History Main / Heavyworlder

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': An early episode involves a high-gravity planet on a harder-than-it-sounds mission to deliver pillows. The only person they meet on the planet is quite short and wide and incredibly strong, able to toss the now super heavy pillows the crew struggled with over his shoulder with ease.

For the opposite, see {{Lightworlder}}.

* The setting of Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/PlanetPirates'' and ''Literature/DinosaurPlanet'' series may actually be the {{Trope Namer|s}}. The genetically enhanced Heavyworlders, due to their history, resent and distrust "lightweights" to the point of being open to manipulative propoganda and conspiracy theories by the titular criminals. In [[{{Veganopia}} a greater society of near-universal vegetarians]], they also have to eat meat due to their altered metabolism.

** The Saiyans, who hail from Planet Vegeta, with gravity 10x that of Earth. Goku and Vegeta also routinely train in high-gravity chambers, with Vegeta once turning it up to ''450 G''. This was used hilariously when a lower level EliteMook named Pui Pui in the beginning of the Buu saga challenged the Saiyans, thinking that changing the environment to ''his'' home planet, which had 10 times Earth's gravity, would give him a sizable advantage. ''Boy'' [[CurbStompBattle was he wrong]].
-->'''Vegeta''': Maybe... if your planet had five hundred times Earth's gravity, you'd have an advantage, but ten? ''I don't even feel it!''

* Creator/RumikoTakahashi's comedic one-shot ''Manga/MarisTheChojo'', was about a bounty hunter whose family was from a high-gravity world, and had proportionate strength, so they had to wear special restraints in order to keep from destroying everything around them by accident. The antagonist was also a super-strong Heavyworlder, though not to the degree of the protagonist.

** Not a person but a machine: in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'', [[BigBad Paptimus Scirocco's]] final mobile suit, The O, is designed for operations in Jupiter's gravity. As such it's incredibly heavily armoured and features massive thrusters to allow it to move at all. Turn it loose in space or Earth's atmosphere and it becomes a LightningBruiser and OneManArmy.

* Charlie-27 of Creator/MarvelComics' original ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is a Jovian, a member of a human subspecies genetically engineered to colonize Jupiter. As such, he's broadly-proportioned, super-strong, muscular and [[MadeOfIron very tough]]. Implicitly he's even stronger and tougher than the typical Jovian, as he was a career military man. He's also not short at all despite his "squished", squat frame -- the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe lists him at an even 6', slightly taller than the average adult human male,[[note]]Given that the original ''Guardians'' took place in the 31st century and average human height has tended to increase over time (due to improved medicine and especially nutrition), it seems likely that 6' would be fairly average for human male height a thousand years in the future.[[/note]] and he's often drawn as the tallest of the team, at times even taller than Yondu's fin.
* ComicBook/TomStrong was raised in a high-gravity environment, giving him immense musculature and strength while somehow not interfering with his growth. Just the opposite, in fact, he's huge; this may be due to how heavily the miracle food [[SuperSerum goloka]] figures into his diet.
* ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire'' is a Hoffmannite, from a violent race of large Heavyworlders who call normal humans "jellybones" and are prone to AttackHello. Hoffmanites aren't noticeably shorter than regular humans and appear quite obese... but it turns out the bulk is all muscle. They were also genetically engineered by a team that thought that making a sub-race of centaurs was a good idea.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** The late [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] and full [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] explanation for Superman's powers was that his home planet, Krypton, had exceptionally high gravity (the first explanation given in ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1'' was EvolutionaryLevels -- Superman had originally been conceived as being from the future). Even after the yellow sun explanation came into play, Krypton was still described as having a much greater mass than Earth.
** Creator/ElliotSMaggin once wrote that Krypton's gravity was so great that every explorer from another planet who had landed on, or even approached Krypton was unable to ever return. Krypton gained an ominous reputation as a "black hole planet", whose gravity was inescapably strong.
** The WhatIf story ''Superman: Last Son of Earth'' inverts the character's OriginStory, having Clark Kent sent away from a doomed Earth and landing on Krypton where he's adopted by Jor-El and Lara. Jor-El has to put the baby in a room with controllable gravity which he gradually raises over time, and even as an adult he needs a specially designed exoskeleton to move around. Later in the story when he returns to Earth, he discovers that adapting to Krypton's gravity has given him superhuman strength, endurance, and bulletproof skin.
** In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton1959'', Superman mentions he owes his powers to this while he examines his cousin's rocket.
** This was also the explanation for the powers of ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} back in the Silver Age, combined with the yellow sun factor.
* The idea that ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'s incredible strength and durability come from he and his fellow Atlanteans adapting to the "crushing ocean depths" is related to this trope, but coming from the ocean abysses of Earth rather than the heightened gravity of another planet.
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': Thondor Allen, a "fifth-generation Jupiter colonist" and distant future descendent of Barry Allen, who appears to exist largely for the visual humour of [[{{Acrofatic}} a really massive speedster]].
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'':
** Frequent foes of the Legion are the humanoid Khunds, who hail from a high gravity world.
** Supervillain The Persuader is a normal human, but has incredible strength from being born and raised on a high-gravity world.
* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': The Kree are super strong due to the high gravity on their homeworld, Hala.

* In ''Fanfic/BaitAndSwitchSTO'' New Bajor is stated to have about a third more gravity than Bajor.[[note]]This was decided by the author. New Bajor never physically appeared in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series.[[/note]] [=LCdr.=] Reshek Gaarra, who's from New Bajor, is once seen in the ship's gym adjusting the weight set to mimic his planet's gravity so he won't lose the edge it gives him.
* ''Fanfic/TheDesertStorm'': Yoda’s species are heavyworlders, hence their short size, as are the Aleen. When Ben visits Yaddle’s homeworld, he notes that the gravity is higher and finds it a little difficult to breathe.

* The creature in the BMovie ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld'' (1956) was originally conceived as short and squat, due to the heavy gravity of its native planet. Actress Beverly Garland was unimpressed by the vertically-challenged villain -- approaching it within hearing of director Roger Corman she cried "So, you plan to take over the world do you? Take that!" and kicked it in the head. Corman agreed to redesign the creature to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/itconqueredtheworld_7117.jpg more menacing proportions.]]
* Earth has higher gravity than Barsoom, as Film/JohnCarter finds out.
** He's also much shorter than the green-skinned [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Tharks]], although he's the same size as the more human Red Martians. His SuperStrength isn't shown much, although he easily breaks through the first chains that the Tharks put him in. They put him in heavier chains and attach them to a huge rock. Carter manages to throw the rock. He also kills a Thark with a single punch.
** Deja Thoris theorizes that the reason for Earthling and Martian physiology appearing similar is that Carter's body is ''more dense'' than the Martians. More realistically, the superpower that he shows off the most is being able to jump ''really far''.
* One reason why Kryptonians are so strong on Earth in ''Film/ManOfSteel''.
* ''Film/PrincessOfMars'': Of the second variety - John Carter is an Earth-normal human on a light-gravity world.

* ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' is probably the trope maker -- and certainly the progenitor for the "common variant" described at the top of this page. The title character, used to the gravity of Earth, arrives on Mars to find himself as this trope in relation to the native Martians, gaining incredible strength and speed, as well as the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, much like a [[Franchise/{{Superman}} certain other pulp hero]] who followed in Carter's tradition.

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' the pacifistic Pemalites and their android servants the Chee hail from a world with gravity four times that of Earth. As you'd expect, they're very powerful by human standards. While the Pemalites are extinct and we don't know how well they followed the trope, the Chee, being robots, are incredibly strong and incredibly fast. Erek is so fast that he can get from his inland house to several miles out into the ocean and three miles deep in less than an hour. In their more bitter moments, the Animorphs frequently lament the fact that, if the Pemalites would have just reprogrammed the Chee's violence prohibition, they might not be extinct and the Yeerks would done over in a week.

* One story by Creator/StephenBaxter had "humans" engineered to live on ''neutron stars''. Said "humans" were on a microscopic scale -- such that they considered a centimetre to be a really impressive size for a ''city'' -- and lived inside the star. Oh, and got around by "swimming" through the magnetic field...
* ''Literature/BillTheGalacticHero'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. The Chingers are lizardoids only seven inches high, but as they come from a 10G world, they're able to throw the Space Trooper protagonist easily. Government propaganda portrays them as being seven feet tall so morale won't be affected.

* Creator/HarryHarrison's ''Literature/{{Deathworld}}'' features Pyrrus: double Earth gravity and so, so much more. The population are all {{TykeBomb}}s. Pyrrans are short and massive, for added realism. Jason's LoveInterest Meta is a native Pyrrhan. He muses that, at first, her rock-hard abs were annoying him a little during sex, as he's used to less muscular women. However, after a while, he grows so used to her abs that he can't envision being with someone who doesn't have them (then again, Meta would probably kill him, if he tried to step out on her).
* Implied to be true of the Jenoine, from the Literature/{{Dragaera}} series, as they have sturdy, heavily-muscled bodies and the world on which they imprison their captives in ''Literature/{{Issola}}'' has higher gravity than Vlad and his friends are used to. Only an implication, because it's unclear whether the prison-world in question is the Jenoine's native habitat, or if its higher gravity is just a coincidence.
* ''Literature/DragonsEgg'' features one of the most extreme examples and yet manages to treat it realistically -- like the Stephen Baxter example above, the Cheela live on a neutron star with a gravity ''67 billion'' times stronger than Earth's. They're essentially puddle-like {{Blob Monster}}s the size of sesame seeds (but with the same mass as humans), since nothing could stand on legs on their homeworld, and made of [[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-degenerate-matter.htm degenerate matter]] for even ordinary atoms fold themselves in that gravity.

** The eponymous heroine of the series is from a world with heavier-than-normal gravity, and the "Meyerdahl Beta" genetic enhancements built into her ancestors to best thrive in heavy gravity are part of what make her kick so much ass. She's actually a fairly marginal example of a Heavyworlder, though. Meyerdahl Betas' modifications were specifically designed to be subtle in the face of widespread prejudice against genetic modification, and Sphinx isn't THAT heavy, only about 1.3 ''g''.

* ''Literature/LastAndFirstMen'': Olaf Stapledon describes a realistic version of Heavyworlders engineered to colonize Neptune ([[ScienceMarchesOn at the time it still seemed possible]]): they're simply midgets who take advantage of the SquareCubeLaw. Subsequent Neptunian species engineer themselves to be taller than the original terrestrial men, but it's made clear that they're [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens so advanced]] they're not limited by petty biological constraints.

* The setting of Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/PlanetPirates'' series and ''Literature/DinosaurPlanet'' series may actually be the TropeNamer. The genetically-enhanced Heavyworlders, due to their history, resent and distrust "lightweights" to the point of being open to manipulative propoganda and conspiracy theories by the titular criminals. In [[{{Veganopia}} a greater society of near-universal vegetarians]], they also have to eat meat due to their altered metabolism.

* Creator/EEDocSmith:
** The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series featured a company of Valerians, the next-millennium descendants of Dutch colonists on a high-gravity world (the ''g'' of Valeria is 27 m/s^2, nearly triple the 9.8m/s^2 of earth), serving in the Space Marines of the [[BadAssArmy Galactic Patrol]]. In close quarters, their [[WeaponSpecialization weapon of choice]] was the [[RecycledInSpace space]]-axe, essentially a solid-metal combination axe and warhammer pragmatically adapted for zero-G [[InertialDampening and inertialess]] combat in a universe [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter where force fields can't handle the "slow" but lethal implement]].
** Another of his great sci-fi series starred the Family d'Alembert, a circus troupe of Heavyworlder secret agents and [[BadassFamily incredible badasses, one and all]]. While the Valerians fit the larger type, the d'Alemberts are the short and stocky variant.

** The S't'ach in ''Literature/StarTrekTitan'', who resemble [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch metre-high four-armed blue teddy bears]], but are denser than they appear. In early books they are said to be superdense, but in a later book one points out the perils of having a lot of mass on a high gravity world. Apparently, this is a rumour spread by the S't'ach themselves; they're aware of how cute they look to humanoids, and want to discourage them from trying to pick them up and cuddle them.

** The novelization of ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed II'' features Berkelium Shyre, a human who became incredibly strong from living on the high gravity world Malastare for several years.
* The Starwolves in Edmond Hamilton's ''Starwolf'' trilogy are Vikings InSpace from the heavy world of Varna. They can endure higher-acceleration maneuvers than anyone else they've encountered, which is what makes them so dangerous and hard-if-not-impossible to catch. "When a Starwolf gets killed, they declare a holiday on all decent worlds."

* ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'' had an episode with an unassuming man of average build named Toman who was secretly from a high-gravity planet, giving him great strength, which he used as a hit man who never needed weapons.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Sontarans, a race of cloned galactic warriors. Although Sontarans "grew" in size over the course of the series, the new series took the trouble to restore them to their original short height, leading to the inevitable HurricaneOfPuns from the Doctor.
** ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' spin off said that the planet Sontar has six times Earth's gravity and ''The First Sontarans'' audio story said the current Sontaran race was bred on the planet's moon which has even more gravity.

* ''Series/TheOrville'': Alara Kitan's race, Xelayans, come from a high gravity world. In Earth-like conditions, they can smash through concrete and make great leaps. Surprisingly, despite their reputation for great strength, they're a ProudScholarRace, who scoffs at military service as beneath their intellectual pursuits. Alara's parents constantly berate her for her choice of career and ask when she's going to stop this foolishness and get a proper education. The episode "Home" addresses the issue that because Alara has been living in Earth-like conditions for so long, her body is becoming used to it and losing her great strength. She has to return to her home planet to re-acclimate to its gravity.

** A rather unorthodox downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer.

** Meanwhile the settlers of the high-gravity worlds near the galactic core gradually became shorter and stouter, developing into [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the Leagues of Votann]], aka "the Squats."
** In a less extreme example, the jungle {{death world}} of Catachan has slightly higher gravity than Terran standard, which helps explain why its inhabitants are [[HeroicBuild so brawny]]. This earns them the somewhat unflattering nickname of "Baby Ogryns."

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': The Cabal are so adapted to their own high-gravity worlds that they have to wear specially-pressurized suits just to survive on Mars.

** The elcor come from Dekuuna, a world with crushing gravity by Earth standards. This not only shaped the elcor into being [[MightyGlacier extremely strong and durable]], but it also colored their psychology as a species that's always careful and conservative -- hasty movement might lead to falling, which in their world's high gravity tends to be lethal. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', their status as Mighty Glaciers comes to prove incredibly beneficial; if Shepard rescues the elcor survivors trapped on Dekuuna, they're awarded the remnant army of the elcor to combat [[EldritchAbomination the Reapers]], who use their status as heavyworlders to act as ''[[ShoulderCannon Shoulder Cannon-wielding infantry]]'', made even more capable with complex VI systems. While there's a TearJerker to be found in the elcor ambassador breaking down at [[spoiler:how only a few elcor survived the onslaught of the Reapers]], one can't deny what the elcor ambassador describes as "living tanks" are nothing short of an OffscreenMomentOfAwesome.
** The volus homeworld has a high pressure atmosphere and a gravity of 1.5gs, making the volus rather short. They have to wear a pressure suit to keep their skin from splitting open when in environments that are suitable for the other council species.

* ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrionII'': Races with the High-G World trait gain an extra hit in ground combat and do not suffer production penalties when colonizing other high-gravity planets, though they still suffer a production penalty when colonizing low-gravity worlds.
* ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'': One of the Biotechs that allow colonists to be genetically tailored to their environments is Gravitational Adaptation.

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[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Literature/TheJenkinsverse'': Humans are heavyworlders compared to the rest of the galaxy. While the difference between Earth gravity and galactic standard is comparatively small, it was just enough for natural selection to prefer our comparatively denser and harder bones and simpler but powerful muscles over the fragile silicate bones and multifunctional but weak muscles most aliens have. Humans are also comparatively short, the only shorter sentient creatures are the Corti (whose diminutive physical size is the result of genetic engineering) and the Gaoians (who come from a planet with a gravity fairly close to Earth's and are borderline deathworlders themselves).
* ''Literature/JunctionPoint'': The ktrit'zal homeworld has five times the surface gravity of Earth, and they are appropriately squat quadrupeds. Liu mentions that Rudak's arms are nearly as thick as her torso, and apparently females are even ''bigger''.
* ''Website/OrionsArm'' has numerous races designed and redesigned for high gravity planets, such as the [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47e86bc153833 Anakim]] and the [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47fc240a5e94f Kobolds]], who mostly resemble very short -- often around a meter tall -- humans with stout limbs, barrel torsos, and severely reduced pendulous parts (for instance, they have very small external ears, small noses, and almost nonexistent breasts) to reduce the discomfort they'd cause under the pull of gravity. They're also well-suited to spaceships accelerating at high speed, since the acceleration results in a high ArtificialGravity.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats}}'': Tug-Mug is strong enough to make incredible leaps and snap the Sword of Omens itself due to growing up on a high gravity world.

* ''VideoGame/{{Meteos}}'': Gravitas is the planet in the game with the strongest gravity. Its are about one meter in height and seem to be angular in shape. There are a number of other planets with very heavy gravity too, though they don't have it as their defining trait like Gravitas. They're reflected in gameplay by everything falling quickly (and thus tend to be more difficult planets to work with).

[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/MassEffect https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anelcor.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"[[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry Human, delighted welcome. It is good to meet you.]]"]]

->''Mental note: Do not get in an arm-wrestling match with an Eridian.''

One factor common to nearly all Heavyworlders is [[SuperStrength prodigious physical strength]].[[note]]Physical ''stamina'' would be just as important if not more when carrying around twice your weight every day, but strength tends to be the focus as feats of strength are more exciting than just not getting tired.[[/note]] Many versions will therefore be TheBigGuy, because size is so commonly associated with strength. Other (some might say more realistic) depictions will be short and squat, because basic mechanical considerations and the SquareCubeLaw show that it's much more advantageous for a Heavyworlder to have a compact, stout, but ''short'' body, not unlike common portrayals of [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]] in fantasy.[[note]] In terms of team composition, they are still fairly likely to function as TheBigGuy[[/note]]

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' has numerous races designed and redesigned for high gravity planets, such as the [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47e86bc153833 Anakim]] and the [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47fc240a5e94f Kobolds]], who mostly resemble very short -- often around a meter tall -- humans with stout limbs, barrel torsos, and severely reduced pendulous parts (for instance, they have very small external ears, small noses, and almost nonexistent breasts) to reduce the discomfort they'd cause under the pull of gravity. They're also well-suited to spaceships accelerating at high speed, since the acceleration results in a high ArtificialGravity.

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' the pacifistic Pemalites and their android servants the Chee hail from a world with gravity four times that of Earth. As you'd expect, they're very powerful by human standards. While the Pemalites are extinct and we don't know how well they followed the trope, the Chee, being robots, are incredibly strong and incredibly fast. Erek is so fast that he can get from his inland house to several miles out into the ocean and several ''thousand'' miles deep in less than an hour. In their more bitter moments, the Animorphs frequently lament the fact that, if the Pemalites would have just reprogrammed the Chee's violence prohibition, they might not be extinct and the Yeerks would done over in a week.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer.
** There are also the [[GravityMaster yrgytchee]], who hail from a world with double standard gravity and look something like muscular, feathery [[OurKoboldsAreDifferent kobolds]].

* Reconstructed and downplayed in ''The Right Hand of Dextra'': While Dextra's gravity isn't ''that'' much higher (the real challenge is the MirrorChemistry), the protagonist speculates that the colonists' descendants will be Heavyworlders, albeit a more realistic take on the idea (short, stocky, and thick-limbed). [[spoiler:At that point, however, he wasn't counting on people [[WasOnceAMan mutating themselves]] into [[OurCentaursAreDifferent centaurs]].]]

* Creator/RumikoTakahashi's comedic one-shot ''Maris the Chojo'', was about a bounty hunter whose family was from a high-gravity world, and had proportionate strength, so they had to wear special restraints in order to keep from destroying everything around them by accident. The antagonist was also a super-strong Heavyworlder, though not to the degree of the protagonist.

* The Jinxians of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' are one of the rare short Heavyworlder variety (described by one character as "five feet tall and five feet wide"), realistically so, since human growth patterns are determined in part by the weight of the body. They are strong enough to bend crowbars, and black-skinned regardless of ancestry, since the star they orbit, Sirius, is far brighter than Sol, particularly in the ultraviolet. They got this way after only four hundred years of selective breeding, but the downside is heart problems and short lifespans even with the life-extending drug "[[SpiceOfLife boosterspice]]". Culturally, they are mainly scientists and [[HurricaneOfPuns punsters]]. ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'' even features [[LightBulbJoke a joke about them]]:
-->'''Q:''' How many Jinxans does it take to paint a building?\\

* In ''Literature/LastAndFirstMen'', Olaf Stapledon describes a realistic version of Heavyworlders engineered to colonize Neptune ([[ScienceMarchesOn at the time it still seemed possible]]): they're simply midgets who take advantage of the SquareCubeLaw. Subsequent Neptunian species engineer themselves to be taller than the original terrestrial men, but it's made clear that they're [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens so advanced]] they're not limited by petty biological constraints.
* Saval Bork from Steve Perry's ''Literature/MatadorSeries'' is from a heavy-g world, and has some genetic modifications to help him survive there. He also spends a lot of time weightlifting, when he's in places with lighter gravity. His personal record in the bench press is 360kg, or approximately 790 pounds.
* The inhabitants of the planet Mesklin (which not only has very high gravity, but a very rapid rotation) in ''Literature/MissionOfGravity'' by Creator/HalClement are adjusted to this by looking somewhat like flat centipedes. The Mesklinites are the main characters of the story, which tells how a brave sea merchant retrieves a probe fallen from the sky for a strange space alien (i.e., a human).
* The ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' universe features human colonists that come in short-and-squat, physical giant, and even relatively normal looking superman form depending on their exact planet of origin. (Ironically, these just happen to be listed in order of increasing homeworld gravity -- so the most ''normal''-looking ones hail from the world with the most extreme conditions. Oxtorne is rated at 4.8 Gs and the locals' idea of "mild" weather would be considered a full-blown hurricane elsewhere.)

* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer. There are also the [[GravityMaster yrgytchee]], who hail from a world with double standard gravity and look something like muscular, feathery [[OurKoboldsAreDifferent kobolds]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer. There are also the yrgytchee; they hail from a world with double standard gravity, look something like muscular, feathery [[OurKoboldsAreDifferent kobolds]], and are {{Gravity Master}}s.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer. There are also the yrgytchee; they hail from a world with double standard gravity, look something like muscular, feathery {{OurKoboldsAreDifferent kobolds)), and are {{Gravity Master}}s.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer.

** As Spock was from a higher gravity world, in some of the earlier ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novels]] Spock set the environmental controls in his quarters to simulate conditions on Vulcan, complete with higher gravity which was uncomfortable for most humans.

* The S't'ach in ''Literature/StarTrekTitan'', who resemble [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch metre-high four-armed blue teddy bears]], but are denser than they appear. In early books they are said to be superdense, but in a later book one points out the perils of having a lot of mass on a high gravity world. Apparently, this is a rumour spread by the S't'ach themselves; they're aware of how cute they look to humanoids, and want to discourage them from trying to pick them up and cuddle them.

** The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series featured a company of Valerians, the next-millennium descendants of Dutch colonists on a high-gravity world (the ''g'' of Valeria is 27 m/s^2, nearly triple the 9.8m/s^2 of earth), serving in the Space Marines of the [[BadAssArmy Galactic Patrol]]. In close quarters, their [[WeaponSpecialization weapon of choice]] was the [[RecycledInSpace space]]-[[AnAxeToGrind axe]], essentially a solid-metal combination axe and warhammer pragmatically adapted for zero-G [[InertialDampening and inertialess]] combat in a universe [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter where force fields can't handle the "slow" but lethal implement]].

* Probably the trope maker - and certainly the progenitor for the "common variant" described at the top of this page - is Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' series, where the title character, used to the gravity of Earth, arrives on Mars to find himself as this trope in relation to the native Martians, gaining incredible strength and speed, as well as the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, much like a [[Franchise/{{Superman}} certain other pulp hero]] who followed in Carter's tradition.

* The much-despised spin-off of the original ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'', ''Series/{{Galactica 1980}}'', had the Twelve Colonies with greater gravity than Earth so the Galacticans were considerably stronger and could jump much higher.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Sontarans, a race of cloned galactic warriors. Although Sontarans "grew" in size over the course of the series, the new series took the trouble to restore them to their original short height, leading to the inevitable HurricaneOfPuns from the Doctor.

* The "Gatecrashing" supplement for ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' introduces Dvergar (singular: Dvergr), short and stocky morphs meant for exoplanets with significantly higher gravity than old earth.

* Averted in ''TabletopGame/HcSvntDracones'', Vectors are designed to adapt to new gravities quickly. Martians often find it funny when Venusian tourists think they'll be super strong when they come to their world, only to feel lethargic for eight hours and end up no stronger than anyone else.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' has a rather surprising downplayed example in [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter skittermanders]], who hail from a world with half-again standard gravity. While they're solidly-built little fuzballs, "little" is the operating word; they're about the size of a three-year-old human child, and their Heavyworlder status manifests in the ''absence'' of the Strength penalty that other small species (such as [[RatFolk ysoki]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]]) typically suffer.

** The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series featured a company of Valerians, the next-millennium descendants of Dutch colonists on a high-gravity world (the ''g'' of Valeria is 27 m/s^2, nearly triple the 9.8m/s^2 of earth), serving in the Space Marines of the [[BadAssArmy Galactic Patrol]]. In close quarters, their WeaponOfChoice was the [[RecycledInSpace space]]-[[AnAxeToGrind axe]], essentially a solid-metal combination axe and warhammer pragmatically adapted for zero-G [[InertialDampening and inertialess]] combat in a universe [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter where force fields can't handle the "slow" but lethal implement]].

* In ''Series/TheOrville'', Alara Kitan's race, Xelayans, come from a high gravity world. In Earth-like conditions, they can smash through concrete and make great leaps. Surprisingly, despite their reputation for great strength, they're a [[ProudScholarRaceGuy Proud Scholar Race]], who scoffs at military service as beneath their intellectual pursuits. Alara's parents constantly berate her for her choice of career and ask when she's going to stop this foolishness and get a proper education. The episode "Home" addresses the issue that because Alara has been living in Earth-like conditions for so long, her body is becoming used to it and losing her great strength. She has to return to her home planet to re-acclimate to its gravity.
* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Vulcan is said to have higher gravity than Earth, and Vulcans are consequently around three times stronger than humans. This explains why Spock, in spite of being a nerd, can kick most people's butts in hand-to-hand combat. Well, that and the fact that while Vulcans turned away from their previous [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warrior race]] society thousands of years ago, they kept teaching the old (and very effective) martial arts as a matter of tradition.