History Main / DoingInTheWizard

* General comic book example: when Creator/{{DC|Comics}} jump-started UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} by reinventing a number of their once-popular characters, they tended to replace mystical origin stories with scientific ones. For instance, the new ComicBook/GreenLantern got his powers from being a {{space police}}man with an advanced technological weapon, rather than finding a magical lantern. This is probably largely because of the influence of Editor in Chief Julius Schwartz, who was also a major editor in the field of prose science fiction.

* A lot of [[UsefulNotes/{{TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks}} Silver]] and [[UsefulNotes/{{TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks}} Golden Age]] comic stories ran on the premise of someone discovering some mythic figure really existed and their legendary abilities ran on scientific principles that could be replicated from study. Usually, things went wrong as an object lesson on not making these discoveries common knowledge.

* ''Film/HappyDesthDay'' doesn't give any explanation to the GroundhogDayLoop the protagonist suffers from (keeping it pretty much in line with the original ''Film/GroundhogDay'' movie). The sequel, ''Film/HappyDeathDay2U'', reveals that the loop was actually the result of a failed scientific experiment by some college students.

** Happens in ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' with his sister Shuri. In the comics, she's a MagicKnight who incorporates shamanism into her fighting style in contrast with her GadgeteerGenius brother. But in the movie, Shuri's magic abilities are completely omitted in favor of splitting Comic!T'Challa's personality between the two siblings: Film!T'Challa retains his social and political savvy, while Film!Shuri is Wakanda's lead engineer who supplies T'Challa's gadgets. The film also ''averts'' this trope, however, as the Heart-Shaped Herb allows T'Challa to enter the spirit realm and convene with the souls of past Black Panthers.

* In the ''The Conquerors'' expansion of ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', the Aztecs implausibly find some Korean Turtle Ships abandoned in Lake Texcoco, ask themselves if they are a gift from their gods, and use them to [[ArtisticLicenseHistory defeat the Spanish siege of Tenochtitlan]]. In the ''Definitive Edition'', these mysterious ships are changed to cannon galleons abandoned by the Spanish during the ''Noche Triste''.

* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII'' broke with its history-based predecessors in featuring a single fantasy campaign revolving around a fictional family finding the FountainOfYouth and fighting a Creator/DanBrown-esque worldwide conspiracy. After accusations of TheyChangedItNowItSucks, the expansion ''The [=WarChiefs=]'' had two campaigns following the same family, but based on the American Revolution and the Sioux Wars with no mention of the Fountain or the secret society in the base game. However the same expansion had [[MagicalNativeAmerican Native Americans]] being able to tame wild animals with magic and gaining units and technologies by dancing around the fire, and the following expansion ''The Asian Dynasties'' had a campaign based on Gavin Menzies's pseudohistorical 1421 Hypothesis. In the ''Definitive Edition'', the fire pit building was changed to a "community plaza", the Native Americans could only recruit [[GoingNative human units]], and standalone single player scenarios based on historical battles were added instead of a new campaign.

* The ''Condemned'' series: The [[VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins original game]] suggested that a supernatural force was causing the outbreak of violence, and the main character's own apparent insanity. The [[VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot sequel]] revealed that it was a cult which was using sonic technology to drive people mad by causing hemorrhaging in the brain. However, this particular killed wizard is replaced by [[VoodooShark a much larger, much stupider one]], so to speak - in particular, '''''every single named character in the game''''' except Rosa and ''maybe'' Pierce is involved with them in some way. Even ''the President'' is [[GovernmentConspiracy revealed to be one of them]] in the ending. Hell, even '''the protagonist''' is secretly involved with them, as he turns out to be "the Remedy" who can naturally do their (not-)magical-sound thing to [[YourHeadASplode blow people's heads up with his voice]].

* In ''VideoGame/DragonBallZKakarot'', Bulma explains that all of the {{Funny Animal}}s, like [[OneWorldOrder King Furry]], [[WasOnceAMan used to be human]] but turned into animals using a FantasticDrug called Animorphaline. However it's PlayedWith by the fact that it was manufactured by a company called "Magical Pharmaceuticals".

* ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest'' features this in an in-universe sense. While Aloy and the audience are aware of the truth, that the world is post-apocalyptic and that the various Gods are actually AIs and machines, this is a rather troubling revelation for other characters.

** Then there's the character of Vamp, who is to all evidence an actual supernatural vampire. In a milieu with psychics, an immortal woman and a man [[BeeBeeGun COVERED IN BEES]], this isn't so strange it couldn't be pulled off with [[RefugeInAudacity sheer chutzpah]]. Instead ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' goes well out its way to explain how his powers are granted by nanomachines and other technology.

* Used halfway; the ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' universe never attempted to explain away the Magic spells or the elves and such. On the other hand, it is implied that all the Gods are only {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s and the demons and devils (called Kreegans by themselves) are also aliens, who invade worlds through meteors (they extinguished the [[{{Hobbits}} halflings (hobbits)]] this way). There's a significant amount of lost technology behind every plot. Although, there are also actual demons which look almost identical to said Kreegans. They are only seen in ''Heroes Chronicles: Conquest of the Underworld''.
** However, there is nothing particularly magical about those, considering that a completely human army can go into the Underworld freely. These demons seem to be nothing more than native species that live in that particular area, while the identical looks can be explained by ''Heroes Chronicles'' using the same engine and sprites as ''Heroes of Might and Magic III''.

* In Generation VI of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', you can participate in inverse battles where type matchup effectiveness is reversed. The trainer you battle, Inver states that his psychic powers are responsible for the inversion in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. In ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'', the cause of the inversion is explained as a the product of a machine called the Inverse-o-matic.
** Throughout most of the series, the [[InfinityPlusOneElement Dragon type]] is described almost poetically, and given almost exclusively to extremely rare, endgame-level Mons. The introduction of the Fairy typing gives it one of its two weaknesses, with a basis in fairy tales. Then Generation 8 introduces the legendary Regidrago, which is described as being comprised of "crystalized dragon energy," meaning that the majesty inherent to the dragon type might be actually an inherent, measurable quality, although with what has been shown, it is still clearly magic.
* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' game, Raz reveals his family was cursed to one day die in water, represented in-game as a watery limb called the Hand of Galochio dragging Raz under. The [[VideoGame/Psychonauts2 sequel]] reveals [[spoiler:there is no curse. Ford Cruller planted the idea in Lucy's head as a means of keeping her from rediscovering her hydrokinetic abilities and she passed that fear onto the rest of the family. The Hand of Galochio is just Raz's psychic abilities acting up out of fear, and after he learns the truth, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration the Hand no longer tries to drown him, instead pushing him back onto dry land]]]].

* ''Always'' happens in the ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' games, the natives of a planet will use magical terms to describe a villain or phenomenon. Any alien or member of TheFederation who is in the party will have a {{technobabble}} explanation. The funny thing is how the natives in the party more or less ignore these.
** So ''very'' JustForFun/{{egregious}} in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'', where main-character Claude is well-acquainted with science and technology, and tries to explain certain things away in scientific terms, ''only to fail miserably''. He gets better as time goes on (i.e. he learns to ''stop questioning everything'' and just accept that he's not that smart.)
** The wizard finally gets done in once & for all though in the [[VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime 3rd game]], when it turns out that their entire universe is [[spoiler:a computer game & the "magic" is just computer code that temporarily overwrites the physics engine]]. That the code works outside the game is {{hand wave}}d by saying that the parents of the protagonists created a special kind of science/magic/code that would make their special powers work outside their VR world. In other words, [[LogicBomb they cast a spell to make magic work in a world with no magic to make spells work]]. ''Star Ocean 3'' is [[spoiler:AIIsACrapshoot]] written from the other side.
* At the end of the Fek'Ihri arc in the Klingon campaign of ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', your science officer suggests after the fact that the battle in Gre'thor, the Klingon version of Hell may have been AllJustADream and that the Fek'Ihri, TheLegionsOfHell, were created by biotech, possibly by the AbusivePrecursors, the Hur'q. [[AbortedArc Nothing came of this...]] until the ''Victory is Life'' expansion, ''years'' later, which revealed the Fek'Ihri are biotech creations -- specifically, ''Dominion'' biotech; they are a renegade precursor to the Jem'Hadar designed to look like Klingon myths and based on Hur'q biology.

* ''VideoGame/Tekken4'', in general. Most soft sci-fi and blatantly supernatural elements are downplayed or eliminated entirely. For example, the Mishima Clan's [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Devil powers]] seem to be attributed to a genetic mutation. Ogre, instead of being an ancient god, is a [[DeityOfHumanOrigin "bioweapon."]] The {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}}, Jack, was replaced by the ClockworkCreature, Combot. Neither Angel nor Devil or Devil Jin are playable characters. No {{Beast M|an}}en. And the final boss, like the first game, is simply Heihachi rather than some sort of HumanoidAbomination. Whatever the reasons for this change, though, [[DoingInTheScientist it didn't stick]]. In subsequent games, it's pretty clear that the Devil Gene, a supposed genetic fluke, ''does'' have a supernatural origin. Jack not only returns but is joined by the even ''more'' ridiculously-human-looking (and very anime-esque) [[RobotGirl Alisa Bosconovitch.]] The final bosses of ''VideoGame/Tekken5'' , ''6'' and ''[[VideoGame/Tekken7 7]]'' (a dead man possessed by an evil spirit, an outright demon and the ghost of a woman with the Devil Gene, respectively) are definitely supernatural. Roger makes a return (without Alex), and now has an equally anthropomorphic family. ''Tekken Tag 2'' even brings back Alex, Angel, both Devils, Ogre, and Unknown. In short, the Wizard CameBackStrong.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Mister Mxyzptlk is a teenager with MindManipulation abilities, rather than a {{Reality Warp|er}}ing [[GreatGazoo Imp from the Fifth Dimension]] like in the comics. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] later in Season 4 when a [[DemonicPossession with possessed Lana Lang]] and from then on magical enemies, allies and artefacts showed up reasonably often.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Mister Mxyzptlk is a teenager with MindManipulation abilities, rather than a {{Reality Warp|er}}ing [[GreatGazoo Imp from the Fifth Dimension]] like in the comics.

* ''Literature/Area51'': A number of artifacts from religious and mythical lore get shown to be alien technology. The effect of this upon religious belief is not shown, even though it includes many very important ones like the Ark of the Covenant and Holy Grail.

* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ThePhantomMenace'' does this to the Force, or more specifically, why some people can and can't interact with it and the biology behind it. In the original trilogy, [[MagicByAnyOtherName The Force]] is described as an [[BackgroundMagicField energy field]] that interconnects all living things, and the ability to use and be guided by it could be passed down through a family, and sensed by other Force users. Then in ''The Phantom Menace'', Qui-Gon explains that life ''itself'' is the result of a symbiotic relationship with organisms known as midi-chlorians that reside in all living cells, and is what Jedi and Sith use to interact with The Force. Having a high concentration of midi-chlorians increases one's ability to commune with the Force, and thus how "strong" they are with it. Despite the careful wording to explain only the interaction and not The Force itself, many fans objected to this because it gave an unnecessary scientific explaination to the story's most mystical element (being a physical property of the body rather than an abstract talent), and being able to measure them boiled down one's strength in The Force to PowerLevels and [[StatOVision Scouters]]. Several Franchise/StarWarsLegends sources such as ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'' treat the organisms as vessels of the Force rather than the Force itself more clearly, and the core stories have never brought it up directly again.

* ''Film/Godzilla1998'' tries to make the monster more realistic by dialing it back from the 100 meters height of the Toho Heisei era to "only" 50 meters ([[OlderThanTheyThink still double]] than the original from the Toho Showa era, however), giving it a body plan similar to a theropod dinosaur instead of a [[PeopleInRubberSuits man in a rubber suit]], changing its origin from an ancient monster awoken by an atomic blast to an iguana mutated by an atomic blast, making its attack on a city the actions of a NonMaliciousMonster migrating to [[MonsterIsAMommy lay its eggs]], and taking out its '[[DinosaursAreDragons atomic breath]]' ability entirely (unless you consider its roar being able to send cars flying a down-to-Earth allusion to it).

** In a similar vein, Ellis of ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'' turns out to be the product of a project to genetically engineer witches, but these witch powers are genuinely supernatural in nature. The main characters also meet a psychic girl and a harvest spirit disguised as a deceased writer along their journey, without any "rational" explanation given.

* This was extremely prevalent in episodic stories from the Golden Age: a villain appearing to have supernatural powers would usually be revealed to be faking it in some fashion. Even in series where the hero had ''real'' supernatural powers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Starscream's "ghost" from [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Transformers Generation 1]] is explained as an almost indestructible [[HeartDrive Spark]].

** Also, the Moon Kingdom was a powerful and unique piece of mythopoeia, and its Senshi were originally almost deities -- their official group title is "Soldiers of the Four Guardian Gods". The last series replaces this with there being Senshi ''all over the Galaxy''. It doesn't provide a scientific explanation, but since it destroys the poetic elements of the story, it counts. ''However'', this is averted since the series reveals that the Soldiers all get their powers from magical objects known as "Sailor Crystals".

** Happens in ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' with his sister ComicBook/{{Shuri}}. In the comics, she's a MagicKnight who incorporates shamanism into her fighting style in contrast with her GadgeteerGenius brother. But in the movie, Shuri's magic abilities are completely omitted in favor of splitting Comic!T'Challa's personality between the two siblings: Film!T'Challa retains his social and political savvy, while Film!Shuri is Wakanda's lead engineer who supplies T'Challa's gadgets. The film also ''averts'' this trope, however, as the Heart-Shaped Herb allows T'Challa to enter the spirit realm and convene with the souls of past Black Panthers.

** The first is the mystical Stone Mask that turns its wearer into a vampire when exposed to blood, by piercing their face with spikes. The second series reveals that the mask was actually created by Kars, a member of the Pillar Men, an advanced race that ''eats'' vampires. The functionality of the Stone Mask was never truly explained though. Jonathan had a hypothesis that it worked by hitting key points inside the brain, but was unaware of the mask's supernatural qualities at the time.
** The second is when it is revealed that Stands (PsychicPowers personified) are created through a magical Stand Arrow forged from a meteor, which grants a Stand to anyone it hits. This arrow is later revealed to be not magical, but instead contains an alien virus, and grants Stands by mutating the target's DNA. Although the true nature of the Arrows is left rather ambiguous (the [[BlindIdiotTranslation less-than-accurate]] translation certainly didn't help the subject), while [[spoiler:Polnareff]] claims it's an extraterrestrial virus that creates the effect of the arrows' material, it's made very obvious that they seem to have a will of their own and a more spiritual quality to them. The supernatural side is also present in Part 6, making the whole example controversial at best.

* ''ComicBook/GiraffesOnHorsebackSalad'' invokes this trope in-universe as the Socialites initially discuss the Woman Surreal's [[MakingASpectacleOfYourself amazing public spectacles]], theorizing that they're elaborate special effects funded with a secret fortune. This debate is dropped when her RealityWarper powers grow powerful enough to affect the entire planet.

When this is a ExternalRetcon to an ancient mythology rather than the franchise's own mythos, it is called {{Demythification}}.

* Characters/{{Daredevil|MattMurdock}}'s original origin story stated that he got SuperSenses that [[DisabilitySuperpower compensated for the loss of his sight]] after [[RadiationInducedSuperpowers getting radioactive waste in his eyes]]. Realizing [[DiscreditedTrope the implausibility of getting superpowers from radioactive waste]], many later writers have suggested that his enhanced hearing and sense of touch are just the result of years of training under his sensei Stick, which he underwent as a way of coping with his blindness. [[ArmedWithCanon This would be further overturned]] by an arc where Bullseye schemed to track down this same radioactive waste and refine it into a serum that grants the same level of enhanced senses while also allowing the retention of sight.

* ''Film/ChildsPlay2019'' changes Chucky into a robot toy [[AIIsACrapshoot whose safety protocols were deactivated]] as a last "fuck you" by the [[DrivenToSuicide dissatisfied]] Vietnamese sweatshop worker who built him. Of course this is a big change from [[Film/ChildsPlay the classic movies]] where Chucky is a doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer.

** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', ComicBook/IronMan posits that the "worthiness enchantment" on Mjölnir (Thor's hammer) functions on the principle of a biometric security system. Thor replies calling it an interesting theory, but offers a better one: That the hammer can only be wielded by the "worthy." Later in the film, ComicBook/TheVision being able to lift it causes Thor to instantly trust him completely.

** Somewhat averted or muddied with ''Film/ThorRagnarok''. It would appear the average Asgardian is a long lived mortal. But Odin, Thor, and Hela are something else entirely. [[Characters/MarvelComicsLoki Loki]] is explicitly said be a magic practitioner. His illusions are not tech, but rather, a magic spell he learned from his adoptive mother Frigga. Meanwhile, despite prior indications that Asgard existed in another dimension, the movie reveals that it's actually possible to reach it by spaceship.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings,'' Galadriél states she never quite knows what mortals mean by "magic," since people tend to use it both for her abilities and the "deceptions of the enemy." Elf-magic (and by extension, wizard magic) is more like [[SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology sufficiently-advanced science]] the elves learn over the course of their aeon-long lifespans, or straight from the Valar (read: Arch-Angels; ie, the guys who ''wrote'' the laws of the universe), if they're old enough (and wizards ARE minor angels). Of course, it's kinda hard to explain "a water-basin type mirror that shows the future" or "[[SoulJar a ring containing the soul of a fallen angel]]" as pure science.

* Played with in "Literature/SpellMyNameWithAnS": Dr Zebatinsky goes to a numerologist, someone who can [[FortuneTeller predict people's personal futures by using numbers]]. The numerologist insists that he's not using pseudo-magical techniques, but following [[PrescienceByAnalysis statistical analysis to predict the future]]. Then it turns that [[spoiler:the numerologist [[HumanDisguise isn't human]], but an {{Energy Being|s}} trying to prove that it can manipulate global events on Earth with minor efforts.]]

* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' starts off using the word "[[CallARabbitASmeerp Lux]]" as just the Racconans' technical term for their medieval-era world's ''Force Magic'' version of FunctionalMagic, complete with constant uses of terms like "spells," "magic," and "wizard." After over a hundred pages of this, the fundamentalist Christian author devoted a [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00105.html text-heavy side arc]] to explaining that the force that looked like magic, acted like magic, sparkled like magic, was treated like magic, and was frequently ''called'' magic wasn't ''really'' magic. [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00426.html Another side arc,]] much later in the comic's run, went further and showed the [[DownerEnding tragic consequences]] of Racconans referring to their magic-like powers as magic, implying that they weren't even going to use magic-related terminology anymore.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WebAnimation/TheDementedCartoonMovie''. A whole segment is devoted to finding the reason Zeeky Boog--er, [[TheScottishTrope The Zeeky Words]] cause a nucular explosion.[[note]][[RunningGag It's pronounced 'nuclear'!]][[/note]]. Eventually the source of the explosions is found and destroyed, but when the explorers use the Zeeky Words again, they ''still'' blow up.

* ''Film/TheVillage'' is a movie about a 19th-century community living in fear of some terrific monsters lurking in the surrounding woods, until the MandatoryTwistEnding reveals that [[spoiler:the movie is actually set in the present day and the Village's "elders" founded the community in order to flee from the depravities of the modern world, faking the monsters to keep their children from leaving the community]]. This was a subversion of Creator/MNightShyamalan's formula in previous films (''Film/TheSixthSense'', ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', ''Film/{{Signs}}''), all of which had a twist ending that hinged on a supernatural element, but didn't invalidate it.

** In the ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' failed reboot, the apes were genetically altered by humans to help them in space exploration, then TurnedAgainstTheirMasters. The humans never lost their intelligence and speech, but the apes wound up more technologically advanced and used it as justification to enslave the humans.

** Neither the novel nor ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' explain how humans lost their intelligence and apes gained theirs; [[EvolutionaryLevels the former simply 'degenerated' and the latter 'evolved']]. The sequels ''Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes'' and ''Film/ConquestOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' show that the apes were trained and altered by the humans in some way to serve them as slaves before the apes rebelled, ambiguously helped by their leader Caesar being an already UpliftedAnimal from the future brought in by a StableTimeLoop. The apes are portrayed as a bit of a HiveMind, with Caesar claiming that the next day the apes of all five continents will just imitate his group and rise against humanity as well. But the ''mental'' fall of humanity is still unexplained, and is still yet to happen even after the nuclear war prophesized since the first film takes place between ''Conquest'' and ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes''.

* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' series: In the source novel ''Literature/PlanetOfTheApes'', the titular planet is a different one, 300 light years away from Earth, and humans and apes identical to those of Earth just came to exist there, 10,000 years ahead of schedule at most. In the films, the planet ([[ItWasHisSled famously]]) is EarthAllAlong.

* The original ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' stories. Pick ''any'' story (or novel) with a seemingly supernatural element and that element will be given a rational explanation by the end. Most obvious example is ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles''.

* A lot of silver and golden age comic stories ran on the premise of someone discovering some mythic figure really existed and their legendary abilities ran on scientific principles that could be replicated from study. Usually, things went wrong as an object lesson on not making these discoveries common knowledge.