1 | ->''"He was a candidate for a Midwestern congressional seat, and he hired me to manage his campaign advertising. Unfortunately, his opponent turned up something in his past with which we could not cope."\ |
2 | "Let me guess: he was secretly a liberal."\ |
3 | "Worse. An alien."\ |
4 | "You're kidding?! An undocumented alien running for--"\ |
5 | "No. A space alien, Ms. Walters."'' |
6 | -->-- ''ComicBook/TheSensationalSheHulk'' #11, Jan. 1990 |
7 | |
8 | A character of extraterrestrial origins. For tropes about what ''makes'' them alien, at least from a biological standpoint, see BizarreAlienBiology. |
9 | |
10 | [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant If you thought it meant "illegal aliens" and signed up]], click RaceTropes. For interspecies romantic or sexual interactions, see the InterracialAndInterspeciesLoveIndex. |
11 | |
12 | If there are no aliens at all, see AbsentAliens. |
13 | |
14 | Compare FantasticSapientSpeciesTropes. Not to be confused with OthernessTropes, though there may be some overlap. |
15 | |
16 | ---- |
17 | |
18 | !!Tropes: |
19 | [[index]] |
20 | [floatboxright: |
21 | '''Related indexes:''' |
22 | * AlienWorks: An index of fiction works starring/revolving around aliens. |
23 | * SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism |
24 | ] |
25 | [[foldercontrol]] |
26 | |
27 | [[folder:Levels of the ladder of alien strangeness]] |
28 | * TheAgeless: Aliens who can't succumb to old age but can still die with other methods. |
29 | * AlienAnimals: Aliens that look ''exactly'' like Earth animals or aliens who are actual Earth animals not from Earth. |
30 | * AlienBlood: An alien bleeds a strangely-colored substance that isn't the red blood of humans. |
31 | * AlienCatnip: A substance that's fine for humans but affects aliens sort of like a drug. |
32 | * AlienFairFolk: Aliens that look like fantasy creatures from Earth's folklore (fairies, gnomes, trolls, goblins) or fantasy creatures who pretend to be aliens. |
33 | * AlienHair: List of hairstyles fictional aliens often have. |
34 | * AlienKudzu: A plantlike alien arrives on Earth and starts "seeding". |
35 | * AliensNeverInventedDemocracy: When humans are the only culture with a democratic political system. |
36 | * AliensNeverInventedTheWheel: Aliens never invented a specific technology (such as the wheel) but are otherwise normal. |
37 | * AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Humanlike alien species with skin colors vividly outside the human range. |
38 | * AngelicAliens: Graceful aliens that look sort of like humans and are seen as extremely beautiful. |
39 | * BeePeople: A race of aliens that have workers, drones and queens like bees. |
40 | * BizarreAlienBiology: Aliens have biology and physiology ''vastly'' different from that of humans. |
41 | * BizarreAlienPsychology: Aliens think a lot differently than humans. |
42 | * BlobMonster: Aliens that resemble shapeless blobs. |
43 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: A set of morals that are completely bonkers to most humans. |
44 | * BrainInAJar: A disembodied brain kept alive in a jar. |
45 | * CatFolk: Humanoid aliens based on cats. |
46 | * CuteLittleFangs: Aliens with small fangs to make them look cute. |
47 | * ConqueringAlienPrince: An Alien Prince with the intent of conquering a planet and enslaving it's people. |
48 | * DittoAliens: A species of aliens where all the individuals look the same. |
49 | * EldritchAbomination: An alien that just makes no sense. |
50 | * EnclosedExtraterrestrials: Aliens that wander around all covered. |
51 | * EnergyBeings: Non-corporeal aliens. |
52 | * ExposedExtraterrestrials: Aliens that wander around naked. |
53 | * ExtremophileLifeforms: Aliens and other beings evolved to live in conditions seemingly hostile to life. |
54 | * FangsAreEvil: Fanged aliens portrayed as bad or malicious. |
55 | * FishPeople: Aquatic, humanoid aliens who look sort of like fish. |
56 | * TheFlatwoodsMonster: Red-faced, spade-hooded humanoid aliens that are also lumped with [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious cryptid lore]]. |
57 | * FrogMen: Humanoid aliens who look and act rather like frogs. |
58 | * GeniusLoci: A sapient place. |
59 | * GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: An alien woman who looks like a human except for one or two obvious differences, and who at least one person in the main cast is attracted to if she's not just MsFanservice. |
60 | * TheGreys: Grey, usually naked, short, humanoid aliens with large heads. |
61 | * HumanAliens: An alien which looks, sounds, and to some extent, acts human. |
62 | * HumanityCameFromSpace: Aliens who are actual humans not from planet Earth. |
63 | * HumanoidAliens: Aliens who are humanoid, but don't look human. |
64 | * HumanOutsideAlienInside: An alien that looks like a human on the surface but has some wacky parts and whatnot inside their body. |
65 | * HumanSubspecies: 'Aliens' who are related to humans. |
66 | * IndoEuropeanAlienLanguage: Non-human languages are based on the languages of their creators. |
67 | * InhumanlyBeautifulRace: Similar to the above, aliens being beautiful far beyond normal human standards. |
68 | * InsectoidAliens: Aliens based on Earth bugs. |
69 | * IntelligentGerbil: An alien that's basically like a sapient, bipedal version of an Earth animal. |
70 | * KillerSpaceMonkey: Aliens that look like monkeys or non-human apes and are evil. |
71 | * LifeInZeroG: Aliens that have evolved in a zero gravity environment, such as deep space. |
72 | * LittleGreenManInACan: Aliens that you can't tell what they look like as they all wear strange outfits. |
73 | * LittleGreenMen: Short, green aliens who drive flying saucers, and usually have antennae. |
74 | * LivingGasbag: Floating aliens that are literally full of gas. |
75 | * LivingProgram: Aliens made of code and data. |
76 | * LivingShip: A ship that's alive. |
77 | * LizardFolk: Aliens that look like humanoid reptiles. |
78 | * LongLived: It's quite common for alien races to have much longer lifespans than humans. |
79 | * {{Lunarians}}: Aliens from the Earth's Moon. |
80 | * {{Martians}}: Aliens from the planet Mars. |
81 | * MechanicalLifeforms: A race of robots or cyborgs that are treated as a real species. |
82 | * MechanisticAlienCulture: Aliens that are organic, but act like robots and have very tight schedules. |
83 | * MirrorChemistry: References to chirality in aliens. |
84 | * MonstrousMandibles: Aliens with mandibles in addition to or instead of a more human-like mouth. |
85 | * MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Aliens with a lot of teeth. |
86 | * MushroomMan: Aliens that look like a cross between a human and a mushroom. |
87 | * MyBrainIsBig: An alien with a huge brain. |
88 | * NoSuchThingAsAlienPopCulture: Aliens that have no popular culture. |
89 | * NotQuiteHuman: An alien that is practically the same as a human except for one difference. |
90 | * OctopoidAliens: Aliens that look like squids, octopi or jellyfish. |
91 | * OtherworldlyTechnicolourHair: Aliens have hair of unusual color. |
92 | * PaletteSwappedAlienFood: Alien food looks like human food but colored differently. |
93 | * PlantAliens: Aliens that look like or are partly made of plants. |
94 | * PointyEars: Aliens with pointed ears or ear-like appendages. |
95 | * PredatorPastiche: Humanoid aliens based on the stealthy alien hunter of ''Franchise/{{Predator}}''. |
96 | * PupatingPeril: Very nasty aliens emerging from cocoons. |
97 | * PuppeteerParasite: Alien parasites that take over their hosts' personalities. |
98 | * ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Older, or downright ancient, aliens appearing much younger than they actually are. |
99 | * RubberForeheadAliens: An alien whose face is significantly different from a human's, but only in their face. |
100 | * SandWorm: Giant alien worms that live in the desert. |
101 | * SiliconBasedLife: Aliens that are made of mostly silicon. |
102 | * SolarSystemNeighbors: Aliens who come from other bodies in the Solar System near Earth. |
103 | * SpaceElves: Aliens who think they're superior (or might even ''be'' superior in some cases) to us, and act like [[OurElvesAreDifferent a certain fantasy race]]. |
104 | * SpaceOrcs: Aliens who are brutish, violent and primitive, often very apelike. |
105 | * SpaceWhale: Aliens which look like whales and can "swim" though space. |
106 | * StarfishAliens: Aliens that are radically different from humans. |
107 | * StarfishLanguage: Aliens speaking a bizarre language. |
108 | * StarfishRobots: Robotic beings of alien origin, shape and functionality. |
109 | * StrongerWithAge: A species that gets stronger as they age. |
110 | * SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Aliens that are so advanced that their technology seems like magic to humans. |
111 | * TelepathicSpacemen: Aliens with telepathy. |
112 | * TentacledTerror: Tentacles are a common feature of aliens, octopoid or otherwise. |
113 | * TranshumanAliens: A group of 'aliens' are revealed to have evolved from humans. |
114 | * TransplantedHumans: Human populations originally from Earth who were brought to other worlds. |
115 | * {{Ultraterrestrials}}: A species originating from Earth that left and now wants to return. |
116 | * UnusualEars: A humanoid with non-human ears. |
117 | * UrsineAliens: Humanoid aliens similar to bears. |
118 | * XenomorphXerox: Extraterrestrials with the appearance and/or reproductive cycle of the eponymous creatures of the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise. |
119 | [[/folder]] |
120 | |
121 | [[folder:SFX]] |
122 | * {{Muppet}}: A type of puppet like in ''Series/TheMuppetShow''. |
123 | * PeopleInRubberSuits: Aliens (usually evil) that wear skin-tight suits. |
124 | * SerkisFolk: Characters created by dubbing an actor with CGI. |
125 | [[/folder]] |
126 | |
127 | [[folder:Interspecies relations]] |
128 | * AlienAbducteesFightBack: Humans abducted by aliens rebel against their captors. |
129 | * AlienAbduction: One or more aliens kidnap/s one or more humans. |
130 | * AlienAmongUs: An alien living with a bunch of humans and trying to keep their alienness secret. |
131 | * AlienArtsAreAppreciated: Art made by one species is appreciated by aliens. |
132 | * AlienAutopsy: Humans study dead aliens. |
133 | * AlienInvasion: Aliens try to conquer Earth. |
134 | * AlienNonInterferenceClause: Humans don't interfere with the development of alien culture because they have a law against it. |
135 | * AliensAreBastards: All aliens in a work are evil. |
136 | * AliensLoveHumanFood: Despite being more technologically advanced than Earth, Aliens appreciate the humans' "primitive" food. |
137 | * AliensOfLondon: Aliens who speak human languages in a particular accent. |
138 | * AliensSpeakingEnglish: Aliens can speak human languages for no reason. |
139 | * AliensStealCable: Aliens learn about Earth from radio and TV. |
140 | * AliensStealCattle: Aliens abduct cows and bulls, not people. |
141 | * AnalProbing: Aliens studying humans by [[AssShove sticking things up their butts]]. |
142 | * AnatomicallyIgnorantHealing: An alien tries to heal a human but have no idea how. |
143 | * AncientAstronauts: Aliens visited Earth sometime in the distant past and apparently did things like build pyramids or were mistaken for gods in old times. |
144 | * Area51: Aliens being hidden in Area 51, a US Air Force base (which is a real place, but no aliens are being hidden there in real life that we know of). |
145 | * AutomobilesAreAlien: Aliens don't understand cars and other automobiles. |
146 | * BenevolentAlienInvasion: Aliens invade but they do the humans well. |
147 | * BrownNoteBeing: Just sensing the alien makes humans sick. |
148 | * CropCircles: Large geometric patterns in fields of crops, thought to be (and in some cases, actually) done by aliens. |
149 | * DescriptivelyNamedSpecies: A species that has a name based on their appearance/behavior. |
150 | * TheDogIsAnAlien: An alien disguises itself as a pet. |
151 | * EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion: Humans can easily defeat invading aliens. |
152 | * ETGaveUsWiFi: The idea that aliens invented or helped invent some modern technology. |
153 | * FantasticallyChallengingPatient: A human doctor must perform a medical procedure on an alien. |
154 | * FarOutForeignersFavoriteFood: An alien's favorite human food. |
155 | * FirstContact: Humans meet an alien species for the first time. |
156 | * FirstContactFarmer: When aliens first arrive on Earth, chances are that the first human to observe or interact with them will be a farmer. |
157 | * FirstContactFauxPas: A misunderstanding happens during first contact that usually leads to war. |
158 | * FirstContactMath: Trying to make first contact by doing math. |
159 | * FirstContactTeam: People suspect aliens are around and make a plan with dealing with first contact. |
160 | * HigherTechSpecies: One alien race is more technologically advanced than the others. |
161 | * HostileTerraforming: Altering a place, often a whole planet, to be less suitable for native life and more suitable for alien life. |
162 | * JustForFun/HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet: A joke guide for aliens on how to invade Earth or some other planet. |
163 | * HughMann: An alien impostor who does a terrible job at appearing human. |
164 | * HumanAlienDiscovery: A human discovers that they're actually an alien RaisedByHumans. |
165 | * HumanityOnTrial: Aliens put humanity on trial for their supposed misdeeds. |
166 | * HumansAreSmelly: Aliens that hate the smell of humans, even if said humans are clean. |
167 | * HumansNeedAliens: Aliens which protect humans from different aliens. |
168 | * HumansThroughAlienEyes: Aliens who think humans are bizarre. |
169 | * HumorlessAliens: Aliens that don't understand humor. |
170 | * IComeInPeace: During first contact, one species lets the other know they don't intend to harm them. |
171 | * JustForFun/IfIAmEverHeadOfAnAlienMonitoringAgency: A joke page for how to be the Men in Black's leader. |
172 | * ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: Humans using alien technology. |
173 | * InnocentAliens: Aliens that are well-meaning and clueless. |
174 | * InscrutableAliens: Aliens that we have no idea how to communicate with and don't know much about. |
175 | * InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Aliens that don't make sense because they managed to travel to Earth but otherwise seem to have no idea what technology is or how it works. |
176 | * KlingonsLoveShakespeare: An alien likes a piece of human culture. |
177 | * MarsNeedsWater: Aliens trying to steal water from Earth. |
178 | * MarsWantsChocolate: Aliens trying to steal Earth snacks. |
179 | * TheMenInBlack: Generic agents often involved with investigating or denying aliens' existence. |
180 | * MistookTheDominantLifeform: Aliens want to talk to our pets instead of us. |
181 | * {{Panspermia}}: Creatures on Earth evolved from alien microbes/simple alien animals, or vice versa. |
182 | * PlanetLooters: Aliens robbing us. |
183 | * {{Precursors}}: A mysterious alien culture that precedes all others. |
184 | * ProtocolPeril: A race of aliens with strict rules that have severe punishments for breaking them, which is bad news if humans are visiting. |
185 | * PunyEarthlings: All the aliens have cool powers that we don't. |
186 | * ReptilianConspiracy: Alien LizardFolk control human society in secret. |
187 | * TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies: Aliens that think they are superior to humans and therefore allowed to do bad things to them. |
188 | * RoswellThatEndsWell: Aliens associated with the alleged UFO crash-landing in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. |
189 | * ScaryDogmaticAliens: An evil group of aliens with a strict ideology. |
190 | * ServantRace: A race made to serve another. |
191 | * SidekickCreatureNuisance: A small alien sidekick who annoys everyone. |
192 | * SlaveRace: A race of aliens that were enslaved by another. |
193 | * SmorgasbordTest: Someone discovers a new creature and tries to find out what it eats by offering it many different foods. |
194 | * SolidGoldPoop: One species' waste (poop, urine, tears, etc.) is valuable to another species. |
195 | * SoYouWantTo.WriteAnAlienInvasionStory: A guide for writing stories about alien invasions. |
196 | * StayWithTheAliens: Aliens want to take a human with them. |
197 | * SuperiorSpecies: A race of aliens that are somehow superior to humanity. |
198 | * TakeMeToYourLeader: Aliens want to be taken to humans' leader. |
199 | * TechnologyUplift: Aliens who feel they're responsible for sharing technology with other species. |
200 | * TheyLookLikeUsNow: Evil shapeshifting aliens learn to look like humans. |
201 | * ToServeMan: Aliens eat humans. |
202 | * TouchedByVorlons: A character gains powers or their powers get enhanced due to interaction with aliens. |
203 | * TwoOfYourEarthMinutes: Aliens mention that they are using human time, not their time. |
204 | * VichyEarth: Aliens invade and become humanity's new rulers. |
205 | * WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: First contact with aliens ends badly with one side attacking the other. |
206 | * WhatMeasureIsAHumanoid: A romance between a human and a non-human humanoid is not seen as {{Squick}}y as a romance between a human and a non-humanoid. |
207 | * WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Humans are seen as the only relevant species. |
208 | * TheXenophile: A human who likes aliens. |
209 | [[/folder]] |
210 | |
211 | [[folder:Reproduction]] |
212 | * BizarreAlienReproduction: Aliens have sex in a weird way. |
213 | * BizarreAlienSexes: An alien species with a weird set of sexes. |
214 | * BoldlyComing: Sex with aliens. |
215 | * ChestBurster: An alien parasite leaves its host's (usually a human) body by bursting through their chest. |
216 | * DesignerBabies: A human is genetically modified in utero to make them "better" somehow. |
217 | * DominantSpeciesGenes: Two creatures of different species have a kid that has the traits of the most "dominant" parent. |
218 | * DyingRace: A race of sentient beings who are dying out. |
219 | * ExoticEquipment: Aliens with unusual privates. |
220 | * FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: A creature reproduces by impregnating another species (often a human). |
221 | * HotSkittyOnWailordAction: Two aliens/monsters of different species have sex, but it begs the question just ''how'' they did it. |
222 | * ImmortalProcreationClause: Immortals who can't have babies. |
223 | * InterspeciesRomance: A human and a non-human who end up in a romantic relationship. |
224 | * MatingSeasonMayhem: An alien character goes through animal-like mating seasons. |
225 | * MarsNeedsWomen: A male alien/robot/monster/whatever attracted to human women. |
226 | * OnlyYouCanRepopulateMyRace: An alien woman whose species is in danger of extinction has to mate with a human male. |
227 | * PlanetaryParasite: Parasites that use a whole planet as their host. |
228 | * UterineReplicator: Babies are made in a machine instead of a woman's womb. |
229 | * XenoNucleicAcid: Alien DNA has a different structure than terrestrial DNA. |
230 | [[/folder]] |
231 | |
232 | [[folder:Genders]] |
233 | * AlienGenderConfusion: The difficulty of members of one species to judge the genders of another. |
234 | * BizarreSexualDimorphism: An alien race where the males and the females look ''way'' different from one another. |
235 | * GenderEqualsBreed: Somebody's species depends on their gender. |
236 | * NonHumanNonBinary: A character is not a human and does not exclusively identify as male or female. |
237 | * OneGenderRace: A species that's all male or all female. |
238 | [[/folder]] |
239 | |
240 | [[folder:General tropes and other features]] |
241 | * AbusiveAlienParents: Aliens are bad parents. |
242 | * AlienEpisode: Aliens visit Earth for one episode. |
243 | * AnAlienNamedBob: Aliens with mundane names. |
244 | * AlienPrincess |
245 | * AlternativeNumberSystem: Aliens with a different way of counting than humans. |
246 | * AmusingAlien: A funny otherworldly character. |
247 | * BarFullOfAliens: A bar full of many different aliens. |
248 | * CameFromTheSky: An alien falls from the sky and is initially thought to be a meteorite. |
249 | * DramaticAlienVTOL: Dramatic music plays when an alien spaceship takes off or lands. |
250 | * EldritchStarship: An incomprehensible starship. |
251 | * FantasyAliens: Aliens in a traditionally fantasy setting. |
252 | * FlyingSaucer: A disc-shaped starship. |
253 | * GreatGazoo: An eccentric, possibly immature alien with incredible powers. |
254 | * InWorkingOrder: Alien technology can instantly and easily be used by humans. |
255 | * KlaatuBaradaNikto: {{Shout Out}}s to the famous phrase from ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951''. |
256 | * MistakenForAliens: One or more people mistake someone or something or a group of people for aliens. |
257 | * MulticulturalAlienPlanet: An alien planet with several cultures. |
258 | * NamedAfterTheirPlanet: The name of an alien race is derived from the name of their home planet. |
259 | * NoBiochemicalBarriers: Aliens can live on Earth (and humans can live on alien planets) perfectly fine. |
260 | * NotOfThisEarth: An unknown object or substance is found, analyzed, and revealed to be not from Earth. |
261 | * OminousFloatingSpaceship: An enormous alien starship floating above a city without doing much looks foreboding. |
262 | * OperatorIncompatibility: Devices designed for aliens unable to be operated by humans, or vice versa. |
263 | * PeopleJars: People in jars. |
264 | * APlanetNamedZok: Planets with rare letters from the Latin alphabet. |
265 | * ProudWarriorRaceGuy: It's common for aliens to fall into this. |
266 | * RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: A musician has a fake alien persona. |
267 | * SoYouWantTo.CreateBelievableAliens: A guide for creating/writing realistic aliens. |
268 | * SoYouWantTo.DesignAnAlienMind: A guide for crafting the inner workings of an alien's mind. |
269 | * SpacePirates: {{Pirates}} [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace in space]]! Many examples of space pirates are extraterrestrial criminals, though they can also be humans or robots instead. |
270 | * StandardAlienSpaceship: Alien ships that are smooth and colorful. |
271 | * TransplantedAliens: An alien population is relocated to another world. |
272 | * TripodTerror: Three-legged alien land vehicles. |
273 | [[/folder]] |
274 | |
275 | [[/index]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / AlienTropes
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load