Basic Trope: Humans are given more narrative gravitas when compared to any other species in the story.
- Straight: Humans are portrayed as special among thousands of alien species because of their determination which lets them push through anything.
- Exaggerated: Human determination leads humans to become super powerful action fighters who automatically defeat aliens far more technologically advanced than them with sheer will. Other races are afraid and amazed at humanity's power.
- Downplayed:
- Humans are naturally ambitious and curious, which lets them accomplish a lot within a relatively short space of time.
- The only thing special about humans is their ability to throw things with strength and accuracy. While not the most relevant they are known to be capable of turning anything in reach into improvised ranged weaponry without any training. Humans aren't the strongest, smartest, toughest, or fastest of species but they are still known as being able to be dangerous using very little. Although humans tend to be annoyed at it being considered their hats even if many of their popular sports do feature it.
- Justified: Humanity was uniquely isolated and are in a very strange environment, thus they are 'exotic' compared to everyone else and think differently.
- Inverted:
- All other alien races are remarkably determined while the human race gives up when faced with challenges.
- A species other than humans are special because of their determination. Humans are awed by this.
- Subverted: Humans all have determination, but so do the other species, making human determination unremarkable.
- Double Subverted: ... except actually, human determination allows humans to experience life after death making them unique.
- Parodied:
- Humans are widely regarded across the universe as special for their invention, the pizza bagel.
- Humans are special because they're the only intelligent species to have ever deeply contemplated whether they're special compared to other intelligent species.
- Zig Zagged: Humans are special because human emotions are the most intense and powerful in the galaxy. But aliens have a special way of sensing emotion and pain that makes them even more special. But humans are the ones who rely most on their emotions and act thoughtlessly sometimes because of them. This is often played as a disadvantage. However, when the enemies attack one of Bob's friends, his emotions give a major second-wind power-up that allows him to defeat the final boss.
- Averted: Humanity is not portrayed as special. It is just another species.
- Enforced: "We should present humans as special because humans ARE special."
- Lampshaded: "Humans are special. We have a kind of determination that makes of different from 'them'."
- Invoked: Humans were created by an omniscient being with a special quality ensuring they would be able to defeat their eventual alien overlords.
- Exploited: An alien species manages to manipulate humans using their sense of pride and status into being their Unwitting Pawns.
- Defied: ???
- Discussed: "You know, watching those sci-fi movies when we were kids, I always used to think there was something special about humans, like somehow we suck a little bit less." "Yeah, right. Look at this place. Any species is better than one that could cause this."
- Conversed: "Hey, don't you think those Humans guys are pretty dawn awesome?"
- Deconstructed:
- Humanity's specialness is a major case of Blessed with Suck. Other species look upon them with suspicion or as dangerous. Worse yet they may even be right about it. Making matters worse the advantage they give is large enough to trigger Tall Poppy Syndrome but too small to stand against the combined might of alien races.
- Power hungry or morally scrupulous aliens might seek to take advantage of humanity's specialness for their own ends, experimenting, manipulating, brainwashing or outright enslaving them without regard for their well-being or safety.
- Humanity's claims of being special and superior to other races earns us a reputation as the elitists of the galaxy, arrogance being our racial trait. Most other species can and frequently do argue this belief down, either by example or by dialogue, at least one galactic species outperforming humanity in the fields of being technologically gifted and in being great diplomats and leaders of men and in being fierce and tenacious warriors, or what have you, and most of the galaxy's species being generally good people and more varied than a single core trait.
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