History Main / HumanityIsSuperior

* Another story by Turtledove subverts and plays with this. "The Road Not Taken" involves humanity discovering the universe is full of spacefaring alien races. Thing is, everyone else has a technological level several hundred years behind humanity in every field ''but'' space travel. The result is humanity becoming a brutal race of conquers who go around [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] the rest of the galaxy, regardless of whether they attacked first. The subversion comes in the sequel; as humanity starts conquering the galaxy, its own progress pretty much stops. Then they encounter a race who also doesn't have the FTL technology but are way more advanced than humans in other areas. [[LaserGuidedKarma Guess what happens next]].

* Prominent theme in Christianity and Judaism. First Chapter of the Bible talks about humans being made in image of God and meant to be masters of creation. God is refered in book as Father and in psalm 82:6, God says "ye are gods and all of you are sons of most high"[[note]]though entire psalm 82 is more of a [[HumansAreMorons Humans are Morons]], but still[[/note]]. Deuterocanonical book of Esdras outright states that everything was made for mankind. On the other hand Islam largely averts this, due to having another race (djinn) that are superior to humans, but on the bright side, Allah ordered angels to bow before newly created Adam and Satan became Satan due to refusing that.
* But Christianity takes this even further. Jesus is both fully God and fully man. This means that of all the living beings in creation, humanity is the only species that God is a member of. Asides this, Jesus is called "Second Adam" with various implication. One of it is that being co-heirs with Christ, meaning we will inherit entire creation when [[GodEmperor Jesus]] will come back. If after reading this section (including Psalm mentioned previously) you thought "doesnt all this mean that humans are sort of gods?", [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinization_(Christian) well...]]

** Humans are so broken that everyone Outside player reading this page is a filthy human main.

* WebVideo/TierZoo is a youtube series presenting zoology as if the species of earth were in an MMO called Outside. Humans, with max [[OneStatToRuleThemAll Intelligence]] and the broken abilities sweat, overhand throw, and access to the whole tech tree, are considered an in-universe GameBreaker. The show does point out a few bad matches for humans, mostly against [[ScaryStingingSwarm eusocial flying insects]], because few humans prestige into the gear to handle them, but humans otherwise completely dominate the current meta. Even before modern tech, humans had coordinated hunting and endurance hunting. Humans are also unique in being able to ally with or exploit almost every other class, including other top-tier classes, even against their wills. That's how humans got the horse, dog, cow, sheep, many birds of prey, and other guilds as servants or allies.

** One of the largest stories spawnned by HFY, ''Literature/TheJenkinsverse'' veers into {{Deconstruction}} instead. Humans are much stronger, faster and quicker-witted than nearly all species in existence, due to evolving on a (by the standards of life-bearing planets) insanely dangerous DeathWorld. However, this comes at the cost of our finely tuned biology existing on a much narrower comfort curve.

Humanity, despite all our [[PunyEarthlings weaknesses]] in comparison to most of the other alien races, have managed to [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters carve out]] or create an [[TheEmpire interstellar empire]] usually with [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Earth as the capital]]. This can be in TheFuture or TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, usually made possible by captured, recently discovered [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum alien]] or Ancient [[AppliedPhlebotinum Phlebotinum]] and through [[HumansAreSpecial sheer willpower or just simply being Human]], enforced with an offscreen RedshirtArmy and {{Cool Ship}}s. If in the case of EvilIsCool, humankind is led by an EvilOverlord, or some form of OneWorldOrder with [[FantasticRacism extraterrestrial or mutant racism or hatred]], and the higher echelons of these governments are [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen almost never seen]]. All aliens are portrayed by the government as monsters despite some of them having feelings too, or in the case of [[TheGovernment a nation]] or TheFederation, Humanity is [[DuringTheWar at war]].

Often the ''Homo sapiens'' race is [[SuperSoldier genetically, technologically]], and [[MightyWhitey racially enhanced]] or turned into a trained TykeBomb force in the attempt to ensure Humankind always comes out on top against the ScaryDogmaticAliens. This usually works, with the resultant super soldiers and the navy turning the tide of the wars in humankind's favor. Eventually after the war is finished the super soldiers end up as a sort of SpacePolice, and with the [[TheEvilArmy Imperial Forces]] in the case of an evil humanity. Sometimes the ruling agencies lead by a HiddenAgendaVillain has the intent of upgrading the human race genetically.

If EvilIsCool is noted, this can occur with Humanity's subjugation of alien races along the way as well as aiding them in their ultimate goal of having Humans on the top of the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters food chain constantly]]. However, if there is a [[LaResistance resistance]] with alien sympathizers, usually this will take momentum and can lead to the Empire being overthrown to become TheFederation. If a bunch of aliens ally themselves together to defeat the Human BigBad (often with renegade humans [[MightyWhitey leading the revolution]]) then [[HumanityOnTrial humanity is put on trial]] or it subtly is either the [[KillAllHumans end of humankind]] or the beginning of [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt human subjugation]].

SubTrope of HumansAreSpecial. Compare MirrorUniverse, HumansAreTheRealMonsters, HumansAreCthulhu, HumansAreWarriors. Contrast HumansAreMorons, HumansNeedAliens, SuperiorSpecies, for when it's a non-human species that is superior. Whether this trope or HumansAreMorons is the dominant trope in science fiction at the moment is something of a CyclicalTrope. See HumanityIsAdvanced when humans are superior in technology as well.

* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' world runs on the rule of thumb that AsskickingLeadsToLeadership. Despite the existence of races far stronger than humans naturally (such as Fishmen and Giants), the [[OneWorldOrder World Government]] and its military is ultimately composed of humans, with humans occupying powerful positions in said military. And on the other side of the spectrum, at least three of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates in the world, are humans with non-human characters playing supporting roles in their respective organizations. A large part of this comes from Devil Fruit consumers (Fishmen tend to shy away from them) and various other reasons. Furthermore, humans in the One Piece world are a lot... stranger than we expect (where humans being over 10 feet tall is considered average and the average life span is over 100, with some ''normal'' humans capable of being over 20 feet tall.)

* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' world runs on the rule of thumb that AsskickingLeadsToLeadership. Despite the existence of races far stronger than humans naturally (such as Fishmen and Giants), the [[OneWorldOrder World Government]] and its military is ultimately composed of humans, with humans occupying powerful positions in said military. And on the other side of the spectrum, at least three of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates in the world, are humans with non-humans characters playing supporting roles in their respective organizations. A large part of this comes from Devil Fruit consumers (Fishmen tend to shy away from them) and various other reasons. Furthermore, humans in the One Piece world are a lot... stranger than we expect (where humans being over 10 feet tall is considered average and the average life span is over 100, with some ''normal'' humans capable of being over 20 feet tall.)

* The story of [[http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-view-article&egart_uid=483ae5827604f Glarion: The Glorious Conquerer]] from ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' is a deliberate contrast to the rest of the setting where humanity is anything but superior. Terragen civilization on a whole ''is'' superior in many ways to all xenosophonts it has contacted though, but there have been still more advanced civilizations discovered elsewhere - just not contacted yet because of the distance.

* In the novel ''Pandora's Planet'', Humans are, on average, smarter than the aliens who invade Earth, only being beaten because half the time the Humans were fighting each other. [[spoiler:The book ends on the twist that a new species has been discovered which appears to be to humans as humans were to the aliens who invaded them.]]

* Deconstructed in Creator/DavidBrin's ''{{Literature/Uplift}}'' universe. Humans are the only [[spoiler:current]] race in the civilized galaxy that evolved on their own, not being uplifted by another race. Rather than making humanity look like a bunch of awesome badasses, it's made us pariahs in the galactic community; at best the other races think we're lying about not being uplifted (or think that we were abandoned mid-uplift), at worst they think we're a bunch of heretical punks who need to be put in our proper place. Not only that, but while humanity evolved on its own, it's still pathetic in terms of technology compared to everyone else.

-->-- '''John Crichton''', ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8BljF9em8yU#t=150 "Crackers Don't Matter"]]

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' has the Sebacean Peacekeepers as a ruthless space 'human' [[TheEmpire empire]] with [[TykeBomb hardcore soldiers]]. But the quote is from John Crichton, the only true human in this part of the universe. The instance quoted though was a subversion - the alien was attacking them through their eyes, and Crichton was the only one with [[DisabilitySuperpower dull enough eyesight to fight it]].

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Utopia", it's revealed that baseline humanity (as in, non-{{Transhuman}}, look-in-the-mirror humans) is one of four species that makes it through to the dying days of the Universe, ''100 trillion years'' into the future (well, the Doctor actually explains they went transhuman and back a few dozen times, including periods as pure data, but they always eventually revert to the default "hairless monkey" model). Let that sink in for a while, and also consider that of the other three species, [[WordOfGod one is the]] [[PlanetLooters Sycorax]].

* In ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]'']] [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel, ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', this is played with--as per Mass Effect's canon there are those in Citadel space who believe in the trope. Cerberus exploits the arrival of more-advanced humans to try to enforce the belief by military means, culminating with a plot to use a cloaked superlaser station to take out a Trans-Galactic Republic Star Dreadnaught. It doesn't work, but [[CorruptCorporateExecutive shady elements]] from the Trans-Galactic Republic's galaxy conspire for Human dominance and were indeed the ones who helped Cerberus acquire technology for their failed coup. Humanity is also (sometimes) the most advanced species (save NeglectfulPrecursors who hit SufficientlyAdvancedAlien levels) in the fan-verse, though ''most'' of them aren't tempted to abuse this fact.

** In the sequel ''Override'', the human United Earth is engaged in an active war with the ruthless [[AliensAreBastards Voinian Empire]]. According to the backstory, humanity was losing worlds left and right when the invasion began, but by the time the story begins... the Voinians really aren't doing so hot anymore. Not only have the aliens repeatedly been beaten back by the human alliance, the game's [[TacticalRockPaperScissors unusual ship balancing]] ensures that the United Earth's particular composition of shielding and mobile ship engines gives them a significant edge against the Voinians in nearly every engagement. The Crescent Strands, another group of aliens who similarly counter the United Earth ships, are too busy ''killing each other'' to influence the war one way or the other.

* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' world runs on the rule of thumb that AsskickingEqualsAuthority. Despite the existence of races far stronger than humans naturally (such as Fishmen and Giants), the [[OneWorldOrder World Government]] and its military is ultimately composed of humans, with humans occupying powerful positions in said military. And on the other side of the spectrum, at least three of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates in the world, are humans with non-humans characters playing supporting roles in their respective organizations. A large part of this comes from Devil Fruit consumers (Fishmen tend to shy away from them) and various other reasons. Furthermore, humans in the One Piece world are a lot... stranger than we expect (where humans being over 10 feet tall is considered average and the average life span is over 100, with some ''normal'' humans capable of being over 20 feet tall.)

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* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' brings us the Imperium of Man, a massive galactic [[TheEmpire empire]] whose domain encompasses millions of worlds and countless citizens. Its armies number in the trillions, with thousands upon thousands of war machines at their disposal (including HumongousMecha the size of ''mountains'') and include many of the deadliest warriors in the galaxy. While human technology is not the most advanced of the setting, the Imperium is nevertheless capable of achievements that often match (and in some cases exceed) those of other races. Given the [[EvilVersusEvil grim morality]] of the setting, it's no surprise that the position of humanity as the dominant galactic power is reflected in their [[KillEmAll attitude towards alien civilizations]].

* Humans in ''Literature/TheDamned'' trilogy by Creator/AlanDeanFoster are faster, stronger, tougher, and fiercer than every other sentient species, bar none. They're also the only species with the ability to resist the PsychicPowers of the Amplitur, who have brainwashed entire species into being happy slaves. So, the discovery of humanity by the Weave of free species at the beginning of the first book marks a critical turning point in their war to remain free. Unfortunately, humans are feared by the other sympathetic alien species precisely for those qualities and the uncomfortable question comes up that if they win the war, what will happen to human/alien relations then? Technically there are faster, stronger and tougher races than humans but Humans are a JackOfAllStats species, faster than the strongest species, stronger than the fastest but fiercer than all. Ironically all three books deal with Humans who try to be more than just warriors.

* Throughout ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34264636/chapters/85251547 The Girl from Earth]]'', it slowly becomes clear just how more advanced Earth is in comparison to the Demon Realm. Concepts like cars, video games, nuclear weapons, and especially space travel are completely foreign to the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles. When Luz publicly reveals humanity's space travel achievements to the Isles (under a truth spell so that her information is irrefutable), a mass panic ensues. The Coven heads immediately delay the Day of Unity because of how clearly they underestimated humans, and some witch supremacists were actually [[GoMadFromTheRevelation driven insane]] with the knowledge that witches are in no way the universe's most superior species.

* In Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio's novel ''illegal aliens'', though initially technologically inferior to the alien races they encounter, Humans catch up very VERY quickly (albeit with the help of an alien technician) and surpass the weaponry, medical, and general technological abilities of the aliens they got most of the technology from in the first place, by sheer inventiveness, for example, [[spoiler: they regenerate members of an extinct alien race, create a type of {{unobtanium}} ship armor an alien earlier on in the story was lying about to make them think alien ships were tougher than they really were, created ORIGINAL weapons based on an "atomic vortex" that started with a pistol that was ridiculously powerful and escalated to a cannon that could wipe out massive fleets of automated attack satellites, and generally overcame any and all opposition by races whose technology they hadn't even known about mere months before.]]
* In the novel ''Pandora's Planet'', Humans are, on average, smarter than the aliens who invade Earth, only being beaten because half the time the Humans were fighting each other. [[spoiler: The book ends on the twist that a new species has been discovered which appears to be to humans as humans were to the aliens who invaded them.]]

* [[TheEmpire The Empire of Humans]] in Yulia Latynina's "Inhuman" is very much evil, bloated and corrupt; at the time of its founding it was less corrupt and more evil, with constant executions, mind control and biological warfare. However, [[spoiler: almost all of that is revealed to have been NecessarilyEvil: TheEmpire's founder only came to power and introduced those measures ''after'' the democratic government, along with the Earth's entire ecosphere and 98% of the human population, was eaten by the Ttakas, a race of [[ExtremeOmnivore truly extreme omnivores who ate other species as an alternative to eating each other (though they did that too whenever possible)]] that also happened to breed ''very'' rapidly and be incredibly inventive. And those measures worked: humanity survived and built an empire, while the Ttakas were killed off by use of a very nasty, advanced human-engineered virus, along with other things whenever that proved impractical.]] Later wars and oppression really were mostly for the evil, though. Admittedly, it still is not so much a case of humans alone being bastards; more like almost all the sapient species encountered, in one way or another.

* Deconstructed in Creator/DavidBrin's ''{{Literature/Uplift}}'' universe. Humans are the only [[spoiler: current]] race in the civilized galaxy that evolved on their own, not being uplifted by another race. Rather than making humanity look like a bunch of awesome badasses, it's made us pariahs in the galactic community; at best the other races think we're lying about not being uplifted (or think that we were abandoned mid-uplift), at worst they think we're a bunch of heretical punks who need to be put in our proper place. Not only that, but while humanity evolved on its own, it's still pathetic in terms of technology compared to everyone else.

* [[spoiler: The Fal'Cie]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' believe that HumansAreTheRealMonsters ''and'' that humanity is superior. Their entire scheme revolves around taking advantage of both of these traits to manipulate humans into [[spoiler: destroying Cocoon (which would doom the Cocoon Fal'Cie and the human populace) in order to bring back The Maker]].

** In the original game, the ongoing [[LaResistance Confederate/Rebel conflict]] came off the heels of a failed alien invasion that occurred several decades prior. While humanity could not even come close to matching the aliens incredible technology, they eventually overwhelmed the aliens through [[DeathOfAThousandCuts extreme determination and sheer numbers]]. This is alluded to [[spoiler: in the final mission of the game for both factions, where the player is aided by a military carrier fleet to destroy a lone alien battleship that somehow survived the war. It's still a very difficult fight]].

-->"[[spoiler:{{Satan}}]] is dead. Humans killed him with their weapons. With their weapons, not with magic, for magic and superstition is powerless in the face of human science. We are powerless in the face of human engineering. They have won this war and nothing we say or do can change that. Hell is changed forever and nothing we can do will change that either. The humans have told me they wish me to be the new leader in Hell, answerable only to them. I have agreed. If you do not like the idea of me as your leader, don't tell me." [[spoiler: Abigor]] gestured at the Marines and their vehicles. "TELL THEM!"

* Explored in Literature/TheJenkinsverse, where humans' evolving on what is by galactic standards a horrific death world has resulted in their being far, far superior to other species in ''every'' regard. Borders on {{Deconstruction}}. Humans, and everything associated with them (diseases, etc), are so much stronger than galactic norm that even basic interactions become [[MadeOfPlasticine problematic, if not dangerous]]. Without the proper precautions, a human can kill a ship [[spoiler: or a world]] just by being there. This causes most races to want to avoid associating with them, especially in the wake of the Hunters' ultimatum.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', the human power [[TheFederation (Earth Alliance)]] likes to give off the ''impression'' of punching well above the weight of such a young power with their militaristic bluster and gigantic ships), but considering their humiliatingly poor performance against the Minbari, Babylon 5 being taking nearly as much damage from a Centauri cruiser's ''warning shots'' in "Acts of Sacrifice" as it took from a massive Earthforce assault in "Severed Dreams", Sheridan describing Centauri fighters and pilots as decisively superior to Earthforce's own in the same episode, and the BadFuture in ''[[Recap/BabylonFiveTheLostTales01 The Lost Tales]]'' where Galen shows Sheridan a possible timeline where the Centauri easily stomp the Earth Alliance and bomb Earth's cities to dust, they're nowhere near the top of the Younger Races, let alone the Middle Children such as the Minbari and Streib or the First Ones. Creator/JMichaelStraczynski himself describes the Earth Alliance as being in the "lower third" of the ''Babylon 5'' food chain, and they helped win the Dilgar War by tipping the balance in an alliance with several other races, not because they were as powerful as the Dilgar. Also note that the Narns are near or at parity with the EA despite being around a century newer to the galactic scene. The Earth Alliance is a subversion--a race that on first impression seems exceptionally powerful, but is militarily a paper tiger that uses bold impressions, clever diplomacy, and extensive trade networks to build clout rather than force of arms.
** [[DoubleSubvertedTrope That said]], humans have a lot of soft power. It's said that no other race in the galaxy would have attempted to build anything like the Babylon project - when the Centauri or Minbari build space stations, they're used entirely by the race that built them; when ''humans'' build stations, they become communities made up of diverse (and sometimes even hostile) populations. When humanity is threatened by civil war, a lot of alien races (including a few who don't even particularly like humans) offer alliances and support because the prospect of losing their moderating diplomatic voice unacceptable. One example of human diplomatic brilliance from before the start of the series was how Earth entering the war between the Non-Aligned Worlds and the Dilgar on the side of the losing NAW; [[BigDamnHeroes by sweeping in and helping them turn the war around]], they immediately made a bold impression on the galactic heavyweights and gained an influential ally in the process too.

* Witness the [[http://www.reddit.com/r/hfy Humanity, Fuck Yeah!]] subreddit, which exists solely for this trope to blossom (with a nice helping of HumansAreWarriors and occasionally HumanityIsInsane and/or HumansAreCthulhu). Numerous other articles similar to it have been spawned since, and some of them take the trope UpToEleven to the point of {{parod|iedTrope}}y. We humans aren't just conquering, genocidal, resource-stripping pieces of shit, [[CardCarryingVillain we actively aspire to be and relish in being conquering, genocidal, resource-stripping pieces of shit]].

* ''FanFic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness'': This trope is noted to be the very reason that the dark lords started the {{masquerade}} in the first place; it's noted on multiple occasions that as powerful as monsters are, humankind outnumbers monsters a hundred to one at the very least, and human technology and weapons are superior to monster might and magic.

* In ''Fanfic/SuperMarioWorldMaxLandis'' the Mushroom Kingdom's physics greatly favor humans, which is why Mario and Luigi are able to perform impossible feats. This is also why Wario is so dangerous, as his enhanced abilities and real-world military tech wreaks havoc on the kingdoms.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfAllOni'': Blankman privately expresses the view that since humans managed to drive all magical species into either extinction or hiding, [[FantasticRacism then they are superior to those beings]] and deserve to stand above them. [[EnigmaticMinion Which begs the question of why he's willingly working for the no longer human Jade...]]

* Throughout ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34264636/chapters/85251547 The Girl from Earth]]'', it slowly becomes clear just how more advanced Earth is in comparison to the Demon Realm. Concepts like cars, video games, nuclear weapons, and especially space travel are completely foreign to the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles. When Luz publicly reveals humanity's space travel achievements to the Isles (under a truth spell so that her information is irrefutable), a mass panic ensues. The Coven heads immediately delay the Day of Unity because of how clearly they underestimated humans, and some witch supremacists were actually [[GoMadFromTheRevelation driven insane]] with the knowledge that witches are in no way the universe's most superior species.
** Once Luz finds out about the true plans for the Day of Unity, she becomes immediately worried about the potential MergedReality. But she isn't worried about humanity, no she's worried about the Boiling Isles because she knows [[NukeEm a couple of nukes could easily wipe out the entire Demon Realm]]. While she doesn't publicly reveal everything about human weaponry and warfare, she does give a presentation which cements to everyone that sees it that the Isles ''cannot'' win a war against Earth.
-->'''Luz:''' ''"If he brings the Isles to Earth, I can almost assure you it will be destroyed within weeks!"''

* The ''Anime/OnePiece'' world runs on the rule of thumb that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Asskicking Equals Authority]]. Despite the existence of races far stronger than humans naturally (such as Fishmen and Giants), the [[OneWorldOrder World Government]] and its military is ultimately composed of humans, with humans occupying powerful positions in said military. And on the other side of the spectrum, at least three of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates in the world, are humans with non-humans characters playing supporting roles in their respective organizations. A large part of this comes from Devil Fruit consumers (Fishmen tend to shy away from them) and various other reasons. Furthermore, humans in the One Piece world are a lot... stranger than we expect (where humans being over 10 feet tall is considered average and the average life span is over 100, with some ''normal'' humans capable of being over 20 feet tall.)

** Once Luz finds out about the true plans for the Day of Unity, she becomes immediately worried about the potential MergedReality. But she isn't worried about humanity, no she's worried about the Boiling Isles because she knows [[NukeEm a couple of nukes could easily wipe out the entire Demon Realm]].

* The intrinsic complexity and enormous variety of human culture in [[Anime/Macross]] is an order of magnitude greater than every other species in the Universe combined. Without exaggeration, mankind just plays the latest Top Ten Music Chart whenever they encounter aliens. Said aliens either immediately want to join the Earth {{Fangirl}} Club or experience sensory overload that throws them into an existential crisis.

* The intrinsic complexity and enormous variety of human culture in Anime/Macross is an order of magnitude greater than every other species in the Universe combined. Without exaggeration, mankind just plays the latest Top Ten Music Chart whenever they encounter aliens. Said aliens either immediately want to join the Earth {{Fangirl}} Club or experience sensory overload that throws them into an existential crisis.