Latest version of my essay on Sci-Fi Alien Archetypes

[Peregrin Toker]

As promised in this thread and requested by Shroom Man 777 for use in his own sci-fi universe, I will now finally post the latest version of my listing of various archetypes of aliens in sci-fi.

1. Stereotypical Grey Aliens (SGAs) or just "The Greys." (Lovecraft would have called'em "The Grey Ones") Possibly the most generic alien archetype, called so for their (usually) bluish-grey complexion which together with their black eyes and narrow jawbones give SGAs a somewhat dolphin-like appearance. Some people consider SGAs cute for some reason, other find them ugly, creepy or just plain freakish. They probably don't need any further introduction, but if you don't know who I'm talking about, here's some examples: The Vree (Babylon 5), the Asgaard (Stargate SG-1), the Sectoids (X-COM), Carl the Alien (South Park), the Selachee (Battlefield Earth), the Visitors (Communion) and the aliens from "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind." The probably earliest SGAs are generally thought to be the ones from the 1934 novel If Tomorrow Comes by L.A. Reitmeister. SPOILER: In the "Discworld" fantasy novels by Terry Pratchett, Elves are just SGAs with the ability to shapeshift into less repulsive
forms.
-- It's all shades of Grey.Something interesting about the SGA archetype is that the only things all aliens in this archetype have in common are the appearance. For example - when it comes to attitude towards humanity, we in one end have friendly (almost angelic) SGAs such as the aliens from CE3K and in the same archetype we have such nightmare creatures as the Visitors from "Communion", who abduct and torture innocent humans. The latter extreme of the SGA archetype seems notoriously popular among conspiracy theorists, who blame everything on SGA involvement whenever they don't blame the Vatican or the Stonecutters.

2. Angelic Space Brothers. They vary tremendously, but they're usually tall, beautiful beings which are very spiritually minded and therefore more "enlightened" than us humans. Strangely enough, the spirituality of the Angelic Space Brothers doesn't block their technological progress, as evidenced by the fact that most Angelic Space Brother aliens have technology better than anyone else in their respective sci-fi settings. They are usually benevolent but arrogant - sometimes, they are actually benevolent because of their arrogance rather than in spite of it, since they occassionally feel obliged to help "inferior" species. The Angelic Space Brothers avoid war if possible because they consider themselves to be "philosophers not warriors" - but in some cases they'll eagerly defend themselves when attacked, thus unveiling that their weapons are just as jaw-droppingly advanced as the rest of their technology.
Other common characteristics of Angelic Space Brothers are psychic powers, an irrational-but-harmless tendency to design everything as works of art and - of course - the occassionally annoying habit of spouting Blavatsky-style pseudophilosophical one-liners. Examples: The Eldar (Warhammer 40K), the Vulcans (ST), the Protoss (Starcraft), the Minbari (B5), the Andalites (Animorphs), Klaatu (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and the Bentusi (Homeworld).

3. Evil Insects From Outer Space. Aside from the SGAs, one of the most common archetypes and also one of the most evil. The name says about everything about them. By the way, most of them use organic technology. Examples: The Tyranids (Warhammer 40K), the Bugs (Starship Troopers), Species 8472 (ST: Voyager), The Geonosians (SW: AoTC), the Nephilim (Wing Commander: Prophecy), the Xenomorphs (Alien), the Spiders from "Lost In Space", the cockroaches from "Men In Black", the Zerg (Starcraft).

4. Little Green Men. Often regarded as the precursors to the SGAs. They're small, green and (vaguely) humanoid, although they don't have to resemble SGAs exactly. Often found in 1930s and 1950s pulp sci-fi. And usually, they're not as evil nor as ugly. Examples: The Saucer-Men (Invasion Of The Saucer-Men) and the Grots (Warhammer 40K).

5. Proud Warrior Thugs. They're big, muscular, ill-tempered and aggressive. And usually, they like fighting and have a strong concept of honour - in some cases a code of chivalry. Often, the Proud Warrior Thugs also have an entire religion focused upon war, thus making them religious fanatics as well. Most Brutal Warrior Thugs resemble anthropomorphized predatory mammals such as bears or cats, other times they look like Heavy Metal Rockers From The Dead, but there are non-mammalian proud warrior aliens in sci-fi. In general the Proud Warrior Thug archetype varies a lot. Some are "Space Vikings" who just charge headlong into the enemy line without much thinking or even planning - such are the Orks (Warhammer 40K), the Klingons (ST) and the Hawk-Men (Flash Gordon). Some Proud Warrior Thugs are more intelligent and cunning (or just more well-coordinated), such as the Kroot (Warhammer 40K), the Kilrathi (Wing Commander), the Vaygr (Homeworld 2) and title alien from "The Predator". Other Proud Warrior Thugs include the Bolbods and Hockners (Battlefield Earth), the Kzinti (Ringworld), the Yuuzhan Vong (New Jedi Order), the Idirans and Affront (The Culture), the Narn (B5), the Tharks (A Princess Of Mars), the Tusken Raiders (SW) and the Moon-Beasts (Cthulhu Mythos).

6. Mysterious Star-Gods. More often than not these guys are elusive, ghost-like creatures with motivations that are shady and confusing at best, and they often have supernatural powers and god-like abilities. Sometimes, they actually are gods and worshipped as such. Examples: The Vorlons and Shadows (B5), The Olympians (ST: TOS), the Q (ST:TNG), The Founders of the Dominion (DS9), the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods (Cthulhu Mythos), the C'Tan (Warhammer 40K), the Jurai (Tenchi Muyo), the Time Lords (Dr. Who), The Brains (The Brain From Planet Arous), the Krell (Forbidden Planet), the Goa'ould (Stargate), the Progenitors (Homeworld 2) and the Voyagers beneath the Mare Imbrium, They-Who-Lurk-And-Breed-In-Limbo, The Star-Lords and Guardians Of The Astral Gate. (who all are from the lyrics of an obscure metal band called Bal-Sagoth)

7. Mean Mechanical Monkeyjumpers. (MMMs) They're robots and cyborgs and hell-bent on destroying humanity or, in some cases, all organic life. An interesting twist are the Yuuzhan Vong, who are the MMM archetype turned upside down - instead of being mechanical lifeforms with a hatred for organic life, they are organic beings with a hatred for everything mechanical. (although they don't belong in this category) Examples of MMMs are: The Cylons (Battlestar Galactica), the Borg (ST), the Cybermen (Dr. Who), Kronos (Kronos), the Decepticons (Transformers), the Necrons (Warhammer 40K) and the Venusian Robots. (Target Earth)

8. Space Nazis. Either seen as fifth columnists operating with criminal gangs to prepare the way for invasion or your bog-standard Goose Steppers from the Vast Beyond, all of whom get their marching orders from the Great Leader. Sometimes seen in uniforms, sometimes in body-leotards with stocking hoods. Very common to Republic serials and the Japanese Starman series. Examples: the Dominion (DS9), the Azadians (Culture novel "Player of Games"), the Tau (Warhammer 40K), the Taiidani (Homeworld), the Puttiorans (Canopus In Argos), the Moon-Men (Commando Cody), the Officians (Rocky Jones: Space Ranger), the Zimarians (Evil Brain From Outer Space) and the Ko-Dan (The Last Starfighter).

9. Red Menace From Outer Space. Infiltrating Earth by stealth and subverting human civilisation from within; can either be humanoid, a totally alien lifeform which "replaces" normal humans with pod duplicates - or something even weirder (eg. shapeshifters). These were most alien menaces seen in '50s scifi movies at the height of the McCarthyite paranoia sweeping America then. Ubiquitous to American films, this stereotype is virtually unknown in foreign SF of the period. Examples: The Yeerks (Animorphs), the Bodysnatchers (Invasion of the Bodysnatchers), the Venusian Turnip Monster (It Conquered The World), the Genestealer Hybrids (Warhammer 40K), The Mi-Go (Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos), The Others (The Night The Heads Came) and the Beast. (Homeworld Cataclysm)

10. The Subjugators. Aliens who come down to subjugate earth to their will. First they hammer the Humans into submission and then deliver an ultimatum. Most common point of Earthly contact is Japan. They are a direct reference to America's treatment of Japan in WW2. They often use "Super Weapons" to accomplish their goals. Examples: the Kilaaks (Destroy All Monsters), the X-Seijin (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero), The Black Hole Seijin (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla), the Baltan-Seijin (Ultraman) and the title aliens of "The Mysterians".

11. Malevolent Alien Of The Week. Almost unique to Star Trek. They usually look like humans with weird bumps on their foreheads. Seems nice but almost invariably turns out to be evil or otherwise undesirable. Seen only once and never again. The Taresians from Star Trek: Voyager are a prime example of the Malevolent Alien Of The Week.

12. The Confused Androgynous Humanoid Anime Invaders: This tends to be a uniquely Japanese staple. These aliens look just like handsome, elven versions of us, invading Earth for some random fruity philosophical reason. Poetic and vast in their power, they have many ships at their disposal and many more giant transforming robots that are never quite as good as the defenders robots. They are readily foiled by a single intrepid band of adventurers, but they are even more readily foiled by some stupid bullshit cop-out reason, like the heroine singing to them and showing them the true meaning of love. :rolleyes: One wonders why the guys are any threat at all, but they DO tend to shoot lots and lots of missiles at one time. Also, they are invariably ready to fall in love with cute natives and willing to betray their people and mission for love. In short - a bizarre mixture of the Angelic Space Brother and Proud Warrior Thug archetypes.

13. Hentai Tentacle Demons. Like the previous archetype, they're almost exclusively found in Japanese sci-fi. They're usually slimy, have lots of tentacles and a fondness for teenage girls.

14. The Just Stupid Aliens. Well the name says it all. Aliens that are so stupid that one wonders how they ever got in to space in the first place (they might have gotten help). Examples: Pakled (ST), Gamorreans (SW), Thermians (Galaxy Quest).

15. The Obedient Tough-Guy Henchmen. A variant of the Proud Warrior Thugs. They're always affliated with Space Nazis, often serve said Space Nazis blindly, act as their soldiers, and they have often been genetically engineered by the Space Nazis for their purpose. Examples: The Jem'hadar (DS9), the Kroot (Warhammer 40K), the Turanic Raiders (Homeworld), the Taxxons and Hork-Bajirs (Animorphs).

16. Über-Pets. Aliens that are intelligent, Often Telepathic, incredibly CUTE, smaller than us, and furry. They look like Teddy Bears, Cats, Dogs, anything that brings back warm childhood memories: Fuzzy Sapians (Fuzzy Sapians), Treecats (Honorverse), Mungi (Dirty Pair), Ein (Cowboy Bebop), Sirians (Firesign Theater: Everything You Know Is Wrong), Ewoks (SW), Tribbles (ST), Cabbits (Tenchi Muyo) & Lovecraft Universe Cats (by the rankings of the Lovecraft 'verse, Dreamlands cats are just below Outer Gods)

17. Interstellar Capitalists. They're greedy space traders with little regard for other civilizations on their own, their behaviour is often modelled upon certain corporations. Often they exploit loopholes in the law whenever they can. Examples: the Ferengi (ST), the Psychlos (Battlefield Earth), the Hutts and the Neimoidians. (Star Wars)

18. Uncaring aliens. This arch-type does not get itself involved with anyone else, and could personally care less about everybody else, unless they happen to get annoying. Usually, they also fit into some other archetype as well. (Usually the Angelic Space-Brother archetype) The most extreme example of Uncaring Aliens has to be the Kaminoans (SW:AOTC), who had nothing against all records of their homeworld being erased from the Jedi Archives.

19. Jinxed Villains. Really evil aliens, who despite their high amounts of firepower, resources and expertise, never can prevail over the heroes no matter how hard they try. Examples: The Zentraedi (Macross), H.G. Wells' Martians, Krang (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and the aliens from "Independence Day."

20. Messed Up Mirror Images. They act almost exactly human, with a few differences. Examples: Lizards (Turtledove's Worldwar), The Ducks (Howard The Duck), The Biker-Mice From Mars, The Moon People (Nude On The Moon), The Venusians (Queen Of Outer Space), Los Marcianos (El Santo vs. The Martian Invasion), the aliens from "Plan Nine From Outer Space", the Zeistians (Highlander 2) and Ray Bradbury's Martians.

21. Squidheads. Exactly what the name suggests. (usually) Humanoid aliens with squid-like heads. Examples: The Star-Spawn of Cthulhu (H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos), the Quarren (Star Wars), the Pak'Ma'Ra (Babylon 5), the Mindflayers (D&D) and an alien briefly seen in "The Last Starfighter."

22. Reptilloids. (thank David Icke for the name) Anthropomorphized lizards or other reptilia, usually their behaviour is more alien than their appearance. Sometimes downright evil. Examples: The Trandoshans (Star Wars), the Ssi-Ruu (Truce At Bakura), the Slann (Warhammer 40K), the Cardassians (ST), the Voth (Star Trek Voyager), Sarris' henchmen (Galaxy Quest), Grig (The Last Starfighter) the Serpent-Folk (The Cthulhu Mythos) and the Cobra-La (GI Joe: The Movie).

23. Mantis-Men. This archetype is based more upon appearance than anything else, but I still include them. These are bipedal, vaguely humanoid aliens so lanky that their Body Mass Indices probably are measured in negative numbers - thus making them look like anthropomorphized praying mantises. Hence the word "mantis-men". The most extreme example of these are probably the completely muscleless Kaminoans of SW:AOTC (Whose roughly triangular faces and elongated necks make them even more mantis-like, even though they obviously aren't insects), but the Muun (SW: Clone Wars) so can be considered "Mantis-Men." Other Mantis-Man aliens include the Air Caste Tau (Warhammer 40K) and Charles Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons). (Author's note: There's no possible way that Mr. Burns can be human)

24. Amorphous Shapeless Abominations. Corporeal creatures who don't have any form as such, but just appear either as sentient blobs of goo, walking fur carpets or something far weirder. Some of them are shape-shifters, such as the possibly oldest example of this archetype - the Shoggoths from H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains Of Madness". Aside from the Shoggoths, other examples include: The Blob (The Blob), The Creeping Terror (The Creeping Terror) and the Dralasites (Star Frontiers).

25. Wholesome Space Hippies. These folks are usually "in tune with nature", and because of this they live on isolated, idyllic planets and limit themselves to pre-industrial technology - often because of religious reasons. Some Sci-fi writers have a tendency to draw connections between the Wholesome Space Hippies' disdain for technology and their high level of spiritual enlightenment. In other words, the Space Hippies are a Luddite version of the Angelic Space Brothers. Examples: The Ba'ku (Star Trek: Insurrection), the Exodites (Warhammer 40K) and the Sawanese (The Night The Heads Came). The Kroot (Warhammer 40K) and the Tree-People (Flash Gordon) could also be shoehorned this category if it wasn't for their strong martial tradition and the unlikely mixture of medieval and Space Age technology which they use.

There's also aliens who fit several archetypes. The Kaminoans from SW:AOTC, for example, fit archetypes #1, #2, #18, #23 and to a lesser extent #17. (I simply don't know where to put them!) And WH40K's Tau fit archetypes #2, #8 and/or #9 depending on how you see them while their cronies, the Kroot, have been placed in categories #5 and #15, because I don't know where to put them. And in the Japanese Spiderman TV-series from 1978 (which has nothing in common with its American counterpart), Our Hero (TM) fights a bunch of aliens known as the "Iron Cross Army" who fit archetypes #8, #12 and #19. And as mentioned before, Japanese sci-fi has a strange tendency to seamlessly blend the Angelic Space Brother and Proud Warrior Thug archetype.

Thanks to: Gil Hamilton, Paladin, Patrick Degan, Majin Gojira, the Nomad, Beowulf, Stormbringer, SAMAS, Enlightenment, SirNitram, Sir Sirius, The Yosemite Bear, Sriad, Singuler Quartet, Darth Fanboy, SyntaxVorlon, Dennis Toy, The_Nice_Guy, Shroom Man 777, TheFenix.

[Shroom Man 777]

YAY! I get to be thanked!

Good list! I love it! And you included StarCraft!

You forgot Zorack in your space mantis thing, Zorack's the guy from the Space Ghost cartoons. And he is actually a mantis.

Loved that thing with Mr. Burns.

What happened to the anime cat-human aliens?

I loved that thing with the hentai tenticle aliens. God, I wonder how it feels to be one of em.

I'll learn a lot from this list. Great document. You could make your own documentary out of this.

[SyntaxVorlon]

Another of the tenacle heads could be Dr. Zoidberg's species of Futurama
And the Uncaring aliens/ASBs could be neutralians or whatever they are called.

[Arrow]

For Space Nazis, you could add the Peacekeepers from Farscape.

[Sea Skimmer]

The real Starship Troopers Bugs don't organic technology, they carry guns, use air conditioning, have starships ect..

[NecronLord]

6. Mysterious Star-Gods. More often than not these guys are elusive, ghost-like creatures with motivations that are shady and confusing at best, and they often have supernatural powers and god-like abilities. Sometimes, they actually are gods and worshipped as such. Examples: The Vorlons and Shadows (B5), The Olympians (ST: TOS), the Q (ST:TNG), The Founders of the Dominion (DS9), the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods (Cthulhu Mythos), the C'Tan (Warhammer 40K), the Jurai (Tenchi Muyo), the Time Lords (Dr. Who), The Brains (The Brain From Planet Arous), the Krell (Forbidden Planet), the Goa'ould (Stargate), the Progenitors (Homeworld 2) and the Voyagers beneath the Mare Imbrium, They-Who-Lurk-And-Breed-In-Limbo, The Star-Lords and Guardians Of The Astral Gate. (who all are from the lyrics of an obscure metal band called Bal-Sagoth)

I love being one of these guys.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Kaminoans would also be SGAs.

[Tasoth]

The Eddorians from lensmen fit into ASA category.

[SylasGaunt]

Do Tau really fall under Space Nazis? I know the Imperium would but the Tau are more like space commies than anything else.

[zombie84]

did you forget to mention the aliens from Day the Earth Stood Still? They were the ultimate Star-god/Subjugator.

[SyntaxVorlon]

[quote=NecronLord]I love being one of these guys.[/quote]
Me too.

BTW What area would the Culture fall under to a less advanced species? ASB? SG? Or somewhere between ASB and #9, or perhaps between ASB and #12, or even ASB and #25?

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

I guess that means the Main Bad Guys in my universe would be Space Nazis then, since they literally ARE Nazis...

[Jason von Evil]

Nice. A few problems though. The Protoss can, do and will fight. They have a warrior caste, like the Minbari. Oh and it's Asgard, not Assgard.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I wouldn't personally consider the Juraians from Tenchi Muyo! to fall under the category of "Mysterious Star Gods". Such seems extremely odd to me.

[Drooling Iguana]

Wouldn't the Empire qualify as Space Nazis? And why aren't the Mon Calamari among the Squidheads?

[Bob McDob]

The Abh in Crest of the Stars would count as BSBs, minus the spirituality angle.

[Crazy Goji]

And why isn't Zorak under Mantis? Zorak is the mantis. But, if you don't feel like counting him, that's cool.

[Rye]

I forget his name but there's an unconvincing crime-boss mantid alien in babylon 5, complete with his own atmosphere needs.

[dworkin]

"The Space Nazis. So many idioitd. Not enough bullets."

Just a quote your list made me remember.
No idea where it's from. Does anyone know?

[StarshipTitanic]

The Pak'ma'ra from Babylon 5 could fit into the Uncaring Alien category. They just want to eat your trash, that's all.

[Coalition]

I forget his name but there's an unconvincing crime-boss mantid alien in babylon 5, complete with his own atmosphere needs.

You mean N'Grath?

http:// pub9.ez board.com/fbabylon5techmanualfrm21.showMessage?topicID=119.topic

Also, for Space Archetypes, may I present Rick Robertson's Guide:

http://our world.compuserve.com/homepages/Lyonesse/spaceguide.htm

[Peregrin Toker]

Jolly olly oranges! That's a lot of replies!!

You forgot Zorack in your space mantis thing, Zorack's the guy from the Space Ghost cartoons. And he is actually a mantis.

Sorry, I've never watched Space Ghost. But if I did, Zorack would be there. (adds him to the list)

And the Uncaring aliens/ASBs could be neutralians or whatever they are called.

The Neutralians are also from Futurama, umm, right?

The real Starship Troopers Bugs don't organic technology, they carry guns, use air conditioning, have starships ect..

I didn't say that all Evil Insects From Outer Space use organic technology. Just that many of them do.

Kaminoans would also be SGAs.

If you read my paragraph about aliens which fit into several archetypes - you'd note that Kaminoans fit archetypes #1, #2, #18 and #23. SGAs are archetype #1.

However, the Kaminoans, in my mind, deviate a lot from the archetype in appearance.

For example, where most SGAs are asexual, the Kaminoans are not. (Okay, when clothed the only difference between male and female Kaminoans are the characteristic head fin/crest/mohawk/whatever)

Also, most SGAs are very short (3-4 feet tall), while Kaminoans are rather tall at 2.20 metres.

Finally, Kaminoans don't have disproportionally large heads like 99% of Grey-type aliens, and they are also the only SGAs I ever recall whose eyes have dilatory pupils. Neither do they abduct humans, although it sometimes is implied that Kaminoans regard humans as an inferior species.

But since they were intended as SGAs, I'll happily include them as examples.

Do Tau really fall under Space Nazis? I know the Imperium would but the Tau are more like space commies than anything else.

Not to start a political discussion - but Nazism actually has a lot of similarities with Leninism. (thus explaining the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact)

did you forget to mention the aliens from Day the Earth Stood Still? They were the ultimate Star-god/Subjugator.

Klaatu was already included as an Angelic Space Brother, since he IMO fits much better into that archetype. He's nowhere as ethereal as your average Mysterious Star-God.

A few problems though. The Protoss can, do and will fight.

There are always exceptions.

I wouldn't personally consider the Juraians from Tenchi Muyo! to fall under the category of "Mysterious Star Gods". Such seems extremely odd to me.

I vaguely recall someone suggesting that the Juraians were Mysterious Star-Gods.

And why aren't the Mon Calamari among the Squidheads?

Because they look more like fish than squid. Therefore, they're more like....
Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fishheads...

There are squidheads upon the planet of Mon Calamari, but they're called the Quarren.

[paladin]

One of my favorite Doctor Who villians were the Daleks. They would cross several categories: 1) Mean Mechanical Monkeyjumpers, 2)Amorphous Shapeless Abominations, and maybe 3) Space Nazis.

The hencemen the Daleks used from time to time,the Orgons, would be The Obedient Tough-Guy Henchmen type.

[2000AD]

You might want to add the following:

The Just Stupid Aliens: The aliens from Signs
The Obedient Tough-Guy Henchmen: Space marines from WH40K

[SylasGaunt]

Not to start a political discussion - but Nazism actually has a lot of similarities with Leninism. (thus explaining the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact)

Yeah but for the most part there a nice bunch.. I don't really recall any incidents like you get from the USSR