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Not of This Earth
- 158 statements
- 28 feature instances
- 26 referencing feature instances
| Not of This Earth | type |
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| Not of This Earth | label |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth | page |
NotOfThisEarth | |
| Not of This Earth | comment |
Physical proof of alien activity. An object of indeterminate origin has been found. It is sent to a lab for analysis, but the lab cannot identify the material it's made of. Similarly, when the heroes ask the lab to identify the mysterious glowing substance found at the crime scene, the reply may come back: organic-based, but unknown. Sometimes the scientists go so far as to say conclusively that whatever it is, it cannot be found on Earth. Such substances are something of a MacGuffin. Often they do not possess any special properties or behaviors, although at times they are found to be Unobtainium. The purpose of declaring a substance to be Not of This Earth is to "prove" extraterrestrial origin or activity. There are several ways to handle this trope plausibly: the substance could be made of known elements that are present on Earth but are far too rare to make an object as big as the one being investigated, or perhaps in isotope ratios not typical of Earth or the Solar System, or else it should be a manufactured substance using techniques beyond Earthly science. Any substance said to be a "new element" is almost by definition implausible, as all matter is made up of atoms, which are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons; the number of protons is what determines what element the atom is, and the periodic table is very well-mapped out; anything that shows up should slot in exactly where such an element would be predicted tonote Known elements above a certain point are (so far) all highly unstable, and would decay into "lower" elements at almost the same time they came into existence, so they would not make good building materials, at least not without some kind handwaving or lampshading along the lines of "I don't know how it isn't decaying, but it isn't". See also Human Alien Discovery, which is this applied to a person who discovers he/she's not from this Earth. |
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| Not of This Earth | parsed |
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| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to AsteroidMiner: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to EldritchAbomination: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to NotMeThisTime: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to SiliconBasedLife: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheNanoFlower: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheRockyHorrorShow: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Not of This Earth | processingComment |
Dropped link to Tintin: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Not of This Earth | processingUnknown |
Tintin | |
| Not of This Earth | processingUnknown |
TheNanoFlower | |
| Not of This Earth | processingUnknown |
AsteroidMiner | |
| Not of This Earth | processingUnknown |
TheRockyHorrorShow | |
| Not of This Earth | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Not of This Earth / int_109b49e1 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_109b49e1 | comment |
In Predator 2 the creature's weapons are made of metal that doesn't fit in the description of any known element. For a little extra verisimilitude, we actually see the scientist putting a sample into their Spectroscope, and being totally confused by the results. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_109b49e1 | featureApplicability |
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| Predator 2 | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_10d303a2 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_10d303a2 | comment |
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Neither Sanat nor the Ancient of Days are made of materials native to the Universe, which only further proves how alien they are to it. Scans only end in Error messages. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_10d303a2 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_10d303a2 | featureConfidence |
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| Shin Megami Tensei IV (Video Game) | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_17bfcf60 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_17bfcf60 | comment |
Simultaneously played straight and inverted in the backstory for Homeworld: The first solid proof that the Kushan race did not evolve on Kharak was that when they developed the ability to directly examine DNA samples, they could find absolutely no shared genes with any other lifeform on the planet except for their own gut flora and one species of small mammal that was probably descended from a pest species they brought with them unwillingly. Prior to that they also had evidence of a large amount of metallic debris in orbit, which when samples were collected and returned to the surface for analysis proved to be a highly complex alloy that pushed their understanding of metallurgy by decades once they were able to reverse-engineer it, but that wasn't definite evidence of anything but the fact some Ancient Astronauts had spent some time in orbit of Kharak; only when the DNA sequencing results were published was it confirmed that the Kushan were those astronauts. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_17bfcf60 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_17bfcf60 | featureConfidence |
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| Homeworld (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_17bfcf60 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_21938c93 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_21938c93 | comment |
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, when J.A.R.V.I.S. studies the sceptre, he says that it's alien and there are elements he can't quantify. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_21938c93 | featureApplicability |
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| Avengers: Age of Ultron | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_21938c93 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2275c659 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2275c659 | comment |
Subversion: In the House episode "Cane and Able," Chase removes a small piece of metal from the shoulder of a boy who claims he has been abducted by aliens. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2275c659 | featureApplicability |
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| House | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_2f3dd3bc | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2f3dd3bc | comment |
The odd watches carried by angels on Port Charles. Victor's lab cannot identify the metal. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2f3dd3bc | featureApplicability |
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| Port Charles | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_2f3dd3bc | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2fddfb10 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2fddfb10 | comment |
In Superman III, Richard Pryor's character does an analysis of kryptonite, and the results indicate that a certain percentage of it is simply "unknown". Looking at a cigarette package, he writes in "tar". The resulting synthetic kryptonite has a rather different effect on Superman than they expected | |
| Not of This Earth / int_2fddfb10 | featureApplicability |
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| Superman III | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_31a48eed | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_31a48eed | comment |
The Outer Limits (1995): In "Sacrophagus", an amber-like cocoon is discovered in a Neolithic burial chamber in Alaska. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_31a48eed | featureApplicability |
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| The Outer Limits (1995) | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_42ffb88e | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_42ffb88e | comment |
A recurring trope in the SCP Foundation. Though they're usually pretty good at identifying the materials (or at the very least their presentation, i.e. being alloys or mixtures) their physical anomalous artifacts are composed from through mass spectrography testing, sometimes they find themselves unable to ascertain. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_42ffb88e | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_42ffb88e | featureConfidence |
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| SCP Foundation (Website) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_42ffb88e | |
| Not of This Earth / int_447d091 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_447d091 | comment |
One of the earliest examples is "The Colour Out of Space" — where the mysterious Green Rocks are not only an alloy unknown on earth, but of a colour unknown on earth. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_447d091 | featureApplicability |
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| The Colour Out of Space | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_447d091 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_502cbd09 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_502cbd09 | comment |
Luke Cage: The Judas bullet, designed by Hammer Industries, is capable of piercing Luke Cage's bulletproof skin, and is made from metal salvaged from the Chitauri's warships. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_502cbd09 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_502cbd09 | featureConfidence |
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| Luke Cage (2016) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_502cbd09 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_52efcf32 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_52efcf32 | comment |
Subverted in Condemned 2: Bloodshot. One of the TVs displays an interview with a scientist who has been analyzing samples of the metal that the Oro Invictus use to enhance their powers. When he explains that he cannot place the origin of the metal fragments, the interviewer immediately suggests that the metal pieces fall under this trope. However the scientist shoots this theory down, stating that the pieces are of Earthly origin; they're just made using a previously-unknown manufacturing technique. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_52efcf32 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_52efcf32 | featureConfidence |
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| Condemned 2: Bloodshot (Video Game) | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_5c208620 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_5c208620 | comment |
Superman: The Animated Series: In "Knight Time", Superman and Robin's search for Batman uncovers evidence that he was targeted by mind-controlling nanites. They capture the Mad Hatter, who denies involvement and, when allowed to examine the nanites, declares them to be beyond any technology he's seen and suggests an alien origin. Admittedly, alien origin (e.g. Supes himself) is rather less unusual in this universe. Before that, in "A Little Piece of Home," Luthor is amazed when he sees Superman suddenly collapse from exhaustion after passing too close to a display of gems in a museum display case. After analyzing them in his lab, he finds that one particular green stone isn't on the periodic table, and almost certainly came from space. |
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| Not of This Earth / int_5c208620 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_5c208620 | featureConfidence |
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| Superman: The Animated Series | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_5c208620 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_68b8bdfe | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_68b8bdfe | comment |
X-COM: UFO Defense has both a straight example and a subversion: UFOs are powered by Elerium-115, which can only be obtained by capturing ships with their reactor intact. UFOs are made of "alien alloys", but once reverse-engineered, it turns out those alloys can be produced using Earth technology. |
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| Not of This Earth / int_68b8bdfe | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_68b8bdfe | featureConfidence |
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| X-COM: UFO Defense (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_68b8bdfe | |
| Not of This Earth / int_69daf29 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_69daf29 | comment |
Grrl Power: Subverted. Deus (with great difficulty) manages to find the geode that contained the substance that gave Maxima her powers. He didn't find anything particularly interesting, just a few exotic isotopes, "but nothing we've never seen before." The Rant specifically mentions that the idea of elements not on the periodic table is silly, since we have the periodic table pretty well mapped out. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_69daf29 | featureApplicability |
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| Grrl Power (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_6f734712 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_6f734712 | comment |
Occurs in Smallville with kryptonite, various Kryptonian devices, and other alien materials. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_6f734712 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_6f734712 | featureConfidence |
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| Smallville | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_6f734712 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_70814599 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_70814599 | comment |
Stargate SG-1: Done with a Jaffa in the pilot episode. Very early episodes treated Naquada like this; before they learned the name, they referred to it simply as "the Stargate element," because it was unknown on Earth. There is super-strong/light metal trinium. |
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| Not of This Earth / int_70814599 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_70814599 | featureConfidence |
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| Stargate SG-1 | hasFeature |
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| Not of This Earth / int_7e88ac08 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_7e88ac08 | comment |
Cleverly averted in an episode of The Equalizer. The title character helps a street crazy who claims to be an alien; it turns out the man is actually a brilliant research scientist who presumably snapped when corrupt execs forced his invention away from him... however, at the end, he's disappeared, and it's discovered that the metal medallion he left behind "was manufactured in a vacuum." "You mean," the Equalizer demands, "this thing was made in outer space?" His assistant shrugs and grins. "They just don't know." note It is possible to create vacuum conditions on Earth for experimental/manufacturing purposes. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_7e88ac08 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_7e88ac08 | featureConfidence |
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| The Equalizer | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_7e88ac08 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8ba4613a | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8ba4613a | comment |
Not quite aliens, but the trope comes up in Death Note. The police get their hands on a Death Note after the Yotsuba arc, and their lab reports state that the paper matches no known earthly substance. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8ba4613a | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_8ba4613a | featureConfidence |
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| Death Note (Manga) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_8ba4613a | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8eda89ef | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8eda89ef | comment |
Darker than Black has a lot of this. Besides the Alien Sky and Differently Powered Individuals that suddenly appeared with the Gates, some really weird crap comes out of said Gates. Like stone flowers that grow and can be used to make a drug, a crystal that makes Contractors more powerful, or technology that lets the user alter memories. Even the scientists studying them occasionally have to just give up and say that Reality Is Out to Lunch. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_8eda89ef | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_8eda89ef | featureConfidence |
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| Not of This Earth / int_a4274674 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_a4274674 | comment |
In Man of Steel, Jonathan Kent mentions that he had a tiny piece of Clark's ship checked out by a scientist who said that it didn't match anything in the periodic table. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_a4274674 | featureApplicability |
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| Man of Steel | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_a4274674 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_b0fc9724 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_b0fc9724 | comment |
Saturday Night Live's iconic Happy Fun Ball is said to be made from an unknown glowing substance that fell to Earth from outer space. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_b0fc9724 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_b0fc9724 | featureConfidence |
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| Saturday Night Live | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_b0fc9724 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_c43df4d8 | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_c43df4d8 | comment |
In several episodes of Doctor Who over the series run. At one point the Third Doctor specifically was testing for something that he knew couldn't exist on Earth. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_c43df4d8 | featureApplicability |
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| Not of This Earth / int_c43df4d8 | featureConfidence |
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Not of This Earth / int_c43df4d8 | |
| Not of This Earth / int_d1e4c01a | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_d1e4c01a | comment |
Zig-zagged in Sphere. At the start of the story, a sample of the hull of a supposed alien ship is analyzed and found to be made of common elements, but they've been worked into a composite form that nobody on Earth can yet duplicate. It turns out that the ship is from the future and was built on Earth after all... but then the titular extraterrestrial artifact is found in the ship's cargo hold. The protagonists can tell just by looking at the sphere that it's "something alien". | |
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Not of This Earth / int_d1e4c01a | |
| Not of This Earth / int_d8c349bd | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_d8c349bd | comment |
Witchblade is a strange case. In the original, Witchblade was presented as a reproducing creature (it has parents). Shapeshifting, tank-ripping symbionts have few in common with Terran life. So the creators of the adaptation surrounded it with some alien flora in Dream Within a Dream episode endings — and it doesn't look out of place there. | |
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| Not of This Earth / int_da9348f | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_da9348f | comment |
In Clash of the Titans, Ammon says of Perseus's sword: | |
| Not of This Earth / int_da9348f | featureApplicability |
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| Clash of the Titans (1981) | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_da9348f | |
| Not of This Earth / int_ec28245c | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_ec28245c | comment |
When Bulma first examines the namekian spaceship in Dragon Ball Z, she says she's never seen anything like it and that it isn't metal. Her father couldn't build his own ship based on it as he couldn't replicate the materials. | |
| Not of This Earth / int_ec28245c | featureApplicability |
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| Dragon Ball Z | hasFeature |
Not of This Earth / int_ec28245c | |
| Not of This Earth / int_fa72ba3d | type |
Not of This Earth | |
| Not of This Earth / int_fa72ba3d | comment |
"The Whisperer in Darkness" contains artifacts made of a metal unknown on Earth, mined on the dark planet Yuggoth. It's also inverted, as part of their motivation for coming to Earth is to mine minerals that aren't found on their home world. | |
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Not of This Earth / int_fa72ba3d |
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