History Main / HumanAlienDiscovery

** ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': Karolina is the daughter of aliens from Majesdane, a fact that she only learns after finding out that they are murderers.

** In general, the origins of Superman, as well most of his [[TheMultiverse multiversal]] counterparts, have him growing up more or less unaware of his alien heritage until he's about a teenager. Usually, their powers were discovered before his origin story, but in the case of one of his counterparts (Superboy-Prime), the discovery came at the same time with the powers, activated during the [[ComicBook/CrisisOninfiniteEarths First Crisis]].
** An inversion occurs in the {{Elseworld}} ''Superman: Last Son of Earth'', in which the human baby Clark Kent crashes on the planet Krypton and was adopted by Jor-El and renamed as Kal-El, later becoming the ComicBook/GreenLantern of his planet and sector, and recovering his memories from the Earth.

* Son Goku from ''Franchise/DragonBall'' was a boy with higher-than-normal strength and a strange monkey tail, but apart from that he always thought he was a human like all the people he knew. After he becomes an adult, he meets his older brother and learns that he's actually a "Saiyan", a race of warlike HumanAliens with monkey tails that was driven to near-extinction when their homeworld was destroyed.
* Near the end of ''Anime/RollingGirls'', Chiaya finds out that she and her mother are actually aliens, which is why she sometimes turns into a small octopus-like creature.
* ''{{Anime/Voltes V}}'': [[spoiler: This happens to Kenichi, Daijirou and Hiyoshi Go. For most of the series, they battle the forces of Planet Boazania, alien invaders that seek to add Earth to their growing list of conquered planets. In Episode 28, they find out that their [[DisappearedDad missing father]] is actually from that very planet. He was born in the royal family, and aimed to abolish the Boazanian FantasticCasteSystem and end slavery once he ascended to the throne, but his jealous cousin usurped him and had him MadeASlave. Regardless, their father still led several slave rebellions across Boazania, but eventually had to defect to Earth when it became too dangerous for him to stay there. After hearing this, Kenichi swears to never let his heritage get in the way of doing what's right, and proudly calls himself a Boazanian the same way he calls himself a human. In the series finale, the Go brothers help their father lead a successful rebellion against the Boazanian nobles, and he finally takes his place as the [[RightfulKingReturns rightful Emperor of Boazania]].]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''

* Voodoo from ''ComicBook/WildCATsWildStorm'' was an exotic dancer saved by the Wild CATS who has the "gift" of knowing who was possessed by a [[StarfishAliens Daemonite]] and who is not, also splitting the alien from the host. After joining the team and getting in a coma by a bullet, she and his friends discovered the truth: she was a descendant of Daemonites with [[HumanAliens Kherubin]] roots.
* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
** In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', Karolina is the daughter of aliens from Majesdane, a fact that she only learns after finding out that they are murderers.
** Played with in ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008''. Although this is more a ChangelingTale for superheroes and villains having Skrull infiltrators as {{Manchurian Agent}}s, various of them have suppressed their memories of being Skrulls and they ''do'' believe themselves to be human until the ArcWords are pronounced and they discover the truth ([[BodyHorror to their own horror]]).
** Hulkling from ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' was raised as a normal human boy, who discovers his shapeshifting and super strength powers, later learning that he's a [[ChildOfTwoWorlds child of two powerful warring alien races]] -- the Kree and the Skrull -- and is destined to unite them.

** The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E6TrueQ True Q]]". A woman named Amanda Rogers comes aboard the Enterprise as a Starfleet intern to study with Doctor Crusher. During the course of the episode it's revealed that she's actually a HalfHumanHybrid, the product of a human being and a member of the ultra powerful Q Continuum.

** Played with in ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''. Although this is more a ChangelingTale for superheroes and villains having Skrull infiltrators as {{Manchurian Agent}}s, various of them have suppressed their memories of being Skrulls and, even more, they ''do'' believe themselves to be human until the ArcWords are pronounced and they discover the truth ([[BodyHorror to their own horror]]).

'''As TheReveal, this could contain unmarked spoilers. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

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* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasChronicleOfTheMoonExploration'' have the NewTransferStudent character Luca revealing himself to be an Espal, an immortal alien with animal DNA, by [[NeverBareheaded removing his cap for the first time onscreen]] exposing his animal-like ears.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''

** An inversion occurs in the {{Elseworld}} ''Superman: Last Son of Earth'', in which the human baby Clark Kent crashes on the planet Krypton and was adopted by Jor-El and renamed as Kal-El, later becoming the Franchise/GreenLantern of his planet and sector, and recovering his memories from the Earth.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', Karolina is the daughter of aliens from Majesdane, a fact that she only learns after finding out that they are murderers.
* Voodoo from ''ComicBook/WildCATSWildStorm'' was an exotic dancer saved by the Wild CATS who has the "gift" of knowing who was possessed by a [[StarfishAliens Daemonite]] and who is not, also splitting the alien from the host. After joining the team and getting in a coma by a bullet, she and his friends discovered the truth: she was a descendant of Daemonites with [[HumanAliens Kherubin]] roots.
* PlayedWith Franchise/MarvelUniverse's CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''. Although this is more a ChangelingTale for superheroes and villains having Skrull infiltrators as {{Manchurian Agent}}s, various of them have suppressed their memories of being Skrulls and, even more, they ''do'' believe were HumanAllAlong until the ArcWords are pronounced and they discovered the truth ([[BodyHorror for their own horror]].)
* ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'': Hulkling was raised as a normal human boy, who discovers his shapeshifting and super strength powers, later learning that he's a [[ChildOfTwoWorlds child of two powerful warring alien races]] -- the Kree and the Skrull -- and is destined to unite them.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* In the ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/MorkAndMemories'', [[AmusingAlien Mork]] deliberately makes himself forget he's an alien because due to a [[OutOfContextEavesdropping misunderstanding]], he thinks Mindy wants him to be a human. Eventually, he gets his memory back, resulting in him realizing that he's an alien.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* In the 1992 movie ''Film/TheDistantHome'', 12 year old Sally first discovers that there's something wrong with her when she's in an accident and her injuries heal up almost immediately. Then at the hospital, the doctors find out that she has two sets of internal organs; two hearts, four lungs, etc. Turns out she's an alien princess.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''
** Seen for the first time in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' with ComicBook/{{Loki}}. All his life he thought he was the son of Odin and brother of Thor, but during the movie discovered his real origins: he was a baby Frost Giant (a brutal race enemy of the Asgardians) adopted by Odin. This revelation becomes the EstablishingCharacterMoment for him, making his definitive FaceHeelTurn.
** PlayedWith in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014''. [[ComicBook/StarLord Peter Quill's ]] mother is human and all his life thought his father was too. At the end of the movie, he survives handling one of the Infinity Stones (Power) with his bare hands, and a medical analysis afterward reveals it's because he's a HalfHumanHybrid. This launches the story of [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 his next adventure]] looking for his father, who turns out to be a [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Celestial]].

* In ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', a human-looking baby is rescued from a spaceship crash by a childless rural couple and begins to discover his superpowers when he is twelve. [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Sound familiar?]] Except in this case, he turns out evil.

* In ''Literature/TheLunarChronicles'', [[WrenchWench Linh]] [[CinderellaPlot Cinder]] discovers that she is actually a Lunar, an alien descended from human Moon colonists who developed MindControl powers.

* ''VideoGame/Phantasmagoria2'': Some ways into the game, Curtis Craig experiences strange phenomena and visions of a humanoid alien called the Hecatomb, while working for the pharmaceutical company [=WynTech=]. When Curtis sneaks into its basement level, it turns out that his boss Paul Warner was [[spoiler: not only in league with actual aliens from [[AnotherDimension Dimension X]] that create his drugs from live humans and other materials, but that Curtis is actually a clone made of slime and dead rats that the aliens made when Warner threw his original self into the portal, and that the Hecatomb is a mental projection of the original Curtis, who wants the life his clone lived for him.]]

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Leela always thought that she was an alien who had been abandoned by her parents, but eventually discovers that she has always been a human, albeit a mutant. Her parents left her at an orphanage and made her look like an alien because mutants are horribly discriminated against and since she could pass for an alien, they wanted to give her a better life.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode [[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E23ReadAloudNotALoud "Not a Loud"]]. Lincoln finds out that his birth story is missing from his baby book, so he and his friend Clyde try to find out why. They ask Lincoln's four eldest sisters what happened and one of them, Luna, remembers seeing a lot of men in black suits and so the boys wonder if Lincoln is an alien and those guys were TheMenInBlack, especially because Lincoln has white hair. Eventually, it's revealed that Lincoln is actually human. The guys in black suits were just there because he was delivered by the First Lady.

* ''WesternAnimation/WildCATS1994'' starts with Reno Pryce (aka Warblade), having the discovery he wasn't HumanAllAlong as he thought. Or at least that he has [[HumanAliens Kherubin]] roots, being recruited by the Wild CATS in the first episode of the TV series.

** PlayedWith in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. [[ComicBook/StarLord Peter Quill's ]] mother is human and all his life thought his father was too. At the end of the movie, he survives handling one of the Infinity Stones (Power) with his bare hands, and a medical analysis afterward reveals it's because he's a HalfHumanHybrid. This launches the story of [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 his next adventure]] looking for his father, who turns out to be a [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Celestial]].

Bob is a common person living with us, with a normal childhood and adolescence, a job and a family. [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent But then something happens]]. A wild event appears and reveals Bob was a {{human alien}} all along. May or may not gain powers with the reveal, but something is sure: he never was from Earth. Bob could be raised as a normal child, but his origins are not from this planet.

* ComicBook/{{Hulkling}} of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers. Raised as a normal human boy who discovers his shapeshifting and super strength powers, he later learns that he's a [[ChildOfTwoWorlds child of two powerful warring alien races]] -- the Kree and the Skrull -- and is destined to unite them.