History Main / PunyEarthlings

* ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'': A central point in the novel is that humanity is so technologically primitive compared to the Martians that it has no hope of mounting any kind of true resistance -- the one thing like a victory on the British side, the clash between the HMS ''Thunder Child'' and a group of tripods, is a PyrrhicVictory that ends with the ''Thunder Child'' sunk; all other clashes are simply slaughters. Wells repeatedly compares this to European imperial forces wiping out animal species or less advanced human societies; the titular war isn't really a war so much as a powerful expansionistic empire eradicating a vastly less advanced society. In the end, the human species is saved entirely by circumstances beyond their own control.

* In ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', there are possibly-omniscient aliens capable of RewritingReality and surviving attacks which would kill a normal human... of course, this is softened somewhat by the fact that [[RealityWarper the most powerful being]] in the series is an otherwise normal human girl, or at least she would be [[LockedOutOfTheLoop if she knew of her powers.]] Her existence also caused a group of humans to gain PsychicPowers, though...
* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', the Pillar Men are immortal [[OurVampiresAreDifferent super-vampires]] who have {{Lovecraftian Superpower}}s and can devour humans and lesser vampires alike simply by touching them. As such, they view humanity as far, far beneath them, treating us the same way the average human treats a bug. This is shown when Wamuu bumps into Caesar's friend Mark after his awakening, causing [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe half his body to be digested]]; Wamuu barely even reacts to this. Joseph and Caesar are the only humans who manage to earn the privilege of being viewed as {{Worthy Opponent}}s by the Pillar Men, as their use of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] lets them actually fight back against them.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' this is both played straight and subverted - several aliens are more powerful than humans, especially the Viltrumites (who are like humans.... but with mustaches, a strict warrior culture, superpowers and '''really''' long life spans). One Viltrumite, Omni-Man, proved to be Earth's most powerful superhero and individual in general during his tenure as a superhero. But at one point there is an alien race with much shorter lifespans, and Allen the Alien is considered superpowered by his own race's standards.

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', most [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] believed this, seeing humans at best as funny talking entertainment like pets or [[SapientEatSapient amusing snacks]], and they honestly didn't get why there was a [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch subset of their own kind that disagreed]] and believed HumansAreSpecial. This ended up causing a Dragon Civil War where the pro-coexistence side fought an outnumbered battle against their brethren that ended when said dragons taught humans Dragon Magic to create [[TheDragonslayer the first Dragon Slayers]] and even the odds...[[GoneHorriblyRight and then]] one of those humans who ''hated'' dragons ended up causing the virtual extinction of dragons while simultaneously and ironically turning into one and declaring himself the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Dragon King]].

* Creator/NeilGaiman used to tell about receiving a script for a potential [[TheMovie movie adaptation]] of [[ComicBook/TheSandman Sandman]]. He read until he came to a scene where Morpheus is attacked by soldiers while proclaiming "Puny humans! Your weapons cannot harm Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams!" at which point he put the script down and refused to read even one page further.

** Ronan the Accuser in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' says this to the heroes of the film near the end. [[spoiler: Unlike most other examples, [[ThisCannotBe he's doing it in disbelief]], because the heroes are performing an act that (to him) is BeyondTheImpossible, ''holding the Power Stone without getting disintegrated'']].
** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'': When a Kree scans Fury, the scanner says that his threat level is "low-to-none", and Fury reacts in disbelief. Minn-Erva doesn't seem to think very highly of Earth's civilization, either, if her pithy comment on it is anything to go by.

* In ''WebOriginal/{{Mortasheen}}'', humans are not very high on the food chain, usually ending up as either food, experimental subjects or sometimes pets, which is why the human civilization of Wreathe is so genocidal towards all the setting's monsters and mutants. Though, actual native Mortasheen humans are rather blase about this whole state of affairs, sometimes even volunteering for experiments to try and become something less vulnerable.

* ''Film/{{Paul}}'': While the eponymous alien is smaller than humans, he has invisibility and healing powers.

* One of the big themes of the ''Literature/CthulhuMythos'' is that humans are ''so'' puny that every other race we meet may as well be gods ([[DoingInTheWizard all the "deities" of the mythos are actually hyper-advanced aliens, possibly but not nescessarily with a transdimensional biology]]), as far as we're concerned (with the exception of the Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yithians, and Mi'go, and all four are like angels to our anxiety-raddled bald chimp). And a fair few are {{Brown Note Being}}s that cause us to go screaming bonkers from the mere sight of them.

* One of the big themes of the ''Literature/CthulhuMythos'' is that humans are ''so'' puny that every other race we meet may as well be gods, as far as we're concerned (with the exception of the Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yithians, and Mi'go, and all four are like angels to our anxiety-raddled bald chimp). And a fair few are {{Brown Note Being}}s that cause us to go screaming bonkers from the mere sight of them.

* ''[[Literature/SpaceForce2018 Space Force]] by Jeremy Robinson: PlayedWith. The alien Chote are far stronger and more technologically advanced than humanity. Their armor is also immune to Earth weapons. However, the average Chote is much stupider than the soldiers of Space Force.
* ZigZagged in ''Literature/TheOccupationSaga''. Human males are smaller and physically weaker on average than Shil'vati females, but slightly larger and stronger than Shil'vati males. Furthermore, what humans lack in relative brute strength, they more than make up for in staying power, which is attributed to having evolved as persistence hunters on the plains of Africa, whereas the Shil'vati evolved as ambush predators.

* In ''Film/AlienNation'', Sam "George" Francisco strongly implied that [[RubberForeheadAliens Tenctonese]] ''penises'' were bigger than the human variety (or smaller, since condoms won't fit either way). Not to mention their [[SuperStrength great strength]], stamina, [[MadeOfIron durability]], ability to survive in environments humans can't, [[BizarreAlienBiology extra hearts]], and if they overdose on an [[FantasticDrug extraterrestrial]] [[PsychoSerum narcotic]], they [[BodyHorror transform]] into [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity murderous]], [[SuperpoweredEvilSide supercharged]] [[AxCrazy berserker]] versions of themselves. But they do have a [[WeaksauceWeakness strange weakness]] or two: [[KillItWithWater Water with high salinity burns them like sulphuric acid burns naked mole rats]] and they get [[AlienLunch stinking drunk from sour milk]].

* Alien operatives in ''VideoGame/TerraInvicta'' are dangerous, even unarmed. [[spoiler:They stand at an average height of two meters (or about six and a half feet), with [[SpareBodyParts multiple redundant organs]] that must be taken out in order to kill them without simply riddling them with [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill heavy weapons fire]].]] This comes at a price: [[spoiler:they have a low birth rate, a low population, and a vulnerability to disease]], the last of which proves to be their downfall when [[AbsoluteXenophobe Humanity First]] discovers it.

* Alien operatives in ''VideoGame/TerraInvicta'' are absolutely brutal in a fight, even unarmed. [[spoiler:They stand at an average height of two meters (or about six and a half feet), with [[SpareBodyParts multiple redundant organs]] that must be taken out in order to kill them without simply riddling them with [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill heavy weapons fire]].]] However, this comes at a price: [[spoiler:they have a low birth rate, a low population, and a vulnerability to disease]], the last of which proves to be their downfall when [[AbsoluteXenophobe Humanity First]] discovers it.

* ''Literature/SpaceAcademyDropouts'': Earth has only been part of the Galactic Community for two hundred years and is still playing catch-up in technology as well as military forces. Ironically, due to AncientAstronauts kidnapping humans and settling them, Earth isn't even the most advanced or powerful planet populated by humans.

-->-- '''Ming the Merciless''', ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}''

* In most comic book continuities though, the advantage humans have over the other races is that earth will have a ridiculously high concentration of humans with superpowers. There may be a whole planet of hawkmen, or a whole planet of shapeshifters, but humans are the ones that spontaneously mutate superpowers through random accidents or X-genes. Aliens with superhero level abilities will almost never have any variety in powers and conversely will have common weaknesses. And then there are the many humans, both good and evil, who will use their scientific abilities to create weapons and armor to even the odds when they fight their alien foes. The likes of ComicBook/IronMan and Doctor Doom might not have the same fancy innate abilities as the Skrulls or the Shi'ar, but they're easily a match when it comes to intelligence and science smarts.

-->'''Artanis:''' Have faith, Zeratul! You speak as if you fear these humans! Was it not we who slew the dreaded Overmind?\\
'''Zeratul:''' That we did, young one, but we did so with the help of the humans. Do not be so quick to underestimate them.

** The most commonly seen alien races would probably be the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, and Ferengi. Of that list, Cardassians are about as strong/tough/long-lived as humans, Klingons have redundant organs and live twince as long (though their warrior culture tends to cut their lives short), Vulcans and Romulans are roughly thrice as strong as an equivalently-sized human and live twice as long, and the Ferengi are smaller and weaker, though that wasn't true in their first appearance.[[note]]Although they may only ''appear'' weak thanks to their general cowardice, as [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Quark]] ''did'' break (depleted latinum suspending) gold bars ''with his bare hands.''[[/note]] Occasionally, Klingons will be stated to be stronger than humans, but this is purely an InformedAttribute and they generally get whupped in fistfights. Various other HumanAliens and RubberForeheadAliens are also consistently treated as equivalent to humans.

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': Slightly more true in Enterprise where humanity is the new comer to the galactic stage. Almost everyone has more advanced technology than Earth and is initally considered a negligible threat to older powers like the Klingons and Romulans. However, [[HumansAreSpecial humanity is often able to punch above their weight]] through ingenuity and creative thinking and are able to advance their technology at a rapid pace, a fact that alarms their enemies and start taking Earth as a serious threat. Even their Vulcan allies admit humanity scares them because they were able to achieve in a century what took them over a millennia.

* While the Franchise/MarvelUniverse has less of this trope than DC, most aliens are still super-powered in some way. The most commonly seen aliens are the [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]] Skrulls and Dire Wraiths, the Kree and the Shi'Ar who both have greater strength and stamina than humans, and the Watchers and Celestials-- [[PhysicalGod fuggeddaboudit]]. Although the Comicbook/IncredibleHulk is an Earthling himself, [[HulkSpeak "HULK SMASH]] [[CatchPhrase PUNY HUMANS!"]]

* ''Literature/SpaceAcademyDropouts'': Earth has only been part of the Galactic Community for two hundred years and is still playing catch-up in technology as well as military forces. Ironically, due to AncientAliens kidnapping humans and settling them, Earth isn't even the most advanced or powerful planet populated by humans.

* ''Videogame/AIWarFleetCommand:'' The AI certainly thinks humanity's a bunch of trash, as does [[spoiler:the CORE that it was built from]]. The sequel reveals this applies to the point that, when considering and creating a task force made of genetic experiments made from conquered races and cybernetic implants, it didn't add a single human element even as it added those of a race that is ''completely'' inept at actual battle other than "stay far away". It saw battle potential in those as artillery and snipers, and yet it didn't even consider humans in the the mixture; ''that'' is how low it finds us. Which likely makes later losses to human remnants a painful affair.

* Used to a minor extent in Creator/CJCherryh's ''Literature/{{Foreigner}}'' series. The alien ''atevi'' are bigger (and thus stronger) than humans, have superior hearing and night-vision, are much better at math, have the innate ability to instantly and accurately count things, and once they count something they have a PhotographicMemory of the resulting number.

** In ''Ultimate Alien,'' aliens get 'evolved' forms. A Ben from a possible future has an Ultimate form of his own, which is... using Omnitrix alien powers without transforming, as opposed there being something cool about humans to push UpToEleven. [[ThisLoserIsYou Humans really do suck]] in the ''Ben 10'' universe.