History Main / MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch

** A good example would be Vir, a Centauri who is eager for social reform and uninterested in status or advancement in society while being genuinely interested in exchanging cultural ideas with other aliens. [[spoiler:He later becomes the Emperor that lead the Centauri Republic into being a valued equal member of the alliance]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010''; This is more of a cultural example instead of species, but the principle is the same: Vikings are warriors obsessed with fighting and killing dragons. Hiccup, the protagonist, is a weak but smart kid that finds himself unable to do this. He can't fight the conventional way, so he builds a device to shoot at them. It knocks TheDreaded Night Fury out of the sky, which leads to the rest of the plot.

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon:'' This is more of a cultural example instead of species, but the principle is the same: Vikings are warriors obsessed with fighting and killing dragons. Hiccup, the protagonist, is a weak but smart kid that finds himself unable to do this. He can't fight the conventional way, so he builds a device to shoot at them. It knocks TheDreaded Night Fury out of the sky, which leads to the rest of the plot.

** ''VideoGame/PuzzleAndDragons: VideoGame/SuperMarioBros Edition'', naturally, uses the base mechanics of the series in question, so it allows the player to recruit normally antagonistic characters like Koopas or Cheep Cheeps to fight on their side.

* ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' is the deconstruction of this trope.

* ''[[Animation/TheMindsEye Odyssey Into the Mind's Eye]]'' features this with a factory full of ''hammers''. Apparently, one hammer got tired of the same, stale rhythm and decided to bust out his own beat, turning himself into a red mallet in the process. The other hammers realize this and pause just to deliver a DeathGlare (fairly impressive considering they don't even have faces). He is cowed into returning to the regular beat. [[BrickJoke Until the end,]] whereupon he resumes his outlandish beat without any concern for what his fellow hammers think.

* Deconstructed in ''Film/{{Bright}}'': Thousands of years ago, orcs were servants to an EvilOverlord except for one named [[MessianicArchetype Jirak]], who would unite the Free Peoples against the dark lord. Despite an orc being the one to have saved the world, the other peoples would focus on orcs' actions as a whole, instead of just one exceptional individual that was the "good orc", resulting in thousands of years of their race being despised and discriminated. In modern times, they are pretty much second-class citizens (at least in Los Angeles) and [[FantasticRacism still treated]] as an AlwaysChaoticEvil, specially by humans and elves.

* Much time in ''Series/BabylonFive'' was spent showcasing how all the seemingly [[PlanetOfHats hat-like races]] are really more several individuals than anything else (well, at least the major races), meaning that this trope isn't really that applicable.
** One big exception would be Vir, a Centauri who is pro-social reform and uninterested in status or advancement in society while being genuinely interested in exchanging cultural ideas with other aliens. [[spoiler:He later becomes emperor of what is presumably a less asshatty Centauri Republic]].
*** The Centauri courtesan slave Adira points out that not all Centauri engage in digging up dirt on others to gain leverage on friend and foe alike. Trakis--her master, a Golian who was once a slave of the Centauri himself and clearly takes sadistic pleasure in being able to legally own one--points out that such people tend to be at the lower rungs of Centauri society, like her.[[note]]Londo eventually sees the error of the Centauri way, and [[ThanatosGambit engineers his own death to ensure that Vir gets the throne.]][[/note]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' Rick C-137 is this, at least to the extent all the Ricks could be considered a "race". According to one of the Counsel of Ricks, he's a rogue Rick whose irrational and passionate, and unlike all the other Ricks, he actually does seem to (albeit ''very'' deep down) actually care about Morty and his family. "Doofus" Rick as well, for being apparently the only Rick to be kind and friendly, and the TokenGoodTeammate of The Citadel. Of course, the opposite may hold true instead, with the Citadel of Ricks being this to the rest of "Rick-kind" for preferring a structured life on The Citadel as opposed to anarchic existence, and Rick C-137 being an example of the norm for all Ricks. [[MindScrew Take your pick.]]

** In an early script for [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS4E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]], the [[SpacePolice Shadow Proclamation]] was supposed to have members belonging to races who'd previously tried to invade Earth but they were cut for budget reasons. It's unspecified if they were rare good members of villainous races or if it's a Slitheen scenario where the invaders were criminal members of benevolent species.

* ''LightNovel/NoGameNoLife'': Elves tend to vary between self-righteous dicks and racist slavers. Feel holds with none of that, and her best friend is a human who is supposed to be her slave but is really the dominant one in their relationship. When Shiro and Soren ask Feel her opinion on their plan, which would disrupt elven society and endanger the entire species, Feel cheerfully says that she doesn't care if every one of those assholes dies.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

*** In one ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode, we meet a Klingon lawyer who laments that the warrior caste had pretty much taken over and bullied the rest of their civilization into being the one-note ProudWarriorRaceGuy stereotype they're associated with.

* Robot examples in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series: E-102 Gamma and E-123 Omega both overcame their evil programming and turned against Doctor Eggman. Gamma freed the other E-series robots and then [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed himself]] to free the Flicky inside him, Omega joined Shadow and Rouge and still fights against Eggman ([[TokenEvilTeammate though calling him "good" is a bit of a stretch]]).

* In ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]'']] [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', Wrex keeps this up as per canon--annoyed that his species insists on continuing to be violent/destructive instead of working to help fight the greater threat. Ultimately, he takes advantage of the AlienInvasion to put himself in charge of whatever comes afterward since most of the species (including the violent ones) were wiped out.

** The Cybermen are all emotionless, computer-controlled slaves... except for the one in "Doomsday", who manages to break her programming and stop the other Cybermen. She was already like a robot before she was Cybermanized though, so they might have just skipped a couple steps in her "upgrade." And then from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' there's Lisa, who [[spoiler:, well... tries. She does try.]] Also [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine Kroton]].

* ''Franchise/StarTrek''
** The prime example would be the Klingons. They talk a lot -- an awful lot -- about how they are a ProudWarriorRace, but virtually any actual Klingon you might meet is almost certainly little better than a street thug. The most famous Klingon, Worf, knows this better than anyone, and it really disappoints him, having idealized his species while growing up in the Federation -- and particularly because, although he could show his emotions more freely, he is otherwise already there: the ideal, moral, honorable, passionate Klingon warrior.
*** This trope is the central premise of the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "A Matter Of Honor", where Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship in an officer exchange program. They don't outright contradict their stereotype, but they're shown in a much more complete and complex light than they had been in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
*** In the ''TNG'' episode "Suspicions", there's a Klingon scientist who has the double stigma within her society because of her profession and her gender, Klingon society being male-dominated.
*** Also used with one of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine's'' recurring background characters, a Klingon ''restaurateur'' of all things who is overweight and loves to serenade his customers with Klingonese folk songs while playing an accordion-like instrument. Not threatening at all. Most of the Klingons we saw before were from at least minor nobility--this is one of the only Klingon commoners we've met.

*** This is most evident in the episode "Profit and Lace" where two Ferengi discuss the emancipation of women, pointing out the extremely obvious fact (even more ridiculous when you consider the Ferengi's "hat" is ''[[HonestJohnsDealership rampant capitalism]]'') that allowing women to make money allows them to ''spend'' money, and opens up all manner of new industries and opportunities for profit (creates more competition, though). It also shows that the Ferengi -- or any other culture -- will change in their own time and their own way, not by having change forced on them from outside.
*** The ''TNG'' episode "Suspicions" had a Ferengi scientist who notes that it's "almost a contradiction in terms" (presumably in that he's part of a scientific community that shares findings with no worry about "profit" -- Ferengi tech ''does'' seem to be up to par with Federation tech throughout ''TNG'')

*** In the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi", we meet a Ferengi who finds more pleasure in fighting and hunting than in latinum. Quark and the others find him very strange for this, but they do acknowledge that he's a great warrior.

*** Same Vulcan problem, different series: the "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" episode from ''[=DS9=]'', in which Capt. Solok's anti-Sisko crusade, supposedly in the name of logic, bears an odd resemblance to the behavior of a schoolyard bully. As many fans have noted, Solok's resemblance to the ''Enterprise''-era Vulcans is far greater than to the more recent (timeline-speaking) incarnations.
*** The issue with the Vulcans is primarily explained by {{Fanon}} and the various novels which assumed that Spock was a typical Vulcan and that his statements of what Vulcans were like is unvarnished truth. In reality, aside from Spock, the Vulcans that were seen in the ''TOS'' episode "Amok Time" demonstrated that Vulcans could be entirely duplicitous and exhibit jealousy and resentment as well as casually planning to have someone killed just to get what they wanted. In ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'' [[spoiler:Valeris]] was proven capable of deceit and murder, and assorted Vulcans in later shows also demonstrated Vulcans were far from perfect. Spock is, in effect, equivalent to Worf in being a bit of an outsider who lives up to the ideals of what his people ''should'' be rather than what they actually are.
** Another strange example are the El-Aurians, Guinan's people. Their hat is supposed to be that they're great listeners, but Guinan is the ''only'' example of this we've seen; the other two El-Aurians we've seen in major roles are ConMan Mazur from the ''[=DS9=]'' episode "Rivals", whose ability to listen is an InformedAttribute (it gets mentioned, but he doesn't come across as especially perceptive) and Soran from ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', who is far too busy being an OmnicidalManiac. Soran boasts of the El-Aurians' listening skills while practicing ColdBloodedTorture on Geordi, so he himself may be unclear on the concept.

*** The ''TNG'' episode "Lower Decks" has a Cardassian officer who's turned informant for the Federation. He explains to another character that his choice wasn't because he supports the Federation over Cardassia, but because he knows that another war with the Federation would not be in Cardassia's best interests. He also understands that while the Federation would never start such a war, there are many within his own government who ''would''.

*** In the ''TNG'' "Unification" two-parter, there's a Romulan underground movement that opposes the Romulan government and supports a peaceful reunification between Romulans and Vulcans. The dissidents are friends and allies of Ambassador Spock.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' includes a rather bizarre example. In the Series 6 episode Rimmerworld, Arnold crash lands on an alien planet and begins cloning himself in order to gain companions. Skip a few hundred years, and the planet's inhabitants wind up revering any and all Rimmer-like behavior, including cowardice, selfishness, and honest to goodness double-dealing two-facedness, with those who deviate from the norm being hunted down. Ironically, it's the original Rimmer who becomes an outcast because he's too un-Rimmer-like.
** "Outcast" is putting it lightly. They tried to ''kill'' him, but he was saved by his HardLight drive so they locked him up instead. After all, he was DeadAllAlong.

* Azrael's Watcher in ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'' - while most of its kind are utterly silent and cryptic, this one is cheerful and ''too'' talkative.
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': SCP-6930, or 'Paty', is a Pattern Screamer, essentially a really pissed off bit of unreality given an imaginary existence (when a human imagination tries to invent something to fill in a void, like seeing patterns in clouds, that's pulling the Pattern Screamer partially into reality). Most Pattern Screamers are serious threats to anything with an imagination, because being forced to exist causes them pain. Paty, on the other hand, chose to become completely part of reality by becoming a virtual youtuber, to the point where existing is no longer painful. The Foundation tries to curtail her career to contain her, but they eventually realize that she's a SheepInSheepsClothing and instead help her become a member of hololive.

Often happens to races who seem at first to be AlwaysChaoticEvil, resulting in them proving themselves to be NotAlwaysEvil thanks to the occasional TokenHeroicOrc. May lead to an EnemyCivilWar as those who reject the hat fight the ones who love it. Despite the fact that the KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect, they may not believe this trope and choose to "rebel" in order to enable their peers to wear their hat.

*** There are a few gnomes whose inventions work. They're known as thinker gnomes(as opposed to the regular ''tinker'' gnomes), and they're sane. (Regular gnomes are supposed to be cursed by Reorx.) Similar are afflicted kender, the ones who survived [[spoiler:Malystrx destroying Kendermore]] and now know fear. They are serious and not childish. One can play as either in the D&D setting, even though AT BEST there's a couple thousand of either.

Related to CulturalRebel, StopBeingStereotypical, and StereotypeFlip. AllOfTheOtherReindeer is a variant of this. SquareRaceRoundClass is when the character's ''job'' (not necessarily their personality) contrasts with expectations of their species. RogueDrone is an instance of this within a HiveMind. Compare FatherIDontWantToFight and ProHumanTranshuman. See also BlackSheep and WhiteSheep. If Bob is seen as more admirable by outsiders for having rejected his hat, YouAreACreditToYourRace may be invoked. When ''every'' member of a race that we see subverts their supposed attribute, it becomes an InformedAttribute.

** In ''Mass Effect 2'', [[spoiler:if Wrex survived the events of the first game, by the time Shepard meets him [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething he's managed to unite the krogans of Tuchanka under him]], [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority attempting to bring his people out of their self-destructive ways]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', most of the diesel engines seem hell-bent on [[FantasicRacism ridding the Island of Sodor of steam engines]]. There are exceptions, though, such as [[NiceGuy BoCo]], [[{{Tomboy}} Mavis]], and [[FriendlyPirate Salty]], the last of whom even makes it clear that he doesn't want any part in the steamies vs. diesels feud.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', most of the diesel engines seem hell-bent on ridding the Island of Sodor of steam engines. There are exceptions, though, such as BoCo, Mavis, and Salty, the last of whom even makes it clear that he doesn't want any part in the steamies vs. diesels feud.

* The Brood in ''ComicBook/XMen''. They are a race of Wasp-like alien insects and [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorphs]] and the Brood are also very well known for being AlwaysChaoticEvil, although there are some exceptions such as [[ComicBook/PlanetHulk No-Name]] of the Warbound and Brood of the The Jean Gray School for Higher Learning are two present-day examples of "benign" Brood. There's also a similar group that exists in Bishop's timeline.