History Main / SpaceOrcs

** The Klingons have gone through a similar arc as orcs have, from the Tolkien-orc-like nearly-AlwaysChaoticEvil antagonists of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' through their softening and fleshing-out in various films and ultimately to the Blizzard-orc-like sympathetic {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}} of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and later.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters Terrans]] look like this [[HumansThroughAlienEyes through the eyes of]] [[SpaceElves the Protoss]] -- by their standards, they're a primitive, crude, physically repulsive, aggressive, low-tech species prone to infighting.

* ''Videogame/{{Fallout}}'': Super-mutants are humans who have been mutated into monsters by exposure to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, and generally appear to be giant, well-muscled humanoids with green or blue skin. Their intelligence ranges from on par with humans (1st generation), to human but with a strong disposition towards mental instabilities (the Nightkin sub-caste), to DumbMuscle (2nd generation and most subsequent generations), depending on how pure the batch of FEV used to create them was and in the case of the Mariposa FEV strain individual variation somewhat correlated to lack of mutation from radiation[[note]]as explained in the first game, some humans become dumber and some become smarter when turned into Mariposa super-mutants, with humans from Vaults more often falling into the second category and humans from the wasteland more often falling into the first[[/note]], and they are able to use human tech like guns and laser rifles, although these are generally assumed to have been scavenged from humans. They are often violent towards humans due to the mutual FantasticRacism between the two species, and while some super-mutants show tolerance towards humans, they tend to be the exception.

* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were an ancient race of insanely aggressive, CombatSadomasochist {{Blood Knight}}s who had {{Hair Trigger Temper}}s and saw other creatures mere existence as reason enough to go to war with them, and whose home planet was a DeathWorld covered in bomb craters and military bunkers. Despite this, they were also intelligent enough to conceive of and build Hactar, the universe's first supercomputer that functioned like a living creature's brain (which they naturally put to work designing weapons for them). They became extinct about 20 billion galactic years ago when they [[NoodleIncident found an incredibly creative way of blowing their entire species up]], to the immense relief of every other lifeform in the galaxy.

* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were an ancient race of insanely aggressive {{Blood Knight}}s who had {{Hair Trigger Temper}}s and saw other creatures mere existence as reason enough to go to war with them, and whose home planet was a DeathWorld covered in bomb craters and military bunkers. Despite this, they were also intelligent enough to conceive of and build Hactar, the universe's first supercomputer that functioned like a living creature's brain (which they naturally put to work designing weapons for them). They became extinct about 20 billion galactic years ago when they [[NoodleIncident found an incredibly creative way of blowing their entire species up]], to the immense relief of every other lifeform in the galaxy.

* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax were an ancient race of insanely aggressive {{Blood Knight}}s who had {{Hair Trigger Temper}}s and saw other creatures mere existence as reason enough to go to war with them, and whose home planet was a DeathWorld covered in bomb craters and military bunkers. Despite this, they were also being intelligent enough to conceive of and build Hactar, the universe's first supercomputer that functioned like a living creature's brain (which they naturally put to work designing weapons for them). They became extinct about 20 billion galactic years ago when they [[NoodleIncident found an incredibly creative way of blowing their entire species up]], to the immense relief of every other lifeform in the galaxy.

* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax are an ancient race of insanely aggressive {{Blood Knight}}s who can resent other lifeforms enough to want to hurt them simply for the fact that they were born, while also being intelligent enough to build Hactar, the universe's first supercomputer that functioned like a living creature's brain (which they naturally put to work designing weapons for them). They became extinct about 20 billion galactic years ago when they [[NoodleIncident found an incredibly creative way of blowing their entire species up]], to the immense relief of every other lifeform in the galaxy.

[[folder: Real Life]]
* One commonly held belief in Internet circles is that, should contact ever be made with alien life and humanity becomes part of galactic civilization, then ''[[HumansThroughAlienEyes we'll]]'' [[HumansThroughAlienEyes be the Space Orcs compared to everyone else]]. It's not without precedent -- we're super-persistent pursuit predators, we're able to continue functioning even after taking extreme damage, we're fairly strong for our size, and we have pretty much ''zero'' sense of self-preservation. We consume various poisonous substances just to experience their mind-altering side-effects ''for fun''. When certain plants tried to protect themselves from being eaten by producing a chemical that makes them ''literally painful to eat'', we said "Yes! More of that, please! The more painful the better!" and started seasoning our non-painful foods with it. Not to mention that HumansAreWarriors isn't a trope for no reason.
[[/folder]]

* ''[[Literature/SpaceForce2018 Space Force]]'' by Jeremy Robinson: The Chote are obsessive gamers who pursue personal glory via murder, make obscene gestures over the dead, and cheat at video games. They're also described as being individually of below average human intelligence.

* ''Videogame/{{Fallout}}'': Super-mutants are humans who have been mutated into monsters by exposure to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, and generally appear to be giant, well-muscled humanoids with green or blue skin. Their intelligence ranges from on par with humans (1st generation), to human but with a strong disposition towards mental instabilities (the Nightkin sub-caste), to DumbMuscle (2nd generation and most subsequent generations), depending on how pure the batch of FEV used to create them was, and they are able to use human tech like guns and laser rifles, although these are generally assumed to have been scavenged from humans. They are often violent towards humans due to the mutual FantasticRacism between the two species, and while some super-mutants show tolerance towards humans, they tend to be the exception.

In general, cultural sophistication is often assumed to go along with the technological kind -- as a civilization becomes more advanced, it's expected that it will become more civilized and sophisticated as well. These guys are living arguments against that, retaining distinctly barbaric cultures even while utilizing and producing technology far ahead of what we have in real life. At best, they will retain social mores and values most societies leave behind when they exit the bronze age, remaining focused on and accepting of warfare, raiding, piracy, slavery and personal vendettas. At worst, they'll be pillagers, warmongers, and a generally murderous or thuggish lot -- TheHorde in space -- lacking even the honor codes of a ProudWarriorRace that regulate how they go about combat and glory-seeking.

* One commonly held belief in Internet circles is that, should contact ever be made with alien life and humanity becomes part of galactic civilization, then ''[[HumansThroughAlienEyes we'll]]'' [[HumansThroughAlienEyes be the Space Orcs compared to everyone else]]. It's not without precedent -- we're super-persistent pursuit predators, we're able to continue functioning even after taking extreme damage, we're fairly strong for our size, and we have borderline no sense of self-preservation. Our idea of a good time is consuming various poisonous substances to experience their side-effects. Our idea of a delicious food seasoning is a defense mechanism that certain plants evolved to protect themselves from being eaten by making themselves literally painful to eat. We say bring it on, the more painful the better! Not to mention that HumansAreWarriors isn't a trope for no reason.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[FunetikAksent WHO'Z DIS TOLKIEN GIT YOUZ KEEP GOIN' ON ABOUT ANYWAYZ!?]]]]

%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': The Gorlocks from the episode Win, Lose, Kaboom fit this to a T. Large size, check. Green skin, check. Brute stretch, check.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': On the planet Gazorpazorp, male Gazorpians are large, sex-obsessed primitive brutes who spend their [[RapidAging short lives]] trying to kill each other and impregnating artificial birthing machines distributed to them by the more civilized females. The females are more like SpaceElves, including the cultural posturing.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': The Gorlocks fit this to a T.%%ZCE

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': The Gorlocks fit this to a T.

[[caption-width-right:350:WAAAAGH!!!]]

->"Orkses is never defeated in battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fighting so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!"
-->-- ''Anonymous Ork,'' TableTopGame/Warhammer40000

** The ancient Mandalorians were a society of warriors and marauders who were constantly at odds with the Republic, warring against it and raiding its worlds. They were often allies of the Sith, and armies of Mandalorians riding on the backs of the quadrupedal war droids were common sights during the numerous Sith/Republic wars. In the setting's present, long after the fall of the Mandalorian empires, they mostly live as clans on their homeworld or as {{Bounty Hunter}}s and mercenaries in the wider galaxy.

* While it's [[ZombieApocalypse post-apocalyptic]] rather than sci-fi, ''Film/ArmyOfTheDead'' portrays its [[EliteZombie alpha zombies]] this way, complete with a MonsterLord in the form of their leader Zeus. Unlike regular shamblers, alphas retain enough intelligence to organize, use crude weapons, and [[ItsPersonal show emotion]], but like any zombie, they are AlwaysChaoticEvil and completely devoted to eating and infecting the living, what little culture they have revolving around the pursuit of human flesh.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters Terrans]] look like this [[HumansThroughAlienEyes through the eyes of]] [[SpaceElves the Protoss]] - by their standards a bunch of primitive, crude, physically repulsive, aggressive, low-tech species prone to infighting.

Aliens in high-tech settings who are warlike, brutish, primitive and aggressive.

Subtrope of OurOrcsAreDifferent and LowCultureHighTech. Contrast SpaceElves, who are most often associated with advanced technology and magic and with refined cultures. Often overlaps with PlanetLooters.

* ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'': The Green Martians are a ProudWarriorRace of [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four-armed]] green-skinned nomads who can grow up to sixteen feet tall. They're not stupid, but they're certainly a lot less technologically inclined and less "civilized" than the more [[HumanAliens human-like]] Red, Black, White, and Yellow Martians. They're also not AlwaysChaoticEvil - although a peaceful encounter with them is still relatively rare. Probably the TropeMaker, as their first appearance was in the 1912 novel ''A Princess of Mars'', which means that not only do they predate the other Space Orcs on this page, but they also predate [[OurOrcsAreDifferent regular orcs]].

* One commonly held belief in Internet circles is that, should contact ever be made with alien life and humanity becomes part of galactic civilization, then ''[[HumansThroughAlienEyes we'll]]'' [[HumansThroughAlienEyes be the Space Orcs compared to everyone else]]. It's not without precedent -- we're super-persistent pursuit predators, we're able to continue functioning even after taking extreme damage, we're fairly strong for our size, and we have borderline no sense of self preservation. Our idea of a good time is consuming various poisonous substances to experience their side effects. Our idea of a delicious food seasoning is a defense mechanism that certain plants evolved to protect themselves from being eaten by making themselves literally painful to eat. We say bring it on, the more painful the better! Not to mention that HumansAreWarriors isn't a trope for no reason.