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{{quote|''"Anyone who resists is just a human, and therefore doesn't deserve to live."''|'''Threshold''', ''Dv8'' #1}}
In a world with [[Differently-Powered Individual|Differently Powered Individuals]], what use are [[
This usually serves as a motivation for individuals and groups who decide to "do something about it" rather than take it lying down.
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''Option 1: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!''
Much like a [[I Just Want to Be Special|super-power groupie]], these people will try to get super powers by mimicking their betters, often at great risk by trying to replicate how [[How to Give A Character Super Powers|heroes get their powers]]. If enough people get this idea, or the government gets behind it, then it becomes a case of [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]. This can include [[Human Resources|organ theft]], free [[Super Serum]], [[Artificial Limbs|cyber augmentations]] half off, and in general making [[Emergency Transformation
''Option 2: If you can't join 'em, kill 'em!''
These people usually come to this conclusion by adding some paranoia ([[Properly Paranoid|justified]] or [[General Ripper|not]]) to [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]] and [[Superpowerful Genetics|naturally born supers]] are out-pacing mundanes. They interpret the "obsolescence" of baseline humans as an edict to kill all [[
Whether the story chooses to address the underlying insecurity or not [[Debate and Switch|varies]]. When it does, it usually justifies baseline human's existence with a nice [[An Aesop|aesop]] like: [[Humans Are Special|our limitations drive us to excel]], only humans [[Creative Sterility|can truly create]], a world of all supers would devolve into planetary [[Let's You and Him Fight|civil war]] (like [[Sarcasm Mode|we normals have done such a good job keeping peace without supers]])... or, that we're so [[Humans Are
[[Post Cyber Punk]] stories that include [[The Singularity]] often have [[Anti-Human Alliance|conflicts between humans and post-humans.]] Earlier stories had [[Mutants]] on higher [[Evolutionary Levels]] that likewise were generally incapable of coexisting with their predecessors.
An interesting variation has the supers be vampires, werewolves, aliens, or some other [[Dark Is Not Evil|"bad" race]]... or [[
Sometimes this trope is unsure what to do with a [[Badass Normal]].
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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The manga eV from James Farr seems to be experimenting with this somewhat. The main character was exposed to a serum that turns her into something approaching theity in terms of power...but only after the previous 77 candidates for receiving the serum had been murdered by fearful religious zealots.
* ''[[Darker
* ''[[
** Explored further in ''[[
** It has to be noted, however, that Level 0s are potentially even weaker than [[Muggle|normal humans]], as they do not possess any esper powers, and are additionally incapable of using magic.
*** Not quite accurate, an esper can increase his level by training (while there are some
** Skill-Out is a gang of level 0s who lead attacks on espers. They claim it is for revenge and to defend themselves against the bullying espers, but Touma and other call them out on attacking espers who don't do anything wrong and the occasional muggle bystander.
* [[S-Cry-ed]], basically the Japanese take on X-Men.
* ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' does the second option: there are a group of Naturals (unmodified humans) known as Blue Cosmos who seek to eradicate Coordinators (genetically-enhanced humans) because they believe they're "impure". In fact, Blue Cosmos' motto is "For a Blue And Pure World". Their actions have started two massive wars because of this. Not bad for a group that started out as an environmental protection group!
** It was mostly because they were backed by LOGOS, an organization that's about [[War for Fun
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* ''[[Supreme Power]]'' spends several issues with Mark, aka Hyperion, mulling over how he and other supers like the Blur fit inside of normal society's rules. His conclusion? [[Ubermensch|They don't]]. They are outside the system. The fact that this is dangerously close to the ethos followed by his [[Evil Counterpart]] Michael Redstone doesn't seem to occur to him. This line of thought is not helped by the U.S. government setting a trap with six [[Nuclear Weapons Taboo|Daisy Cutter bombs]] in an underground base for fear of him.
* One of the earlier examples of this trope, [[Badass Normal]] [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Hawkeye]] decided that a quiver full of trick arrows wasn't enough, and started using Hank Pym's old Giant-Man gear to become the first Goliath. He eventually went back to his Hawkeye persona, but has occasionally donned the Goliath suit on a situational basis.
* ''[[Top Ten]]'' takes a rather unique approach to this problem. The [[Prequel]] ''The Forty-Niners'' explain that after the allies won [[World War Two]], they build a city and relocated all the Superhumans, [[Badass Normal
{{quote|
'''Leni "Sky Witch" Muller''': ''The war's over, ''mein junge'', and now nobody wants us living next door to them.'' }}
* Alan Moore's [[
* ''[[
* The first version was averted with [[Marvel Comics 2|American Dream]]. She idolized Captain America and decided to ask superheroes for training to become one (of the [[Badass Normal]] type). It worked.
* ''Zenith'' uses this extensively in its backstory. In the end, it turns out that [[Properly Paranoid|the fear was dead-on]], and they really ''did'' need to [[Beware the Superman]], with a handful of exceptions.
* Although not really part of this trope, Gwen Stacy, in her introduction into ''[[
** ''Ultimate X-Men'' has a similar exchange during Brian K. Vaughun's run; as two police officers investigate the murder of a young mutant (probably the Ultimate equivalent of Marrow), one of them makes a comment on the nature of mutants. The other officer says that she was born with a thirteenth rib, and asks if that makes ''her'' a mutant.
*** One bit that happened during one X-men storyline where a Mutant Registration Act was being proposed...''again''...but having Congress stop dead in its tracks in enacting it when they were quietly informed that a significant number of Representatives and Senators themselves were mutants, possessing assorted weak abilities capable of unconsciously influencing people which had, unknowingly, given them the advantage when they'd become politicians.
* IDW's ''Transformers'' series uses this trope as well. When the Decepticons were recouping from Megatron's apparent death, the Autobots were being hunted by Skywatch, a government group that acquired Cybertronian technology. While Skywatch eventually comes on somewhat friendly terms with the Autobots, a new group known as Earth's Children rises up, wishing for the removal of all Transformers, and apparently headed by a really [[Smug Snake]]. {{spoiler|Who turns out to be a [[Artificial Human|facsimile]] for Swindle to stir conflict and make a market for him.}}
* Some comics in the [[Marvel Universe]] speculate [[Society Is to Blame]] for Muggle Power. Super-heroes are extraordinary people with amazing abilities and dedicate their lives to improving the world around them, so normal humans feel weak and selfish by comparison. The Kingpin ties this into [[I Just Want to Be Normal]] and [[Tall Poppy Syndrome]] in [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] in Ultimate Spider-Man #80.
{{quote|
== Film ==
* The Paladins in ''Jumper'' seem to be hunting down the eponymous teleporting mutants mostly because they're too powerful to be permitted to exist.
** It's more that the jumpers are different and different is bad. Those guys need to watch more [[Sesame Street]].
* Syndrome takes both options in ''[[The Incredibles]]'', reacting to what he sees as a snub by his hero for all the wrong reasons. Buddy was endangering himself and Mr. Incredible by being an untrained and self-appointed "sidekick," but Buddy misinterpreted it as being rejected because he had no superpowers. So, when Buddy grows up, he puts all his [[Gadgeteer Genius]] ability into making weapons and gear that allows him to be a genuine threat, enacting a vendetta on all super-abled people out of petty revenge, and then saying that he would sell his weaponry openly, making it so "if everyone is super, then no one will be."
* The [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] in general puts a spotlight on this trope in various degrees. What stands out the most, arguably, is found in ''[[Captain America]]: Civil War'', given how the gulf between normal humans and superpowered people are among the driving conflicts in the film. {{spoiler|A villainous example is also found in Helmut Zemo, a Sokovian spec-ops officer with no powers whatsoever, [[The Bad Guys Win|succeeding in taking down the Avengers]] where Loki failed.}}
== Literature ==
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** We must have read different books, because when I read it, that was not treated like a good thing at all, with other mutants showing up and killing all the fanatics. With their helicopter. Yeah.
*** I think he means the people in the helicopter are the genuinely superpowered mutants.
* The third story in the ''Infinity's Prism'' collection of ''Star Trek'' novels has an [[Alternate Universe]] wherein Khan Noonien Singh won the Eugenics Wars. He then proceeded to create [[The Empire]], which subjugated the rest of the ''Trek'' 'verse. The story concerns "Princeps" Julian Bashir of the ''Defiance'' (who is also genetically enhanced in the "normal" universe) finding the ''Botany Bay''. In the ''TOS'' episode ''[[Star Trek
* In the [[
* In Nick Kyme's [[Warhammer
* ''[[The House of Night]]'' books have Option 2. Churches decide that vampyres are sinners and start killing teachers at Zoey's school. Neferet, the head of the school, decides to wage war against them.
* ''Odd John'' justifies this trope, arguing that superhumans would see ordinary humans the same way we would see most animals. The title character even says that he sees the narrator as a 'pet'. Apparently, none of the superintelligent mutants in the book are [[Values Dissonance|animal-rights activists]].
* Most of the conflict in Nancy Kress's "Beggars" trilogy revolves around this trope.
* ''[[Skinned]]'' by Robin Wasserman contains A LOT of this, especially the second book ''Crashed''. Lia Kahn gets in a car accident and is [[Brain Uploading|uploaded]] into a new body. Rejected by society, she moves in with rebel Jude and his gang. Jude believes that people, or "orgs", are weak and need their bodies to survive, whereas he, a mech, can do anything. Mechs have ceramic bones and titanium skulls, their bodies heal instantly, and they never tire or need food. All they are required to do is shut down occasionally and back up their memories in case their bodies are destroyed.
* ''[[Lawrence Watt
* In ''[[Gone (novel)]]'', the [[A Nazi
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' has The Company, a group with the ostensibly good goal of keeping tabs on all super powered individuals and helping them cope with their powers to [[The World Is Not Ready|protect the general public]] and maintain a [[Masquerade]]... which, thanks to evil/incompetent bosses, has devolved to the point of doing Bag and Tag's of all heroes they can find with a complimentary [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|mind wipe]], and killing those deemed "[[Bad Powers, Bad People|too dangerous to exist]]"... unless they're [[Joker Immunity|Sylar]].
** And all the villains they have in storage that got released in season 3 as yet another [[Idiot Plot]], despite Company's [[Knight Templar|willingness to kill much more decent people in the pursuit of stability]].
** The Company is only a partial example- while they do have a lot of muggle members, they have plenty of superpowered members too, and are in fact ''run'' by a group of superhumans, several of whom are actually pretty sinister.
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** Volume 5 flips it around from the other side, with Magneto-esque [[Big Bad]] Samuel who doesn't seem to give a damn about the lives of [[Muggles]] and periodically secretly arranges their deaths to further his agenda. On the other hand, his agenda seems to be to try to create a sanctuary for superpowered humans to live free of persecution. On the ''other'' other hand, doing so seems to involve getting in bed with, you guessed it, ''Sylar'' again.
* ''[[The 4400]]'' has Jordan Collier's faction. By the end of the series, he has no problem with mass promicin injections (the chemical that was used to give the 4400 super powers). This might be fine, if it weren't for that 50% casualty rate. Disturbingly enough, he may be right.
* ''[[Painkiller Jane]]'' was part of an organization who worked to find and "[[Power Nullifier|chip]]" all
** Jane lampshades the injustice, but can't really do anything about it because she would most likely be executed for disobedience. She was shanghaied into joining the organization because she was seen as useful.
** Before the series was canceled, it is revealed that {{spoiler|chipping a second-generation Neuro like Jane does nothing; at least, it did not work on the Chameleon.}}
* In ''[[The X-Files]]'', no one even believes mutants and monsters exist (other than those 2 nobodies working out of the basement whom no one takes seriously), and 90% of them are psychotic spree killers who get killed by the end of the episode anyway. This is a damn shame, as they'd be one HELL of an advantage for the Earth Home Team when that Alien Invasion finally hits.
* On ''[[Babylon
** ''The Psi Corps Trilogy'' novels reveal that, when the existence of telepaths became public knowledge, many telepaths were lynched simply for fear of having this ability. This is even after the Pope proclaimed that telepaths are still children of God and should not be harmed, although one Italian mobster does let a card-cheating telepath live because of this in exchange for help in catching other cheaters.
* An episode of ''[[That's So Raven]]'' had psychic teens who called it "the Normie Problem". In the end, of course, they learn that the greatest power of all is [[The Power of Friendship]].
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*** Except that, according to their ideology, Hunt himself is an abomination, as his mother was a genetically-engineered [[Heavyworlder]].
* In ''[[Star Trek]]'', we had Eugenic Wars between genetically engineered and other humans, leading to genetic augmentation becoming a forbidden technique. They apparently got over this in later years; genetic modification for mundane purposes (correcting congenital defects, for example) is perfectly okay, but physical and mental augmentation is still illegal.
** In ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', we find out that part of the problem is that the Augment process seems to create musclebound sociopaths. We also discover that the Denobulans used the technology without problems.
** In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', the Founder Changelings derogatorily call all non-shape-shifters "solids" and struggle to either control or destroy them. This in turn was caused by Changelings being hunted by other species in the past because of their abilities (in "Shadowplay" we see such attitude). Even those Changelings who do not belong to Dominion (like Laas) actually think very little of "solids".
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|The Watcher's Council]] is basically a group of Muggles who got together and decided that they and they alone were going to be in charge of the fight against evil, and they employ and monitor various agents (the most important of which being the Slayer) in their fight. The fact that most of them are incompetent dullards and piss-poor mages (which still qualifies as Muggledom, as most everyone in the Buffyverse is capable of magic) doesn't seem to occur to anyone until Buffy comes along.
** Meanwhile, the Initiative is basically a government-run version without the shitty mages. It fails even more than the Watcher's Council, who are destroyed by a single psychotic preacher using a bomb.
* The Hunters in ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' are renegade members of [[The Watcher
* One of the conflicts in season 10 of ''[[Smallville]]'' is the political implications of superpowered individuals, which culminates in Congress passing the Vigilante Registration Act in an emergency session. Of course, the real movers and shakers behind it are [[Darkseid]]'s followers, who are trying to take the Justice League out of the equation. The act is eventually repealed.
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** It turns out the Muggles DO have something to fear from the Novas - the use of Quantum powers eventually mutates them into dramatically inhuman Aberrants, who form the primary enemy for its predecessor, ''Trinity''. Oddly enough, the heroes in ''Trinity'' are, themselves, no longer Muggles - they're powerful psychics, instead.
* In the titular continent-sized [[Monster Town]] of [[Mortasheen]], humans are treated like lab rats by the mutants and monsters that inhabit the city, sometimes as test subjects, sometimes as pets and sometimes as food. of course, this is slightly [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] by the fact that nobody inside the city is really bothered by this, including the humans themselves, as they see it as "just the way things go". Some humans will even volunteer themselves for experiments in the hopes of getting a more powerful form.
* Played annoyingly straight in ''[[
** Oddly, according to those who have read it, the ones who match that description are the ''villains'' among the Wraeththu in the original books, and the heroes were a group the RPG doesn't bother giving even a passing mention.
* ''[[Paranoia]]'' secret societies include the mutant supremacist group Psion and the mutant-hating group [[Exactly What It Says
** Played for laughs, of course. ([[Don't Explain the Joke|The joke being]] that ''every'' person in the setting - other than the theoretically subservient [[A Is]] - is a mutant... and everybody seems to ''know'' it... except for the all-seeing, all-knowing Computer which designates mutants as inferior, genetically treasonous creatures.)
*** Well, the players know it, the characters don't necessarily. In particular, Anti-Mutant characters may be ignorant or in denial about their own mutant powers.
* Many Exalts in ''[[Exalted]]'' are less than careful with normal people in the area surrounding them (in the case of countering third-circle spells, an area totalling roughly nine square miles). The Realm in particular has based its 800-year empire on the idea that Terrestrial Exalted are manifestly superior to mortals. (One of the few exceptions to this kind of thing: Paragon is adamantly pro-mortal because its ruler is a mere enlightened mortal himself, although he's currently a little bitter that with Solar Exaltations flying around he hasn't had a shot at becoming a Twilight Caste yet.)
* ''[[Warhammer
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Taken to every logical conclusion within ''[[City of Heroes]]'' and ''[[City of Villains]]''. While the setting holds enough [[Heroic Willpower]] for even the most ridiculous [[Charles Atlas Superpower
* In ''[[Mega Man Star Force
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In the [[Whateley Universe]], there's practically a war going on over this trope. "Humanity First!" is a world-wide grass roots anti-mutant organization (with backing from the richest family on earth), and the more radical members have tracked down and murdered new mutants. "Evolution Rocks" is an underground group of mutants who are basically anti-baseline. America's Department of Paranormal Affairs is having it out with the non-governmental agency the Mutant Commission Office, which may be kidnapping young mutants for experimentation.
* For the most part, this is avoided in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', even by the villains. Of course, there is a reason why there are so many derogatory slang words for normal humans. "Mere" (as in "merely man"), "flatline", "baseline", and "Norman" (as in "Norman Normal") are just four examples.
** [[Nebulous Evil Organization|TAROT]] funds a lot of anti-superhuman "grassroots" organizations, and bribes politicians worldwide to legally restrict superheroes. The ultimate goal, of course, is to make it harder for the heroes to interfere with their operations, but a side effect is a growing hostility in some quarters between normal human beings and supers.
* The webcomic [http://shivae.net/pure/ PURE] by Tiffany Ross (author of [[Alien Dice]] an [[The Cyantian Chronicles]]) portrayed a [[The Social Darwinist|socially Darwinistic]] country where people who don't develop superpowers or genius-level IQs before the age of 18 are euthanized. "Subbers" who get bionics to mimic powers are incinerated on sight.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* This is touched on in ''[[The Incredibles]]'', where super-fanboy and wannabe-hero Buddy Pine has an inferiority complex about his lack of powers, an attitude he projects onto the Supers he meets. (The cruel irony is that Buddy essentially does have a
{{quote|
'''Mr. Incredible:''' And now, you have ''officially'' carried it too far, Buddy.
'''Buddy:''' This is because I don't have powers, isn't it? }}
** And Buddy never notices that he nearly gets blown to pieces in his first appearance as Incrediboy. No wonder Mr. Incredible doesn't want a kid sidekick.
** The special features on the DVD reveal that actually most of the superheroes are mentally unstable, stupid or just ordinary people trying to attain, maintain and deal with fame. Only a few of them are actually more cost-effective/useful than the regular authorities.
* The second season of ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' dealt with the US government's efforts to build a force capable of stopping the JLU in the event they went rogue. Naturally, they ended up going the route of the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] and a bit of [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]] when their efforts included such things as creating [[Tyke Bomb]] [[Super Soldier]] [[Cloning Blues|clones]] with a shelf life shorter than a decade, trusting [[Lex Luthor]] and other super criminals, as well as turning JLU member [[Captain Atom]] against [[
** Don't forget that evil psychopathic Supergirl clone, or that 'super soldier' serum that turned the general into a mutant monster, or...
** The Justice Lords were an example where humans ''did'' have something to fear from metahumans. This knowledge is what drove [[The Question]] into [[Go Mad
* [[Rich Bitch|Princess]] from ''The [[Powerpuff Girls]]'' wanted to be a Powerpuff Girl, but she didn't have any powers, so she got technology that imitated their powers. When the girls still wouldn't let her join the team (primarily because she got in their way), she became a villain, continuing to use powers similar to the Powerpuffs' granted by the tech.
* Almost completely averted on ''[[
** It ''does'' go a bit farther than that, though more psychologically
** Later played straight in the sequel series, ''[[
** Actually, the series takes a fairly realistic approach in that there's no single, over-arching reaction to someone with the power. There's rarely outright oppression simply *because* you're a bender - not counting POW camps the Fire Nation sets up - but individuals range the entire spectrum from awe and wonder, to jealousy and bitterness, to "Meh, so he can punch a fireball."
*** Except that a majority of the major societies we see have benders in charge. The Fire Nation has the royal family and many of the officers seem to be fire benders and the cities of Omashu and Ba Sing Se are governed by an earth bending king and an earth bending secret police respectively. Not much is known about how important water benders were in the North or South tribes and the Air Nomads policy on regular humans is a moot point if almost all of them were air benders.
**** The Earth King of Ba Sing Se is not an Earth Bender. Sokka and Katara's father was the leader of the Southern Tribe and was not a Bender either.
***** Seeing how The Earth King was just a puppet to his [[Evil Chancellor]] (an Earth bender) and this bending [[
***** The chief of the Northern Water Tribe apparently wasn't a bender either.
****** The entire council that
* On ''[[Sabrina the Animated Series]],'' [[Fantastic Racism|Tim the Witch Smeller]] came to hate witches because of this
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:What Measure Is an Index]]▼
[[Category:Humans Are Indexed]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
▲[[Category:What Measure Is an Index?]]
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