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7[[quoteright:206:[[ComicBook/JohnnyTurbo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nothumanedit_7705.JPG]]]]
8[[caption-width-right:206:Johnny Turbo's unprovoked attack on FEKA is [[http://sardoose.rustedlogic.net/reviews/jturbo/index.htm vindicated.]]]]
9
10->''"It's not people we're fighting against here, but simply animals."''
11-->-- '''Diary of Wilhelm Prüller''', ''[[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Heer]]'' soldier, written in {{UsefulNotes/Belarus}} on 4/7/1941 [[note]] translated by H.C.Robbins Landon[[/note]]
12
13TheReveal that a villain is actually [[EvilMakesYouMonstrous not even human]] ([[WasOnceAMan or at least not anymore]]) but rather a monster, alien, [[RoboticReveal robot]], or some other manner of [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman non-human, and thus evil and okay to kill after all]].
14
15This specific trope tends to fall into {{camp}} territory, because usually this revelation is made without any kind of {{foreshadowing}} or even any particular relevance to the plot — you can remove the plot twist and the rest of the story will still make sense. Like KickTheDog, the main purpose here is to remove any doubt about whether the bad guys were [[AlwaysChaoticEvil really evil]] and killable.
16
17See WhatMeasureIsANonCute and WhatMeasureIsANonHuman
18
19This phrase actually shows up in comics a fair amount used by villains against heroes who are not technically human. Of course, from the reader's perspective, they always fall on our side of WhatMeasureIsANonHuman, so it just makes it seem like sadism for being willing to torture a sapient being. If your hero is the one shocked by their ''own'' non-human status, they might have just seen the TomatoInTheMirror.
20
21Can overlap with OneWingedAngel when the character's transformation is what results when TheGlovesComeOff, or when they reveal that [[IAmNotLeftHanded They Are Not Left-Handed]], during a climactic confrontation.
22
23When someone denies the humanity of genuinely human enemies in order to justify violence or mistreatment against them, it's {{dehumanization}} instead. The overlap between the two tropes can occasionally give this one UnfortunateImplications.
24
25It should go without saying, but this page is loaded with spoilers. But as mentioned above, none of these plot points are particularly relevant overall, so don't fret too much about it.
26
27{{Subtrope}} of {{Dehumanization}}. This trope is the inverse of ItCanThink.
28
29Compare JustAMachine, which deals with this trope specifically for robots. Contrast TheManBehindTheMonsters, where everyone ''but'' the leader is a non-human, and HumanAllAlong, when what initially was thought of as a monster turns out to be a human.
30
31----
32!!Examples:
33
34[[foldercontrol]]
35
36[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
37* In the second movie of ''Manga/ArpeggioOfBlueSteel Cadenza DC'', one of {{The Reveal}}s is that [[spoiler:the "Shouzou Chihaya" with Musashi is not actually the real Shouzou, who had been killed a long time ago, but merely a nanomaterial-made puppet with no will of its own.]]
38* The final episode of ''Anime/BurstAngel''. Turns out that an AncientConspiracy is behind everything. Yeah, that's quite an AssPull.
39* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', [[spoiler:it turns out that the Major is a full-conversion cyborg. However, he still claims humanity on account of both still having a human brain and never engaging in [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism]]. Besides, his enemies would be perfectly willing to kill him anyway even if he were human, since he's still a Nazi nutjob leading an army of artificial vampires against London itself.]]
40* ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' pulls [[spoiler:an inversion [[TheReveal reveal]] when it turns out the Jovians are really rebellious colonists with a lot of ImportedAlienPhlebotinum. This just turns Akito from "scared" to "pissed off"]]. In this case, it actually ''is'' an important plot point.
41* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', when Naruto powers his way into the 4th Ninja War, he's told that the enemy army consists of plant-monsters and undead ninja. His response is basically, "Good! Now I don't have to hold back!" In this case, it's more a matter of "The enemy won't die so I can beat on them with impunity." For the rest of the fighters though, it's downplayed, because many of the resurrected fighters are people that their opponents knew, such as [[spoiler: Zabuza and Haku, Asuma, and the previous generation of Kage who served as mentors to the current holders]] can't bring themselves to dehumanize their opponents to the point of killing intent, which is only made harder because while their bodies are coming at them with killing intent, their personalities are still very much free.
42* This ''may'' be the case with ''Manga/OnePiece'''s Kaido of the Beasts. As one of the Four Emperors, he's definitely a contender for WorldsStrongestMan... but no one ever refers to him as a 'man'. He's called the strongest "creature" in existence (Whitebeard was the "strongest man"), and Charlotte Linlin (herself an Emperor) refers to him as "that thing". He has also shown the ability to turn into a gigantic eastern dragon.
43* Inverted in ''Anime/{{Vandread}}''. The idea of ''harvesting body parts from humans'' is so repulsive to the main characters that they assume their foes cannot be human. [[spoiler:They ''are'' human, and from ''Earth'' to boot.]]
44* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' pulls a very minor example of this near the end, when [[spoiler: the reveal that Yusuke is actually descended from one of the most powerful demons serves as the DeusExMachina that allows him to defeat [[PersonOfMassDestruction Sensui]]. This is explored more fully in the following arc but it's rushed through so quickly that the revelation can still come across as little more than an excuse to resolve the previous conflict, making it a partial example of this trope. It also helps that there is no foreshadowing for any of this, sure Yusuke had been gaining power at an abnormal rate but pure-blooded humans becoming absurdly strong through mere training doesn't appear to be that rare in the setting.]]
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Comic Books]]
48* One of the old ''ComicBook/JohnnyTurbo'' comics ends with this revelation against the strawman "Feka" corporation. Actually somewhat necessary to inflame the reader and [[DisproportionateRetribution justify Johnny Turbo's excessive violence]], since the only crime Feka commits during the comics is doling out inaccurate information about video game systems. And making little kids cry by doing so. Amusingly, the RoboticReveal only comes about ''because'' of said excessive violence, making it utterly ineffective as a justification.
49* Shortly after [[ComicBook/Marvel2099 Doom 2099]] has taken over the US, he learns that Avatarr, CEO of Alchemax and one of the main {{Big Bad}}s of the 2099 universe, is, in fact, an alien trying to rule the world via {{Mega Corp}}s. Of course, Doom only learned this after he [[EyeScream shot the guy's eye out.]]
50* Doctor Doom in countless appearances anywhere in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse will [[ActuallyADoombot turn out to be a Doombot]].
51** In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', [[spoiler: it was a Doombot working for Ultron.]]
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder:Fan Works]]
55* In ''Fanfic/ABetterWordThanHumanity'' the T.C.R.I. are notably surprised and fascinated by Leonardo demonstrating enough humanity to attempt to annoy them, making it implictly clear neither of the Hamatos under their "care" are considered actually equal to a human in the process.
56* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': {{Subverted}} in this ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' fanfiction. When Nadezhda finds out that the baby she's carrying isn't exactly a human offspring and is related to Ghidorah (see [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonTitansAndOtherCreatures the spoiler folder]]), that doesn't make her view it any less as her child, and she's determined to carry the pregnancy to term.
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
60* The film ''Film/ThreeHundred'' uses this in one of the scenes where the Spartans are fighting the Immortals. A Spartan rips off an Immortal's mask to reveal that... They're Not Even Human! There's no suggestion anywhere else in either the plot or actual history that the Immortals were anything but, you know, just humans, albeit ones working for the supposedly evil Persian Empire. Or it's blatant propaganda by an UnreliableNarrator.
61* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': A variation. The revelation that [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] [[spoiler:is actually an alien in origin rather than a terrestrial {{Kaiju}}]] certainly has shades of this. This movie portrays the {{Kaiju}} as ultimately being essential to the maintenance of Earth's ecology and by extension humanity's long-term survival despite the damage they can cause to humans, but since Ghidorah [[spoiler:has no place in Earth's natural order as an invasive extraterrestrial]], his continued presence on Earth causes the complete opposite of ecological restoration, nevermind the fact that he's genuinely malicious and [[KillAllHumans wants the human race to die screaming]]. This makes the cast's subsequent efforts to save the world by helping Godzilla to kill Ghidorah completely justifiable according to the movie's aesop.
62* ''Film/TheLawnmowerMan'' brings up the trope by name near the end (though not as a surprise, just underlining how far he's gone).
63* The ''Film/LostInSpace'' movie -- actually, it's a case of the villain ''becoming'' a monster, but it has the same basic results, very baldly stated.
64* At the end of ''Film/ThePresidentsAnalyst'' the good guys storm [[spoiler: The Phone Company]] headquarters to rescue Dr. Schaefer. When the backup power comes on, they realize the TPC president is sitting nearby as he starts to politely admonish them for breaking in. After a few uncertain moments they realize, to their amusement, that he's an automaton.
65-->'''Don''': He's a ''recording!''
66-->'''Kropotkin''': It's like a visit with Abe Lincoln at Disneyland!
67* ''Film/{{Stargate}}''. While Ra was a long-lived alien in a human body, his {{Mooks}} were humans, and it never stops anyone, in the movie or shows. (Not that it isn't justified in these cases: they shoot back when shot at. It's just that Ra didn't become more killable by proving non-human: ThouShaltNotKill was never in effect.)
68* ''Film/TheyLive'' reveals the capitalists in Reagan era America are really [[SkullForAHead Skullfaced]] aliens using a satellite signal to hide their true appearance.
69* Inversion: ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior''. The fact that the ImAHumanitarian monstrous attackers are human prompts the hero (and by extension, the audience) to be more horrified than when we thought they were monsters. After all, people have a choice. More importantly, it took away the attacker's best advantage; they went to considerable lengths to create the impression they were supernatural creatures (only attacking in the mist, wearing shape-obscuring costumes that resemble humanoid bears, weapons designed to give wounds resembling claw marks, carrying off their dead so it seems like they never take losses) and the vikings are ''terrified'' of them. Once they realized they were facing mortal men the vikings were able to mount a successful defense. Played straight later on; the hero finds some skeletons and realizes from the shape of the skulls that he was wrong and they're not human after all. The book makes it clear they are a remnant Neanderthal population.
70* The sadly bungled movie ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'': [[spoiler:in the final fight, Daxus turns out to be a "vampire" like Violet herself. Except that in the book, he just had night-vision goggles.]]
71* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': "Holy smoke, he's a toon!" Normal toons aren't evil, but the reveal that the villain is one as well makes him both inhuman and much scarier in hindsight. He has been gleefully Dipping his own kind, and actually invented the chemical mixture that rendered his essentially-indestructible fellows vulnerable. Meaning this makes him even ''more'' of a monster than had he been human.
72** Also crosses with OneWingedAngel because up until the steamroller an ending in which the police show up and arrest him was reasonable. It's already clear he doesn't have the psychological vulnerabilities which allow a toon to be restrained, and the revelation (complete with turning his body parts into power tools) pretty much puts him beyond imprisonment or subdual entirely.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Literature]]
76* Inverted in an early Creator/HPLovecraft story, "The Beast in the Cave", in which a man lost in a pitch-black cave hears something large and mysterious shuffling nearby and kills it with a rock. When his guide returns with a lantern to find him, they realize that the dying creature is a human being who'd been wandering in the cave for years, degenerating into an ape-like state.
77* The White Witch from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' is actually [[OurGeniesAreDifferent half Jinn]] and [[OurGiantsAreBigger half Giant]].
78** In ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', the Green Witch turns into a giant snake, at which point Rilian believes it's all right to kill her. Though this isn't just because she's no longer human, but because she's no longer a human woman; Rilian WouldntHitAGirl.
79* It is emphasized in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' that Voldemort, while born a human, has ''made'' himself less than human in some ways. Namely, by splitting his soul into multiple pieces, and to a lesser extent, by drinking unicorn blood.
80* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novels:
81** In the climax of ''Literature/TheBrothersWar'', it's revealed that Urza's brother Mishra has been cyborgified, showing Urza that there's no hope left for peace or even victory. Foreshadowed earlier, plus there's the fact that the BigBad himself is an even-more-advanced cyborg. Cue most awesome scene of mass destruction ever.
82** Similarly, in the prequel novel ''Literature/TheThran'', Yawgmoth's troops in the final battles are bizarre {{Magitek}} cyborgs, including some former colleagues of the main characters.
83** Later, in ''Planeswalker'', Urza is trying to eliminate Sleepers, Phyrexian [[ArtificialHuman artificial humans]] secretly infiltrating the population of his home world of Dominaria. Heck, ''Planeswalker'' proved that Yawgmoth was most definitely asleep at the helm, er, hub, of Phyrexia when the first batch of Newts were made. The kicker -- somehow, despite having once been fully physical and human himself, a few millennia ago, Gix managed to forget that humans have different genders and reproductive, as well as waste, systems. The entire first batch of Newts (the Sleepers) looked human, but mostly teenaged boyish, with no genitals whatsoever -- and glistening oil for blood. Way to go there, Gix, you schlep. This was improved on in later batches, of course, but this mistake proved costly for Gix...
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
87* Said word-for-word by Detective Mike Cellucci in ''Series/BloodTies2007'' to [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Henry Fitzroy]] after figuring out what he is. He says it with such disdain that Henry performs a NeckLift on him in anger.
88* Happens with individuals often enough on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' that people eventually stop being surprised by it. It plays an important part in the episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E11Ted Ted]]", specifically.
89* It appears rather often on ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', and in one case the whole episode ("Mr. and Mrs. Witch") plays itself out without the Charmed Sisters ever becoming aware of it. The MonsterOfTheWeek is in fact a demon, but he appears to be a human CorruptCorporateExecutive. The demon is quite aware that the Charmed Ones won't kill him as long as they think he's human, and in fact the Charmed Ones never do find out. The demon is still vanquished by his superiors for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing to accomplish their evil plan,]] and, in fact, the Charmed Sisters read about this evil executive's "suicide" in the newspaper, without ever being the wiser that this was a demon who they could have dealt with by vanquishing him.
90
91* MonsterOfTheWeek Science Fiction shows have a tradition of inverting the trope. The main cast will assume they're facing yet another supernatural creature, and are shocked when they discover [[{{Mundanger}} it was normal humans all along]].
92** The ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' episode [[spoiler:"Countrycide"]] features a CannibalClan living in a small town as villains, with no aliens or alien tech present in the story. The audience surrogate, Police Constable Gwen Cooper, was much better at handling the revelation of the existence of aliens than that humans could be so terrible.
93** The ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[spoiler:"The Benders,"]] when it turns out that a family of hillbillies has been abducting and killing people. Dean said it best:
94-->'''Dean''': Demons I get. People are just crazy.
95** The homicidal inbreds from ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Home" weren't supernatural or robots or anything else non-fictional. They just had a whole lot of genetic defects that exist in real life.
96* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' tries to resolve ThouShaltNotKill with Clark [[spoiler:destroying Brainiac]] by invoking this trope. It's just [[spoiler:a machine]] after all, despite all the characterization and its struggle to survive, right? Nicely accounts for Superman's irrational commitment to the idea that machines are never people, though.
97** Averted with [[spoiler: Doomsday. Everybody else is trying to convince Clark that his true form is a mindless killing machine, but Clark refuses to give up on the fact that there's a perfectly ordinary human/Kryptonian/something that would be killed in the process.]]
98* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Downplayed in "Fresh Blood". [[spoiler:Gordon Walker]] ''was'' human when we first saw him, but he had to be turned into a vampire to make it okay for Sam to chop his head off.
99* Played straight AND inverted in an episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002''. A team of commandos is hunting a monster called the "Creetur" in the forest. Said monster is very cunning and manages to kill all but one of the commandos, who is captured and taken to its lair. Turns out the monster is really a disheveled human. The reason why he's hunting people? The commandos, the people in the city, ''everyone'' is really an android. They overthrew humans long ago and copied their society. "Creetur" isn't derived from "creature" but "creator."
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Toys]]
103* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', Kiina and Ackar are reluctant to kill the seemingly-humanoid Rahkshi. However, after one attacks Kiina, Ackar decapitates it and its [[WetwareCPU Kraata]] falls out, revealing that "They're just slugs in armour". Our heroes have no problem hacking them to pieces after that.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Video Games]]
107* Censorship laws in certain countries, most notably Germany, turn VideoGames which originally had human opponents into this trope: the enemies ''look'' human, but it quickly becomes clear that they're not. And by "clear", we mean they [[BlackBlood palette-swapped all of the blood]] from red to green. So perhaps they're really Vulcans?
108* Nearly every antagonist human being in the second ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' game turns into a monster of some sort before fighting the main characters: [[TheEmpire Romalia]] turned most if not all of its troops into monstrous super-soldiers (granted, this was the only way to give them a shot against [[PersonOfMassDestruction Arc, Gogen, Elc]] and their [[BadassCrew merry band]] of [[MadeOfIron nearly unkillable]] [[OneManArmy warriors]]). Then [[PlayerPunch the player]] realize that, thanks to its very liberal use of {{Mind Control Device}}s and other [[PoliceState coercive tricks]], [[FridgeHorror most of the enemies the heroes killed]] were either drafted or had [[BrainwashedAndCrazy their free will destroyed]], including [[spoiler: the orphans turned monsters [[WhatTheHellHero slaughtered by Elc & co]] in the White House laboratories]]. Twilight of the Spirits, the fourth game in the series twists the knife even more by showing that without Romalia's {{Mind Control Device}}s, the human turned monsters regained their full sentience and even [[spoiler: were still biologically fully human and able to procreate with normal humans]]: in other words, the monsters were actually [[SubvertedTrope still completely human under their monstrous appearance]], most of them were either drafted soldiers or [[spoiler: helpless, terrified, and completelly blameless children used as guinea pigs by [[EvilutionaryBiologist Romalia's scientists]] ]].
109* Almost all of the human(oid) villains in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' reveal themselves to be some kinda of monster before they're fought. For example a Crooked arena organizer turns into a two headed humanoid wolf when challenged.
110* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard 3}}'' puts this trope to disturbing effect in Four's DLC story. She sets out on her dragon mount Gabriella to shoot down some pirate ships, [[spoiler:only for it to become clear that the ships are full of elves desperately trying to flee. Gabriella calls out Four on this but Four replies cheerfully that they're not human so they have to be evil, and it's fine -- necessary, ''laudable'' even -- to kill evil people. Which she does. All this ends up making it perfectly clear how [[TautologicalTemplar twisted Four's moral code]] really is.]]
111* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'': Mickey and [[ExpositionFairy Gus]] get quite a shock when they find out [[spoiler: the Mad Doctor has turned himself into a [[ClockworkCreature Beetleworx]]. He claims to have done this so that, when the Blot [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt absorbs all of Wasteland's paint]] he will survive.]]
112* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. [[spoiler:President John Henry Eden, crapshooting AI at your service. Not even a humanoid robot, just a monolithic computer with delusions of grandeur]].
113** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}''. [[spoiler:The Shi Emperor.]]
114** Not that VideoGame/{{Fallout}} as a series has anything against [[KarmaMeter good]] characters killing humans left, right and center...
115*** But only as long as it's in self defense (at least most of the time). Still, considering that out in the open wastes, essentially everything is trying to kill you, and preemptive strikes are a valid tactic...
116*** Especially if said humans are pretty scummy themselves, like the [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slavers]] of Paradise Falls.
117** In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', if you side against him, [[spoiler: Mr. House]] qualifies, as the game classifies him as an Abomination rather than a human when you [[spoiler: open up his isolation chamber and encounter his 200-year-old shriveled up body, which you have to destroy to kill him]].
118* The first ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' has the leader of the mostly human Dolhr be a huge monstrous Earth Dragon. He has a humanoid form but even that has a [[LooksLikeOrlok somewhat inhuman appearance]].
119* This was originally planned to happen to Breen in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', revealing that he had become an immortal cyborg in the final battle. This was ultimately scrapped, although some fans speculate that he may have been turned into an Advisor.
120* Quoted by [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' to Sovereign. (Full quote: "You're not even alive. Not really. You're JustAMachine and ''machines can be broken''!") Sovereign, being [[spoiler: the vanguard of an entire species of [[EldritchAbomination MechaCthulhus]]]], is unimpressed.
121** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:all the Cerberus troops you fight in the game have been given Reaper implants that make them resemble [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Husks]], just to set the tone for all the {{Mook Horror Show}}s you'll be inflicting upon them in the rest of the game]].
122* Subverted in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2''. In the final battle, Dr. Wily reveals himself to be an alien of some sort, but after defeating him you find that the alien was really just a hologram that Wily controlled from a machine in the corner of the room.
123* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', where it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Alex Mercer you play as is just [[TomatoInTheMirror viral biomass that inhabited Mercer's corpse and thus believed itself to be him]]; the real Mercer is dead]]. So the [[spoiler:''hero'', or at least [[SociopathicHero the lesser evil]] was Not Even Human]].
124-->[[spoiler: '''Alex Mercer:''' I'm not human. The revelation...it freed me. It killed me. I'm not human. ''(uneasy chuckle)'' Alex is just the role I play. Part of me was relieved. And part of me died. Just another disguise, right? So ingrained. So real. Even I believe it.]]
125** [[spoiler:Of course, this is subverted by the human Alex Mercer being worse than the Blacklight version.]]
126* ''Franchise/SamAndMax Season 1'': [[spoiler: The BigBad Hugh Bliss turns out to be a colony of sentient bacteria.]]
127* Any doubt Heather had about killing Leonard Wolf in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' is dispelled when it turns out he was not only an [[FreudianExcuse abusive father to the]] BigBad, but also a giant fish person. Of course, it is later hinted that [[spoiler:''every'' creature Heather killed was human, no matter how monstrous, and that she had only convinced herself otherwise.]]
128* ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge'', the [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canonical]] NES sequel to the original ''VideoGame/MetalGear'', has Big Boss revealing at the end that he was forced to undergo a transformation into a cyborg in order to survive the injuries he sustained in the first game.
129** ''Metal Gear 2'' for the [=MSX2=], the canonical sequel, parodies this by having a character gossiping that Big Boss may had become a cyborg and then subverts it by having Big Boss killed with a mere makeshift flamethrower.
130* In ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'', the evil General Zetta appears to have the ability to shoot magical balls of energy out of his hands and blocks bullets with his mind. Turn on your spectral vision, though, and you see he's really a giant slug monster; apparently being exposed to the Black Sun dimension turned him into that.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:Webcomics]]
134* Inverted in ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', when the creepy figures with black speech bubbles serving a buried god are revealed to be ordinary living hyenas. This causes some complication for the surface-dwelling hyenas, since it means that a tribe member who was killed by the god's servants needs to be properly avenged, which requires some unusual LoopholeAbuse to achieve.
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:WebOriginal]]
138* In WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum, anyone who breaks established rules often shows signs of being a HumanoidAbomination.
139* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' the Endbringers were originally believed to be parahumans whose powers had twisted their bodies and minds into monsters. Tattletale realizes while watching Leviathan that they were never human. [[spoiler:The same applies to Scion]].
140** [[spoiler:Echidna]] was originally a human, but by the time she's killed her power has essentially consumed her. All that remained of [[spoiler:Noelle]] were the memories and a grudge.
141** [[spoiler:The Siberian]] was a bogeyman due to being completely untouchable. The realization that she was a [[spoiler:projection]] was a major shift in her perception and how she could be fought.
142[[/folder]]
143
144[[folder:Western Animation]]
145* A ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode has people being replaced by robots. Batman doesn't realize until he pushes Bullock into a spotlight and ''electrocutes him.'' The commentary for the episode even points it out.
146* The climax of the '94 animated ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' series is a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown between Major Adam Steiner and Star Colonel Nicolai Malthus. Malthus [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps]] Steiner's mech, Steiner fakes Malthus out with an empty escape pod, then [[ColossusClimb Colossus Climbs]] Malthus's mech and sabotages it. During the ensuing replay with GoodOldFisticuffs, [[TalkingIsAFreeAction Malthus informs Steiner as to the meaning of the epithet he's been spitting for twelve episodes.]] Steiner is a "freebirth": born of a random match between individuals, where Malthus is a "truebirth": cultivated from [[DesignerBabies carefully selected genetic material]] and gestated in a [[PeopleJars controlled environment.]] Steiner's response is to name the trope with disgust. He suckers the Designer Baby into grabbing a live wire and stands there watching him fry, then [[SaveTheVillain spares him]] and claims victory.
147* Oogie Boogie from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' dies shortly after TheReveal that he's only a big colony of bugs ''pretending'' to be a person. With slight WhatMeasureIsANonHuman issues, though, since those seem to be talking bugs anyway.
148* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' ostensibly-human enemy Roach Coach was dropped from a massive height, provoking a scared response about how it's not okay for them to kill humans. Then he's revealed to be an intelligent roach manning a human robot. He survived the fall, so they decide to keep him a jar.
149* This was the main topic of the penultimate episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' 2nd season when [[spoiler: it turned out that the Saturday's ArchEnemy V.V. Argost was actually a cryptid in disguise. Not just any cryptid either. He was in fact the same Yeti who slaughtered Drew and Doyle's parents and made them orphans.]]
150* ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'': "Robots? Let's rock!"
151** [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 The newer incarnation]] has an even bigger shock than that when it was revealed [[spoiler: that the Shredder was actually an alien squid inside a robot body.]]
152** In the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 Nickelodeon]] series the Turtles have a lot of difficulty taking down a bunch of surprisingly tough guys in suits. Mikey only finds that they're robots when he's cornered by one and lashes out with his hidden blade in self defense. Once all the turtle s are aware that they're robots they're much easier to defeat. Inverted with the Footbots, the ordinary human members start quitting after being beaten by the turtles so often so they're replaced with robots, who conceal lots of saw blades and are tougher to defeat in general.
153* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTroubleInTokyo'', Robin apparently kills one of Brushogun's {{mooks}}. When he gets arrested for the act, he tries to play this angle without success.
154-->'''Robin:''' But he wasn't even human!\
155'''Cop:''' Neither are [[HumanoidAliens most]] [[HalfHumanHybrid of]] [[{{Cyborg}} your]] [[VoluntaryShapeshifting friends]].
156** However, Robin's guilt is gone once it's discovered the creature was nothing but an animated drawing. Later, they are fighting the BigBad's apparently human army of mooks...once a hit reveals them to be drawings as well, the Titans say "no need to hold back", and don't.
157** Earlier in the series, the team fights armored agents of Slade, and later is shocked to find out that they're actually robots.
158*** This references an incident early in the ''New ComicBook/TeenTitans'' comic book. Starfire, newly arrived on Earth and before learning the language, is involved in the Titans' action against some apparent drug smugglers: she blasts them to pieces. Tackled to the ground by Robin, she kisses him and learns the language. The point was that she casually killed several minor villains, who providentially turned out to be robots.
159* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', there are a few instances of MechaMooks looking human at first, and the heroes having to [[ThouShaltNotKill pull their punches]]... until one gets hit a little too hard, [[RoboticReveal shows circuitry]]... and the heroes realize that they can smash and bash at will. (Wolverine ''loves'' discovering MechaMooks, as it let him act more like his comic-book self who got to slice up ''real'' {{Mooks}}.)
160[[/folder]]
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