History Main / WizardsFromOuterSpace

[[quoteright:240:[[WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/WizardsFromOuterSpace_528.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:240: [[{{Pun}} He's driving a flying sorcerer.]]]]

*** Hoid is perhaps the most important worldhopper. He has appears at some point in nearly every book, and seems to be traveling around collecting magical abilities from each series. His exact origin is unknown but he seems to be one of, if no the most, knowledgeable people about the nature of the Cosmere.

** The short story ''Literature/SixthOfTheDusk'' features spacefaring humans with some form of magic or another, although the specifics aren't covered. A common theory is that they are from the [[spoiler: ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' series, as WordOfGod stated the final trilogy will be a "space opera"]]

Sometimes Science Fiction [[ScienceFantasy isn't really science fiction]]. Sometimes, it's actually fantasy. Even so, some things are usually seen as a part of one genre and not the other. If you see a magic sword, for example, you can assume it's fantasy and not sci-fi. Space travel, on the other hand, is firmly in the realm of science fiction, and not fantasy.

A subtrope of ScienceFantasy. Compare and contrast to FantasyAliens which plays a traditional scifi trope in a primarily fantasy setting.

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' features {{Magitek}} {{Cool Starship}}s operated by SpacePolice mages that oversee various worlds. Technically it's not Outer Space, it's the VoidBetweenTheWorlds, but it's treated the same way.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' skirts into this territory, the [[MagicLand Magical World]] is in an artificial pocket dimension [[spoiler:on Mars]], with MagiTek flying ships shaped like marine animals. It's connected to Earth via magical gates, so there is no actual space travel. There are also sentient robots, and a major arc revolves around TimeTravel.
* ''Manga/OutlawStar'' has "Tao magic" used by Chinese space pirates, as well as the [[{{Magitek}} Caster Guns]] that fire magical shells.
* In ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', when the emponymous character made a student film, Yuki Nagato was cast in the role of an alien witch.

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica,'' [[spoiler:Kyubey's species]] hangs somewhere between this and {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s; their actions are generally described as magic, and the fact that they're from space is treated as a twist, but it's not entirely clear how the specifics work.

* The eponymous Ponko from the indie manga ''Manga/HoshiNoPonkoToToufuyaReiko'' is a cutesy-looking alien saleswoman from space, but might also be described as [[spoiler:a soul-eating succubus con artist]] with all the magical jargon replaced by sci-fi elements.

* Alien sorcerers appear once in a while in the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. This being the Cthulhu Mythos, the line between magic, science, divine intervention and so on might be a little blurry.
** To some degree, this is an UnbuiltTrope: Lovecraft and his colleagues wrote the bulk of what would become the Mythos in the 20's and 30's, when Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror were not ''quite'' the distinct genres we know them as today; the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]] for those genres were still decades away from being written after all.
* According to the Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse, the universe was once dominated by magic and mystical forces, until the Time Lords changed the laws of physics to remove all of that. Certain supernatural powers like psionics, block-transfer computation, and other methods of altering reality remained because they had some 'scientific' grounding. Even earlier than that -- before the Big Bang -- a universe existed whose equivalent of the Time Lords used "quantum mnemonics," essentially magic words that altered reality around them. The few that survived the Big Bang into our universe became [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos the Great Old Ones]].
* One [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone]] story has Elric teaming up with other incarnations of the Eternal Champion to take down alien wizards that had come to his world from beyond his reality. It's even more awesome than that summary makes it sound.

* Creator/JacekDukaj's short story "The Iron General" [[note]]yes, it's the one that's been translated to English![[/note]] is set in a DungeonPunk-style world and, among other things, involves an interstellar travel by what's pretty much a magically-propelled, magically airtight hull.

* In ''Literature/TheSecondApocalypse'', [[BigBadDuumvirate Aurang and Aurax]] are the last survivors of the Inchoroi, a bizarre and malevolent race that come from beyond the world of Earwa. Most characters treat the Inchoroi as something like demons or {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, but the most learned (and the reader) recognize that they are actually space aliens; their fortress of [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Golgotterath]] is actually what's left of their ship. Played with in that while the Inchoroi brothers are powerful sorcerers ''now'', it wasn't until they arrived in Earwa that they realized magic was actually possible and had to [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetically modify themselves]] before they could wield it.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP]]-[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2686 2686]], the "Moon Wizard", is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a wizard on the moon]]. Unfortunately, since he draws his power from "the light of the moon above", and while he's on the moon all of the moon is ''below'' him, he has no way of getting back to Earth.

* Creator/Level5 had the Playstation 2 games ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/DarkCloud2''. Rogue Galaxy had interplanetary travel and magic use galore so space wizards are everywhere. In Dark Cloud 2, all the problems are started by a being from the moon in the future who gains wizardly power.

** ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', a third-party refinement of TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons 3.5, has an expansion to its default campaign setting which reveals that most other planets in the solar system are inhabited by a range of robots, cybernetically-enhanced humanoids, gas-giant-dwellers, and energy beings, most of whom mix magic and science to varying degrees.
*** This was later fully developed and taken into the future with ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}''. Technological, magical, and hybrids of both are very common, and even formerly purely magical foes show up with science-based tricks. For instance, TheLegionsOfHell have developed disturbing OrganicTechnology starships and can use PowerArmor...

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. There is magic that is universal (all use the same rule set where it is called PsychicPowers) and necessary for space travel, but the Eldar and the Imperium treat it like magic or religion, introducing terms like warlock and inquisitor. Men in particular treat their LostTechnology spiritually or as [[DeusEstMachina actual parts of a god]]. Meanwhile, the creatures of Chaos are very clearly daemons lifted with no alteration straight out of [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Warhammer Fantasy]] (literally, the models can be used for both games).

* Although the show plays much faster n' looser with the restriction now than it once did, ''Series/DoctorWho'' still ''usually'' maintains that magic, (at least when we're actually ''calling'' it "magic" instead of [[AppliedPhlebotinum phlebotinum),]] does not exist. The [[TheNthDoctor Seventh Doctor]] story "Battlefield" is about an incursion into our world from an AlternateUniverse where magic ''does'' work.
** The canonical explanation for this in the Expanded Universe is that the Time Lords didn't like magic, so they changed the laws of the universe to remove it.

* In ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', when the emponymous character made a student film, Yuki Nagato was cast in the role of an alien witch.

* ''Webcomic/TheSecretReport'': The dragons [[spoiler: [[https://secretreport.the-comic.org/comics/61/#comicimage come from outer space]] and apparently [[https://secretreport.the-comic.org/comics/65/#comicimage can become Kaiju size if they want to, though usually chose not to]].

* Some seasons of the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' were all about this trope, especially early on. Later seasons are split more clearly into aliens / magic / science / supernatural martial arts / etc. However, crossovers can still feel like this, as magic themed enemies cross over into sci-fi like series.

** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' falls more into sci fi, as the rangers, using car-based superpowers, fight a clan of space pirates who don't rely in magic as much as earlier villains did. However, in one episode, the rangers aided a NatureSpirit named [[SdrawkcabName Erutan]].

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' featured, among other things, the Techno Mages, who were stated upfront to be wizards who used technology so advanced that it was indistinguishable from magic. They also had {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s who masqueraded as holy figures, and at one point, a space station commander and a Catholic Priest working together could not quite determine if the entity that was possessing a person was an alien or a demon.

* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP]]-[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2686 2686]], the "Moon Wizard", is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a wizard on the moon]]. Unfortunately, since he draws his power from "the light of the moon above", and while he's on the moon all of the moon is ''below'' him, he has no way of getting back to Earth.

* Some seasons of the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' were all about this trope, especially [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers early on]]. Zordon himself literally was a wizard from outer space, as was his rival, the evil space witch Rita. Later seasons are split more clearly into aliens / magic / science / supernatural martial arts / etc.
* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'''s heroes were space pirates in a flying space pirate ship.

[[folder:Film]]

* The eponymous Ponko from the indie manga ''Hoshi no Ponko to Toufuya Reiko'' is a cutesy-looking alien saleswoman from space, but might also be described as [[spoiler:a soul-eating succubus con artist]] with all the magical jargon replaced by sci-fi elements.

* The Jedi and the Sith from ''Franchise/StarWars''. It is, after all, the story of a young farmboy who meets a wizard, who teaches him magic. The boy then inherits a magic sword, rescues a princess, and fights monsters, a black knight, and an evil wizard, all while flying spaceships and meeting aliens and robots. The ExpandedUniverse, both pre- and post-Disney, keeps up the trend, tossing in fantasy-style undead, SufficientlyAdvancedAliens, BlackMagic, and occasional stabs at harder science fiction.

* The Asgardians in the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' flip-flops between SufficientlyAdvancedAliens and actual mystical deities. ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' reinforces the latter notion while taking place mostly in firmly sci-fi setting. Though not seen in the movie, a number of fantasy concepts such as ghosts and vampires are also mentioned by Korg, a rock space alien.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' featured, among other things, the Techno Mages, who were stated upfront to be wizards who used technology so advanced that it was indistinguishable from magic. They also had SufficientlyAdvancedAliens who masqueraded as holy figures, and at one point, a space station commander and a Catholic Priest working together could not quite determine if the entity that was possessing a person was an alien or a demon.

* ''Literature/TheFallenDragon'' has an in-universe example, with a teacher in the 24th century who makes up a wizards-in-space story for her students, because she thinks the best fantasy has a grounding in the reality of the audience.

%%* The illustrated ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/TheLastHero'' features a dragon-powered moonshot.

* The first ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ends with the launching of a primitive spacecraft. The illustrated story ''Literature/TheLastHero'' features a more elaborate one, which makes it to the Moon. Both take advantage of the fact that leaving the Disc is as simple as dropping over the edge.