History Main / MechanicalLifeforms

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': The "Metal Empire" Digimon include cyborgs and guys wearing metal armor; nevertheless, their numbers primarily consist of full-on robots, from the gear-like Hagurumon to the draconic HumongousMecha Mugendramon.
** Of course, since they're ''all'' sentient computer data, all Digimon are this regardless of their form.
* ''Anime/DragonBallGT'': Despite the fact that there are factories to create and mass-produce them, Machine Mutants are robots that emit Ki and have souls.
* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' introduces the Metalmen, a race of aliens from [[AlternateUniverse Universe 6]]. While they heavily resemble robots, it's stated they are in fact living organisms.
* The villains in the new [[{{Manga/Galaxy Express 999}} Galaxy Express]] manga and ''Eternal Fantasy'' are a race of these. (The old ones were mechanized humans.)
* ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' really messed around with this trope. First, there's Guy Shishioh, who's a traditional cyborg. The Zonders, Zonderians and 31 Primevals are also worth noting: the Zonders and Zonderians are organic beings that are transformed into some sort of techna-organic lifeform via exposure to Elementary Particle Z-O, which is released by [[GreenRocks Zonder Metal]]. They also have completely transformable bodies, and can assimilate metal, to the point where they can even move ''through'' it. The Primevals are the same. They just happen to [[spoiler: have the ability to assimilate ''anything'', not just humans]]. Then you've got ''Evoluders''...
** Special credit goes to the Zonderian, Penchinon: [[spoiler:it is later revealed that, aside from being a Zonderian, he is actually the A-I system for the J-Ark.]]

* An old Creator/ECComics science fiction story involved the army discovering a pair of robots in the wilderness whose builder had died. The robots are friendly, but the furor over their discovery helps fuel simmering tensions into a nuclear war that wipes out humanity. The robots survive and build more of their kind, eventually forming a civilization much like the humans had had. A group of robot soldiers then discovers a man and woman living alone in the wilderness. [[{{Irony}} The furor over their discovery helps fuel simmering tensions that bring the robots to the brink of apocalyptic war...]]
* At least one of them exists in ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'''s verse. She has the shape of an attractive human woman and is anatomically correct. One of the Superhomeys sleeps with her, and her nanites turn him into a mecha.
* The ComicBook/{{JSA}} story "Vampires of the Void" features the inhabitants of Jupiter, metallic life forms who come to Earth and actually consume metal as food. They end up taking on the characteristics of the metal they eat, which is how the various JSA members are able to defeat them.
* There's an entire galaxy-spanning society of RidiculouslyHumanRobots in ''ComicBook/TheKillLock'', which come across almost as a DarkerAndEdgier take on the Cybertronians (given that the series' creator is long-term ''Transformers'' comic artist Livio Ramondelli, this shouldn't come as a surprise).
* At least one version of DC's ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' includes Robotica, a planet inhabited by a robot civilization, as well as the Linsnarians, a species of techno-organic people. In the cartoon version, the Coluan race (organic in the comics) is a civilization of humanoid robots not unlike the Linsnarians.
** When [[Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} Brainiac]] received his first major upgrade in the early 80's, into his creepy SkeleBot form, it was largely thanks to a mysterious planet of living machines.
* The alien Malev robots in ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter.''
* The ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' has several.

** ComicBook/{{Warlock|1999}}'s people the Technarchs presumably started out getting built by ''somebody,'' but they haven't answered to anybody else in a very, very long time. When organic beings get [[TheVirus infected]] with Technarchy nanotech, the resultant [[{{Cyborg}} "techno-organic"]] beings are called Phalanx.

** One of [[ComicBook/MachineMan Aaron Stack the Machine Man's]] earliest foes was Ten-For, an agent of a race of robotic conquerors called the Autocrons.
** And there's even been a couple crossovers with ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', a franchise revolving around a race of TransformingMecha from the planet Cybertron; see the Toys section for more on that.

* The Robots from ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'' are a TVHeadRobot race which are treated like other life forms. They can reproduce, have a society with kings and queens, and are just as emotional as any other race. Their organs besides their heads (including [[MaleFrontalNudity genitals]]) are also incredibly humanlike.
* Speaking of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', the franchise has quite a few comic books of its own from a variety of publishers, several of which explore the nature and origins of the race in depth.

* ''Fanfic/ABridgeOnceBroken'' answers a resounding "yes!" to the ambiguity of whether the Mechasms are these. [[spoiler: But they're still built, not born.]]

* ''Fanfic/NoPlumbersAllowed'': Taylor's power considers her Bob-ombs and Chain Chomp alive even though they are mostly mechanical. Panacea gets a surprise when her power registers one of them as living.

* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': Being a D&D fanfiction, one of the stories stars a Warforged as the deuteragonist.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'', the sackdolls are mechanical lifeforms imbued with the spirit of their creator, magically.

* A few sequences from various ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMindsEye Mind's Eye]]'' videos feature robots and robotic animals, from singing parrots to dinosaurs.

* Possibly applies in ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951'', the original one at least, based on Klaatu's statement.

** Klaatu also seems to indicate the Gorts are sentient to a point or at least capable of making decisions, when he says that without him, Gort could destroy the Earth.

* As mentioned in the Toys folder, the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]] are described as "autonomous robotic organisms." The term "Autobot" is apparently an abbreviation of this term.
** The films series plays heavily with the "lifeform" part as they eat, bleed, ''urinate'' and reproduce like any other lifeform despite being mechanical. During a fight, Optimus Prime even spits out a tooth!

* ''Film/ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets'' has the Omnilights, a robotic race known for their banking skills.

* In the book ''Literature/AllTomorrows'' by Nemo Ramjet, a species of genetically engineered humans known as Ruin Haunters "evolves" itself into robots known as [[http://www.sivatherium.narod.ru/library/Ramjet/07_en.htm Gravital]] as their planet's sun begins to expand. They have no real definite shape and have human-level intelligence, individual personalities and opinions (having evolved from an organic human species). Although explained as not being "evil" they "simply did not acknowledge the life of their organic cousins", and [[OmnicidalManiac began wiping out all life in the galaxy]]. They ruled with an [[{{Pun}} iron]] tentacle for 50 ''million'' years. Eventually they wage war with [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot insect-like human space-gods]] and are defeated. Afterwards, they simply become "normal" citizens of the New Empire but are [[FantasticRacism usually discriminated against]] due to the "sins of their fathers".
* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' books, the Chee are a race of fully sentient robots who were created by a long-extinct species of sapient dogs, the Pemalites. They hid on Earth after the Pemalites were hunted to extinction and use holograms to pass as humans; The Animorphs consider them sentient, but while whales are sentient enough that [[TheTrickster the Drode]] can't kill them, he can destroy the Chee because [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman "they're robots"]].
* ''[[Literature/BillTheGalacticHero Bill the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Robot Slaves]]'' by Creator/HarryHarrison has the titular character end up on a planet locked in a civil war between two factions of mechanical lifeforms. According to one of the leaders, they have naturally evolved on the planet from primordial oil pools, although this doesn't stop them from building new ones.
* The Literature/{{Bolo}} Tanks are treated this way by their author, and they certainly meet the criteria, even if it has lacklustre representation from the characters in the books. One of the major themes is the disconnect between how they are treated in-universe and the fact that from the reader's objective perspective they are clearly the most honorable beings in the setting.
* ''Code Of The Lifemaker'' by Creator/JamesPHogan has a whole robot ecosystem. An autonomous alien mining colony [[GoneHorriblyWrong Goes Horribly Wrong]], developing into an elaborate ecosystem on Saturn's moon Titan. There are power-generator trees, mechanical animals up to and including intelligent, civilized forms (humans call them Taloids, they call themselves "robeings" -- or a [[TranslationConvention word translated as "robeings"]], since they actually communicate via ultrasound bursts[[note]]You'd think it'd be radio, but the ultrasound was originally designed by the original aliens to serve as a local backup for when radio was impossible; part of Going Horribly Wrong was that the factories couldn't figure out how to make proper radios anymore; the few "robeings" who have vestigial radio capability are treated as prophets, since they receive transmissions but can't make head or tail of them[[/note]]) and factories as "farms" and birthing places, as well as electricity-based food. Being on Titan, there are hydrocarbon seas and an assortment of organic compounds, which the Taloids/robeings use to make tools and vehicles. They also have a form of civilization, with remarkable resemblances to late medieval Europe and particularly late medieval Italy (a [[CrystalDragonJesus Catholic-like church]], feuding city states, a scientist ostracized for suggesting that the world is round,[[note]]Really a more justifiable position on Titan than for medieval humans on Earth--Titan's atmosphere is opaque to visible light and most other electromagnetic radiation as well--so all the astronomical evidence for the sphericity of the world is gone. The way the horizon works is still a clue, of course, but not conclusive evidence. And as this book was published wellbefore the Huygens probe showed Titan's surface to be mostly land surrounding hydrocarbon seas, one can forgive Hogan for assuming the world would be more like Earth--mostly (hydrocarbon) seas surrounding land and thus positing that nobody had circumnavigated Titan because the Taloids/robeings as yet lacked the technology to do so.[[/note]] and one state with a ruler famous for supporting the arts and sciences) that has recently undergone a scientific revolution, invented the gun, and is about to get hit with a major religious upheaval on account of FirstContact.
** Creator/ArthurCClarke's short story ''Crusade'' is very similar, but the machines go further in their disgust and decide to wipe out the meat-creatures. Here they're explicitly rather than implicitly machines, and the exception that decides to destroy the rule.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'': The robots from the computer-animated movie. They've formed their own society, and humans are nowhere to be seen or mentioned.

* The Armada from ''VideoGame/{{Pirate101}}'' consist of clockwork soldiers that were built to help Valencia win the Polarian War. They were highly successful but have since taken over Valencia and have been threatening to take over the entire Spiral. They to not tire, they do not give up, they do not die![[note]]But they break if you hit them hard enough.[[/note]]
* Many [[ExtraOreDinary Steel-type]] ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' belong to this trope (Magnemite and evo's, for example), as well as artificial Pokémon like Porygon and Golett. More prominently are the Paradox Pokémon of ''VideoGame/PokemonViolet'', who all look like mechanized versions of regular Pokémon.

* Many [[ExtraOreDinary Steel-type]] ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' belong to this trope. (Magnemite and evo's, for example) More prominently are the Paradox Pokemon of ''[[Videogame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Pokemon Violet]]'', who all look like mechanized versions of regular Pokemon.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' features [[{{Cyborg}} biomechanical beings]] of a variety of different races [[spoiler: living inside the body of Mata Nui, who in turn is a living HumongousMecha around the size of [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Chouginga Gurren Lagann]]]]. It's a bit unclear, though, how much of their bodies are organic, and how much is mechanical. On the one hand, they can drown, suffocate, are susceptible to poison and mutagens, die of old age, and very explicitly possess souls. On the other hand, enough of their makeup is mechanical that they can't move without their mechanical components, don't reproduce, and don't need food or water (though they are able to eat and drink). Making it even more confusing is that the toys -- and by extension all visual media -- ''look'' purely mechanical, to the point where purely robotic beings like the Vahki are indistinguishable from biomechanical beings.

** [[Characters/NewMutants Warlock's]] people the Technarchs presumably started out getting built by ''somebody,'' but they haven't answered to anybody else in a very, very long time. When organic beings get [[TheVirus infected]] with Technarchy nanotech, the resultant [[{{Cyborg}} "techno-organic"]] beings are called Phalanx.

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' features many "Mechanosystems" both Terragen and Xenosophont in origin. Including one named Stanislaw. The intelligent machines generally prefer to be called "vecs" (the term derives from AI researcher Hans Morovec), though, as "robot" implies non-sapience.

* In the book ''Literature/AllTomorrows'' by Nemo Ramjet, a species of genetically engineered humans known as Ruin Haunters "evolves" itself into robots known as [[http://www.sivatherium.narod.ru/library/Ramjet/07_en.htm Gravital]] as their planet's sun begins to expand. They have no real definite shape and have human-level intelligence, individual personalities and opinions (having evolved from an organic human species). Although explained as not being "evil" they "simply did not acknowledge the life of their organic cousins", and [[OmnicidalManiac began wiping out all life in the galaxy]]. They ruled with an [[IncrediblyLamePun iron]] tentacle for 50 ''million'' years. Eventually they wage war with [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot insect-like human space-gods]] and are defeated. Afterwards, they simply become "normal" citizens of the New Empire but are [[FantasticRacism usually discriminated against]] due to the "sins of their fathers".

** ...whose [[IncrediblyLamePun motherboard]], the planet from which they were created, was ''already'' sentient (although [[AndIMustScream completely lacking in sensory apparatus]]) before a certain wizard-on-Ordeal started messing with things. Also, the mobiles in question are [[RuleOfCute unutterably adorable]].

* The {{Precursors}} in Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' went through a stage of this as a part of their self-guided evolution, before going onward into EnergyBeings.

* In [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]'s [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] novels, the Culture rates any lifeform, biological or machine, at a given level of intelligence to be a sapient creature, including the Minds that operate ships and colonies and run the Culture itself, Drones (for whom the word "robot" is inadequate) and some spacesuits. And some weapons.

* The unexpected occurrence of this trope is the theme of Phillip K. Dick's short story "The Second Variety".
* The Franchise/StarWarsLegends claim that the reason [[Literature/NewJediOrder the Yuuzhan Vong]] use exclusively OrganicTechnology and hate inorganic tech is that their home galaxy was once overrun by two warring races of droids called the Silentium and the Abominor. The Vong nearly exterminated them, but there are a small handful of refugees from each race in the Star Wars Galaxy -- the two most prominent being Lando's RobotBuddy [[Literature/TheLandoCalrissianAdventures Vuffi Raa]], who is a Silentium; and a hulking Abominor named [[WesternAnimation/{{Droids}} the Great Heep]] who once threatened Artoo and Threepio.

* Terry Bisson's ''[[http://www.terrybisson.com/page6/page6.html They're Made of Meat]]'' is a short story which is entirely dialogue by aliens discussing their latest discovery: The messages they've recently encountered have originated from a planet which they're currently investigating, and it appears to originate from, well, ''meat''. The creatures are made of meat. Not creatures that are ''part'' meat, not creatures that go through a meat ''phase'', but creatures who live their entire (horribly short) lives in a stage of complete and utter meat. What's more, the messages are made by -- you know how you can make a sound by hitting one piece of meat against another? They send out whole messages made entirely of meat-flapping sounds. Ghastly. [[spoiler: They're talking about humans.]]

* An interesting case in Creator/IsaacAsimov's short story "Victory Unintentional", where humans send three highly-durable robots to [[ScienceMarchesOn the surface of Jupiter]] in order to study the Jovians (an advanced race that evolved on the planet), who wish to destroy humanity. After a series of mishaps, during which the aliens note the robots' durability, they sue for peace. The robots realize that they never told the Jovians that they were artificial lifeforms. The Jovians simply assumed that all humans are extremely tough mechanical organisms.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': In the ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' series of books, a hive world (urban planet) is infested with robotic ravens of uncertain origin, known as [[MeaningfulName The Unkindness]], whose role appears to be simply to clean up rubbish from the ecosystem. However, it later transpires that a secret society knows how to control them, using them to kill their enemies and strip their bodies down to skeletons.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'': The Cylons (which stands for [=CYbernetic=] Lifeform Node), especially in the new series where they are going organic. A bit different to some of the other entries as they make the transition from machine to living race within the timeframe of the setting. Interestingly no one on the Battlestar Galactica, no matter how much they hate the crazy toasters, ever seems to question the fact that they are alive and sentient.