet (not [[PlanetTerra Earth]]).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Coromon}}'', the {{Big Bad}}s are a group of aliens whose own planet was ruined and as a result they seek to use their BlackMagic to corrupt the Earth and its {{mons}} [[WellIntentionedExtremist and terraform it into a suitable replacement for their people]].
* {{Inverted|Trope}} for comedy in ''VideoGame/AttackOfTheEarthlings''. [[PerspectiveFlip You play as]] an alien matriarch leading her swarm of chittering horrors to drive a [[IncompetenceInc greedy and stupid human corporate enterprise]] out of your home.

* ''VideoGame/Corridor7AlienInvasion''. Go on, have a wild guess what the game is about.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheMonsters'': The Nephilim are {{kaiju}} revealed to come from another dimension a la ''Pacific Rim''.

** The [[TheLegionsOfHell Burning Legion]] manages to be a demonic invasion and this trope at the same time. Most demons in the ''Warcraft'' universe are born from the Twisting Nether, the series' demonic realm that connects to all worlds. However, a good number of the Legion's ranks, such as the Eredar, were originally races from various planets who were corrupted with [[TheCorruption fel energy]] and then recruited by the demons. The Old Gods are a similar case, being horrific [[PlanetaryParasite Planetary Parasites]] created by extradimensional [[CosmicHorrorStory Lovecraftian beings]], sent to infest Azeroth long ago.

* Can be discussed in ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' if you're playing a Sim with the Geek trait. Sims with this trait have a unique social in the funny menu, "describe alien invasion."
* ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2'': Mysterio stages one, posing himself as the leader of the invasion, and his robots as his minions. Helps justify the fishbowl helmet.

* ''Blog/HowToHero'' has an entire post dealing with alien invasions.

* ''Film/TheThing1982'': A strange alien found in the artic with the ability to mimic any living creature. Whether it intended to go to Earth in the first place is unclear. It still threatens to take over.

* In ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'', the Brahmins (an alien race of {{Winged Humanoid}}s) had no intention of invading Earth and wanted negotiating a peaceful settlement. However, the death by poisoning of their Emperor and the belief of Terrans had assassinated him changed that.

** The 2008 crossover ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' depicts an invasion by the shapeshifting Skrulls on two fronts: by replacing heroes and infiltrating governments, and a full scale attack on Earth to take the planet for themselves.

* ''Film/SpacedInvaders'' is a comedy about a crew of inept Martians who intercept a rebroadcast of Creator/OrsonWelles's ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' radio drama and assume their fleet is attacking Earth (in fact, their fleet is in the process of being obliterated by their enemy the Arcturians). They crash-land in a small American town and begin their "invasion". HilarityEnsues.

* ''Invasion'': A 1997 two-part miniseries about rocks falling from the sky. Anyone who touches them feels a little prick and later starts to change. It turns out that aliens are infecting humans with an intelligent virus that starts to transform them into aliens. Creator/LukePerry's character becomes their leader, while a small resistance group forms.

* ''Voidfarer'' from Sean [=McMullen=] features a War of the Worlds tripod invasion of the ''Moon Worlds Saga'' fantasy setting. Given that these tripod aliens are more primitive than H.G. Wells's Martians and the setting has strong magic, the invasion is played much more for laughs rather than the horror of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898''

* ''The Greks Bring Gifts'' has a unique form of infiltration; [[spoiler:they make humanity dependent on their deliberately flawed technology]].
* ''The Island'' by Tim Lebbon, is a rather unusual AlienInvasion story as it's set in the fantasy world of Noreela. The Strangers from beyond keep trying to invade a small island off the coast of Noreela and they have the technological advantage of having flintlock-style guns in a setting that doesn't have them. Unfortunately for these invaders, Noreela has powerful magic instead and after the events of the book, the locals have also successfully reverse-engineered these weapons. While not an EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion, it's telling that no one on the mainland outside of a gov't secret organization knows about these invaders.

* In ''The Puppies Of Terra'' (a.k.a. ''White Fang Goes Dingo'') by Creator/ThomasMDisch, highly advanced energy beings take over earth with no difficulty at all. They're a race of aesthetes--they behave exactly like late-Victorian gay males--and [[spoiler:they abandon Earth when humans will simply ''not'' cease thinking about disgusting things]].

* Subverted in ''Supreme Commander'' by Nikolai Gudanets, loosely based on ''VideoGame/XCom''. This is the initial assumption for the alien attacks, and an international task force is created to combat them. When a new type of alien is taken captive, they find a way to communicate with it, and it reveals that the aliens are, in fact, HuntingTheMostDangerousGame. They have no interest in Earth beyond treating it like a fun outing. They do have a base on Earth, but it's actually a re-purposed Nazi sub pen far north.
* The ''Synchronicity Trilogy'' by Michael [=McCloskey=] is a future story about nine alien cyborgs arriving in orbit and attempting to take over humanity's extensive orbital holdings, explored over a number of different viewpoints. From the military and governmental perspectives, an alien invasion is ''good news'' because the alternative explanation to the strange events in orbit was an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI rebellion]], a similar event to one which nearly caused Armageddon some time before. From the aliens' perspective, the only reason they're here at all is as a punishment, as they were rejected by their society for a crime [[BlueAndOrangeMorality that would be a trivial matter to humans]]. The [[BenevolentAI benevolent but inscrutable AI]] running their society tasked them with taking over Earth; the aliens aren't sure why or even if their AI has anything to gain if they succeed, but they all know that they're effectively exiled.

-->-- '''The Artilleryman''', ''[[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898 The War of the Worlds]]''