History Main / ManVersusMachine

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In the climax of ''Anime/CityHunterShinjukuPrivateEyes'', there's Ryo Saeba vs the [[AttackDrone flying drones and the Steel Reaper]], and Umibozu (and Miki) against the ground drones. The humans win, much to [[BigBad Mikuni]]'s frustration (he put to much faith in the attack drones), especially Ryo and his unmatched agility, ImprobableAimingSkills and quick thinking.

* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" features the Apple family and their old-fashioned cider-making ways pitted against the Flim-Flam Brothers and their eponymous [[{{Magitek}} magic-powered mechanical cider press]]. The stakes are the rights to sell cider in Ponyville, the loss of which would force the Apples into debt and off their farm. The Flim-Flam brothers win, but [[PyrrhicVillainy no one wants to drink the cider they made because they cut so many corners in order to win the contest]], and they end up leaving town in a hurry, effectively forfeiting the contest.

Who will win? Well, that's a question for the plot. Given that good guys almost always succeed, bet on that horse first -- but more often than not [[MostWritersAreHuman it's the human we're supposed to be rooting for]]. Since God help us if the robot revolution comes and they really are better than us.

* The classic John Henry story is what pioneered this trope. While he won in the end, he died from exertion while the machine could do it all over again the next day.

* ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter''' is a [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comic set in a far future where robots are a abundant and serve humans. One fears a RobotWar, and raises a human, Magnus, to prevent such a war.

%%[[AC:Comic Books]]
%%* ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter'''s premise is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:Folklore]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WebAnimation]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

* ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'' had an episode where the rangers are cast aside in favor of a group of robotic replacements (which curiously enough were called "Cyborgs" despite not having any human components). At first they seem superior, [[LightningCanDoAnything but when struck by a monster's electric attack]] [{AIIsACrapshoot they go rogue]], forcing the real rangers to face and destroy them.

* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "[=SpongBob=] Vs. the Patty Gadget" has Squidward obtaining a machine that creates Krabby Patties and challenging [=SpongeBob=] for his job. [=SpongeBob=] wins when Squidward cranks the machine too high and it overloads.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_magnus.png]]]]

* Myth/PaulBunyan and Babe the Blue Ox get in on the act, too, when they go up against the mechanized saw in a tree-cutting contest. Interestingly, Paul lost (by a quarter of an inch, in Creator/WaltDisney's [[WesternAnimation/MiscellaneousDisneyShorts version]]), and [[ButNowIMustGo headed for the Alaskan wilderness]] when he realized [[EndOfAnAge the age of the lumberjack was drawing to a close]]. In other versions of the story Paul actually won, but left anyway since he realized that age and mileage would only slow him down, whereas the mechanized saw would be tweaked and upgraded and become better and better with time.

[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/17249_6347.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:And that's how you cause a bandwidth bottleneck.]]

** In one episode, every member of the group think that they have the fastest way to get across town (bus, subway, [[TokenEvilTeammate faking a heart attack to steal a ride on an ambulance]], cab etc...). Marshall claims that he can run the whole seven miles faster than any machine. To his credit, everyone gets to the half-way point at the ''exact'' same time, meaning he backed up his claim fairly well. However, he only makes it another mile or two before he collapses on the sidewalk out of exhaustion, confessing that his bravado was really about [[spoiler: being worried he might not be able to get his wife pregnant.]]

[[AC:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter'' provides the trope image, and its premise is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* Acted out on several occasions on ''Series/TopGear'', pitting one (or more) of the presenters in a car against one of the others using some form of muscle powered transport, either on its own or as part of a wider array of options. Several examples include Car vs Dog sled (result: Car, but it was close due to the car getting stuck in a field of ice boulders that the dog sled handled much better), Car vs Public Transport vs Bicycle vs Speed Boat across London (result: Speed Boat, followed by Bicycle, followed by Public Transport and the Car dead last) or Car vs Bicycle vs Hovercraft vs Public Transport across St Petersburg (result: Car with Bicycle and Hovercraft in a dead heat and Public Transport a Did Not Finish as the Stig got lost).

* ''Literature/LegendsOfDune'' in the Butlerian Jihad humanity was enslaved by the Thinking Machines, they overthrew the machines and banned anything similar to an AI. Later in [[Literature/HuntersSandwormsOfDune the sequels]] the Thinking Machines are back and they're out for revenge against the humans.

* [[AC:Death]]/Bill Door versus the combine harvester in ''Literature/ReaperMan'', though this is a slightly unfair one, given the whole anthropomorphic personification of Death thing...
** Not really... so is the [[EvilKnockoff Combine]]. Also, [[AC:Death]] reaps one stalk at a time.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' episode "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!", Launchpad challenges Mark Beaks' car-driving robot B.U.D.D.Y. to a race.

* [[AC:Death]]/Bill Door versus the combine harvester in ''Discworld/ReaperMan'', though this is a slightly unfair one, given the whole anthropomorphic personification of Death thing...

* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', every member of the group think that they have the fastest way to get across town (bus, subway, [[TokenEvilTeammate faking a heart attack to steal a ride on an ambulance]], cab etc...). Marshall claims that he can run the whole seven miles faster than any machine. To his credit, everyone gets to the half-way point at the ''exact'' same time, meaning he backed up his claim fairly well. However, he only makes it another mile or two before he collapses on the sidewalk out of exhaustion, confessing that his bravado was really about [[spoiler: being worried he might not be able to get his wife pregnant.]]

* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' supplement ''Reign of Steel'' has the tagline “The war is over. The robots won”. The [=PCs=] are (usually) LaResistance in the ensuing CrapsackWorld.

* Myth/PaulBunyan and Babe the Blue Ox get in on the act, too, when they go up against the mechanized saw in a tree-cutting contest. Interestingly, Paul lost (by a quarter of an inch, in Creator/WaltDisney's [[WesternAnimation/MiscellaneousDisneyShorts version]]), and [[ButNowIMustGo headed for the Alaskan wilderness]] when he realized [[EndOfAnAge the age of the lumberjack was drawing to a close]].
** In other versions of the story Paul actually won, but left anyway since he realized that age and mileage would only slow him down, whereas the mechanized saw would be tweaked and upgraded and become better and better with time.