Line #94 Main/TheyLookLikeUsNow


1	%%
2	%%
3	%%
4	%%
5	%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
6	%%
7	%%
8	%%
9	%%
10	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1624653646048147100
11	%% Previous thread:
12	%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1554211799092386900
13	%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1591914814037182600
14	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
15	%%
16	[[quoteright:299:[[Film/TheWitches1990 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/witches_4.png]]]]
17	%%
18	->'''Kyle Reese:''' The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human... sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot. I had to wait till he moved on you before I could zero him.\
19	'''Sarah Connor:''' Look... I am not stupid, you know. They cannot make things like that yet.\
20	'''Kyle Reese:''' Not yet. Not for about 40 years.
21	-->-- ''Film/TheTerminator''
22
23	When humanity makes an enemy of a non-human race, we ''really'' know how to pick 'em. Not only are they unspeakably powerful, they're also really ugly! Eww! The possibilities are very varied. Maybe the aliens are [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute horrid]], [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent reptilian]] creatures, [[RobotRollCall noisy clanking machines]] or twenty meter tall giants. Of course, being so [[BeautyEqualsGoodness ugly]] and [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman inhuman]] it's no surprise they've come to [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill wipe us out]]. Well, the upside for humanity being involved in a (probably losing) war against these creatures is we can at least tell them apart from us humans easily, so they'll never infiltrate our society with spies and saboteurs. That is, until they figure out how to make a MobileSuitHuman, make RidiculouslyHumanRobots, or use PeopleJars to change into human forms.
24
25	Which is what they just figured out: [[TitleDrop they look like us now]].
26
27	[[RoboticReveal The revelation]] will put the entire cast on edge, because they have just discovered the aliens/robots/monsters have developed a [[GlamourFailure (near)]] perfect {{Masquerade}} or disguise. They aren't PuppeteerParasite, able to take control of specific people or pose as them, just able to pose as a human. They are nonetheless much more dangerous because with enough patience they can now infiltrate ''any'' group.
28
29	Expect small groups to [[WitchHunt tear each other apart over mutual accusations of alien-ness]]... just what TheMole wants. For a measure of {{irony}}, the aliens infiltrating humanity to rip it apart from the inside may discover that HumanityIsInfectious... and not in a ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' sense.
30
31	Most of the ShapeShifter tropes and spy tropes apply, with the caveat that things like KillAndReplace and DeadPersonImpersonation can only be used if few people really knew the original, since the impersonator can't mimic specific people. A trope increasingly beloved by Live Action Series, as it neatly avoids the potential SpecialEffectFailure of making robots, aliens etc... [[CoconutSuperpowers and saves money]] on SpecialEffects.
32
33	The trope may be PlayedForLaughs if the non-humans adopt a PaperThinDisguise but still fool people in their persona as "HughMann."
34
35	A {{subtrope}} of HumanDisguise, where non-human creatures pass themselves off as humans. Compare HumanAliens, where aliens just happened to look like humans. A rich source of ParanoiaFuel.
36
37	----
38	!!Examples:
39	[[foldercontrol]]
40
41	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
42	* Inverted in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', when the Jovians -- frequently referred to as "lizards" for much of the first half of the series and depicted as monstrous nonhumans in government propaganda -- turn out to actually be humans, forgotten colonists from Earth.
43	* In the final episode of Season 1 of ''Anime/PacificRimTheBlack'', [[spoiler:Boy]] is revealed to be a humanoid Kaiju, able to shapeshift into a Kaiju form [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry when sufficiently angry]].
44	* ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' and its parent ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' have the Zentraedi, a race of giants who later reveal they can "micronize" to become our size. They send a team of spies into the SDF-1, which [[HumanityIsInfectious backfires horribly]] for their PlanetOfHats culture.
45	** ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'', another series adapted into ''Robotech'', has the Inbit/Invid start recreating themselves in humanized forms, starting with one sent to spy on the protagonists.
46	* The formless JAM in ''Literature/SentouYouseiYukikaze''. In the anime, they start by copying Earth's technology (namely weapons and aircraft) before later moving onto human beings themselves. As it turns out, this is how [[spoiler:the JAM see Rei and Yukikaze]].
47	* In ''Manga/SgtFrog'', higher-ranked Keronian platoons are authorized to use technology that lets them mimic humans almost perfectly. Unfortunately for Keroro, his Rank F squad is forced to rely on a set of [[HughMann dubious robotic suits]].
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Comic Books]]
51	* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': "ComicBook/TheKreeSkrullWar" featured a major panic over this, which (among other things) led to the formation of the Special Committee on Alien Activities. Ironically, it was not the shapeshifting Skrulls who were the main target, but their enemies the Kree--Who could still infiltrate Earth in human guise, because they were HumanAliens.
52	* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'': Both Astrid and Chloe are able to see through the demons' stealth abilities. The demons respond by possessing human hosts without controlling them, which makes them indistinguishable from unaffected humans until they attack.
53	* Malicious Durlans have used their shapeshifting abilities to infiltrate human society, as they did in "ComicBook/{{Invasion\|DC Comics}}". Luckily for the DCU most Durlans are very against the idea of leaving Durla, meaning large scale invasions by the shape-shiftering aliens are not a major concern.
54	* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': The Evronians have [[VoluntaryShapeShifter shapeshifting]] {{Super Soldier}}s just for this ''before'' arriving on Earth. They're used only three times, but each time they're devastating:
55	** The special "The End of the World" shows that one of them, [[ShoutOut Kravenn the Hunter]] infiltrated the Xerbian government and was decisive in the vote that made the Xerbians [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill temporarily deactivate their orbital defences as a sign of peace (the Evronians invaded in that precise moment and overran the planet in a few scant days)]]. The same soldier, who also has a tracking superpower, continues infiltrating Xerbian pockets of resistance in the (failed) attempt to capture a member of the government, going as far as jumping on one of the three evacuation ships;
56	** late in the series, after Xadhoom (a Xerbian who wasn't on the planet for the invasion due an experiment that [[PhysicalGoddess gave her godlike powers]]) has reduced the Evronians to a few scattered remnants, Grrodon (a shape-shifter of a different variant, with no additional abilities aside shape-shifting but considerably more intelligent and autonomous than the average Evronian) infiltrates the US Army to prepare an invasion. He's arrested as a spy... But he's ''never'' outed as an Evronian. In fact his first appearance was in an episode ''set in the twenty-third century'', and he's only found out because Paperinik recognizes the signs of an Evronian weapon and ''he'' drops the disguise;
57	** The 2014 continuation "Might and Power" shows how devastating Grrodon could have been: he broke out of jail and ''built an Evronian army from scratch under everyone's nose''. Had an intervention from the future not forewarned Paperinik, he would have conquered Earth in a month from the start of the attack.
58	** In the reboot, a two-parter starts with a group of shape-shifting Evronians infiltrating a military base. Late in the two-parter the Evronians are invading Earth en-masse and we suddenly find out that ''every single military force on Earth has been incapacitated'', and thus Pk is the only resistance.
59	* ''ComicBook/RomSpaceknight'': The Dire Wraiths.
60	* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': In the storyline "ComicBook/SupergirlsGreatestChallenge", the green-skinned, pointy-eared Chameleon Men shape-shift into human forms to destroy the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes and infiltrate Earth.
61	* This has always been the approach of the [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Skrulls]], the antagonistic alien race found in Creator/MarvelComics, but most of all in the ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' CrisisCrossover.
62	* This was eventually used as part of the FantasticRacism angle in Marvel, to better justify the SupernaturalAngst of the ''ComicBook/XMen''; mutants got a bad enough rep when they were all believed to be deformed and unsightly, but then the humans figured out that some mutants looked perfectly human whilst having superhuman powers...
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Fan Works]]
66	* In ''Fanfic/MassEffectHumanRevolution'' [[spoiler:the Geth Infiltrator]] disguises itself as a human in order to get into Noveria.
67	* The use of humanisation technology in ''Fanfic/{{Pokeumans}}'' allows transformed Pokeumans to resume their old human forms - but only for a few hours. The PRT use these to rescue transforming Pokeumans before Pokextinction get there.
68	* In ''Fanfic/RWBYEpicOfRemnant'', Ivan the Terrible's Noble Phantasm spawns Oprichniki, a sort of false soldier serving as his SecretPolice. When they attack a White Fang mining operation, the defender Bay Lupin is stunned in horror, [[EntertaininglyWrong thinking]] the Grimm have learned to imitate human forms and use of weaponry, especially as they dissolve into darkness when killed and attack in similar ways.
69	* In Creator/{{Vathara}}'s ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2698347/1/Walk-Through-the-Valley Walk Through the Valley]]'' has a rare heroic version. Hiko's people, the Confederacy, are at war with TheFederation, which insists on tearing its women and children screaming from their homes, battering them and turning them over to the [[HumanSubSpecies merrows]] for a form of MindRape called conditioning, which [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul leaves you]] [[HappinessInSlavery happy to do and be whatever the Federation wants you to be]]. It's implied that it leaves you without compassion. The reason they take slaves is to restore the genetic diversity they lost when they became chronically inbred because they were such a small, isolated population. They tell themselves that these gene donors are willing. They also do it to Confederate soldiers, who are dropped back into the units they were pulled from to wreak havoc on their comrades. The only way to prevent yourself from becoming conditioned is to temporarily become a LittleBitBeastly with the help of LegoGenetics, which entails government-approved DNA sequences and extremely complicated life-support equipment that no one uses for anything else. Using claws, etc., means modifying the brain. Ensuring that alterants know when to use them means adding instincts from the species used as a source of DNA. This makes alterants easy to spot, no matter how well the alterations are hidden. They cannot make alterants in mind only; volunteers go mad in weeks. This is where the ookamimoya alterants come in. The ''ookamimoya'' are a species of [[{{EMP}} EM]]-sensitive, lupine predators that live very long lives, have few offspring, which they cherish, a pack with which they share a PsychicLink, extreme distrust of outsiders, incredibly durable bodies, InnateNightVision, AlienHair in the form of sensory tendrils with which they pick up emotions and which move on their own; pelt tendrils that don't; and hidden claws. Ookamimoya ''alterants'' will have sensory tendrils on the scalp the thickness of human hair, eyebrows and eyelashes with tendencies of both pelt and sensory tendrils, zero hair or not-hair elsewhere, Eyes with exotic colors that [[EyeColorChange shift to golden/amber at night/low light conditions]], the ability to sense ''ki'', lack of aging, hidden claws and a strong killer instinct that drive them to kill the conditioned.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
73	* Referenced in ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'', though of course Marty [=McFly=] is perfectly human.
74	-->"It's already mutated into human form!"
75	* Inverted in ''Film/District9'', when the young alien remarks that [[spoiler:Wikus, in the process of transforming into an alien]], "looks the same" as him.
76	* Agents in ''Film/TheMatrix'' take on human forms but are easy to spot due to their choice of attire. Also, in Film/TheMatrixReloaded, [[spoiler:Smith downloads his programming into a human mind in the real world, making him even closer to being human.]]
77	* In ''Film/MenInBlack'', the alien villains do this, but so do many (relatively) friendly aliens, as it is the only way they can live safely on Earth.
78	* ''Film/{{Mimic}}'' was basically about this -- the giant mantis/termite hybrids may not have a perfect disguise, but if you're in poor lighting and not paying attention, they look a ''lot'' like a tall man in a trenchcoat.
79	* Parodied in ''Film/ScaryMovie3''. President Harris worries that the aliens may have started impersonating human beings, then mistakes people with disabilities for the aliens during a memorial ceremony and punches them, throwing the entire event into chaos.
80	* The eponymous robots in ''Film/{{Screamers}}'' started off as small, subterranean weapons; they were deployed on a desert planet torn by war between rival factions. The screamers were produced en masse in an underground, automated facility, which eventually began to develop more advanced models; Type Is were still small robots, but more streamlined. Human models were also developed, including small children, a male adult, and a female adult. Becker, a Type II (adult male), claims he can change his appearance by carving off the faces of humans.
81	* The titular beings in ''Film/StrangeInvaders'' operate in this fashion, concealing their monstrous forms under a human-looking outer covering. They are even able to birth [[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Human Hybrids]] while in this form. Unfortunately, as the decades pass the aliens don't bother keeping up with changing human language and culture, making them very conspicuous and odd despite their camouflaged appearance.
82	* In ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', this is the first time they go ''from'' "noisy clanking machines" to "RidiculouslyHumanRobots" in a ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' film. Skynet explicitly went through several Terminator design evolutions to do this, reaching the fleshy [[Film/TheTerminator T-800]] and ShapeShifter [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay T-1000]] and [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines T-X]].
83	* The {{alien inva\|sion}}ders in ''Film/TheyLive'' use a [[{{Glamour}} cloaking satellite]] to disguise themselves as humans.
84	* ''Film/TheyLookLikePeople'' is about a man who is either having paranoid delusions or is one of the few people to know about "monsters" who pass themselves as humans.
85	* The entire premise of ''Film/TheThing1982'' and ''Film/TheThing2011'', played for all the ParanoiaFuel it's worth.
86	* ''Film/TimeRunner'': The aliens infiltrate human society for several decades before launching an [[AlienInvasion all-out invasion]]. Their number even includes [[spoiler:the [[PresidentEvil World President]]]].
87	* ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' got a good amount of drama out of having the Decepticon "Alice" who could pose as a human. As if paranoia about everyday vehicles and devices wasn't enough.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Literature]]
91	* Pops up several times in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', where the controllers suspect a human of being an Andalite in morph.
92	* ''Literature/BooksOfTheRaksura'': The AlwaysChaoticEvil Fell can shift between a monstrous form and an ordinary-looking humanoid form at will, contributing to a general distrust of shapeshifters. The shapeshifting Raksura suffer from the preconception even though they don't share the Fell's habit of sadistically preying on their neighbors.
93	* ''[[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} Calling All Creeps]]'' is pretty much based around this concept.
94	* Clifford D. Simak has a group of aliens ''buying'' the Earth in his novel ''They Walked Like Men.'' The aliens were shape-shifters, capable of becoming anything at all -- a human, an automobile, a pile of paper currency... Their default shape? Bowling balls. (Well, they ''looked'' like bowling balls, anyway.) To shift into something larger than their natural size, multiple aliens merged and changed shape.
95	* Creator/TerryPratchett has the Auditors do this in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'': one takes the form of a woman much of the time in order to ensure the building of a glass clock that will stop time (and thereby make their job much tidier). When she starts acting too human, teams of other Auditors join her to ensure that it gets completed and started -- while keeping her, and each other, under control.
96	* The Mokuls who have infiltrated Earth in K. H. Scheer's ''Der Verbannte von Asyth'' (trans. ''The Exile from Asyth'') explicitly use masks to disguise themselves as human and study prospective targets for quite a while before replacing them. (They also tend to keep the kidnapped originals alive in order to pump them for more information.) The eponymous protagonist and his companion, on the other hand, belong to a species of HumanAliens to begin with -- though as it turns out their ''fingerprints'' aren't anywhere near human, and they have a few other peculiarities (like [[AlienCatnip the effect coffee has on their metabolism]]) that end up giving them away.
97	* Creator/PhilipKDick did several straight versions of the premise (''Screamers'', mentioned above, is based on one of his stories), as well as a parody: in "The War with the Fnools", the Fnools are capable of an almost-perfect human disguise, but are still pretty easy to spot, because (a) they usually travel about in groups, all wearing the same disguise, and (b) they're only two feet tall.
98	* Witches in Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/TheWitches'' conceal their physical peculiarities to look like ordinary women, but there are still a few [[RedRightHand telltale signs]] including oddly colored eyes, oversized nostrils, blue saliva, and gloves to cover their claws.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
102	* The TropeNamer is ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. The Cylons have evolved from "walking chrome toasters" into {{Artificial Human}}s. The opening and a few characters use the line, and it ''does'' cause a lot of mistrust among the human survivors.
103	** ''Series/Galactica1980'' beats them by twenty-odd years by having human-form cylon robots in the episode "The Night The Cylons Landed". However, the ones on the reimagined series are completely human looking, down to having [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots a reproductive system]].
104	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
105	** Autons are essentially life-sized plastic dummies, automatons animated by the Nestene Consciousness, an extraterrestrial, disembodied gestalt intelligence which first arrived on Earth in hollow plastic meteorites. The typical Auton does not look particularly realistic, resembling a mannequin, being robotic in its movements and mute. However, more sophisticated Autons can be created, which look and act human except for a slight plastic sheen to the skin and a flat-sounding voice. In Series 5 of the relaunched series, they are shown as being able to create fully lifelike human replicas, able to fool other humans.
106	** The Zygons have shape-shifting abilities, allowing them to replicate the appearance of another being. Limited by the small size of their force, they rely on shape-shifting and their organic space craft to conceal their numbers and seize power on Earth.
107	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks Asylum of the Daleks]]" revealed a new weapon in the Dalek arsenal: Dalek puppets. Dalek puppets are beings who had been taken by the Daleks and partially converted via nanogenes to serve them as slaves. The Dalek nanogenes automatically would convert any organism it came in contact with, living or dead, making them into a Dalek puppet. These slaves were used as sleeper agents. When activated, they would have a miniature Dalek eyestalk extend from their forehead and a miniature Dalek gunstick from the palm of their hand.
108	* ''Series/FirstWave'': While we have no idea what the Gua normally look like (a DVD box cover gives then a [[TheGreys Grey]]-like appearance), they use genetic engineering to grow Gua/human hybrid bodies called husks, into which they then download the minds of Gua individuals. It's implied that the Gua are naturally much stronger than humans.
109	* ''Series/LogansRun'': In "Stargate", the aliens have a machine that allows them to assume the appearance of a given person. Everyone in the community except for Timon was subjected to it and died as a result. The early stage of the process was used on Logan and Jessica but they managed to kill their partially formed duplicates before it was completed.
110	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': The nine-foot tall, eight-hundred-pound reptilian monsters with whom humanity fights a losing war in "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E14QualityOfMercy Quality of Mercy]]" and "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S2E18TheLightBrigade The Light Brigade]]" manage to pull this off by surgically altering their (much smaller) females.
111	* On both ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', Major Villains, MonstersOfTheWeek, and even {{Mooks}} occasionally take on human form for a disguise. Usually reverting to [[PeopleInRubberSuits Monster]] form when a fight scene commences.
112	* The human-form Replicators in ''Series/StargateSG1''. A different group of bad guys try to invoke this with a friendly species that create illusions and fake memories in the minds of potential hostiles as a self defense mechanism.
113	* This is used from time to time on ''Franchise/StarTrek'', usually as a result of MagicPlasticSurgery, but other examples include the appropriately named shape-shifters from ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', and Species 8472 in its final appearance on ''Voyager''. Inverted on an episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' where the Romulan proconsul correctly surmises that TheFederation is using Romulan-looking spies.
114	** Also used in an episode of [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]], combined with HumanityIsInfectious.
115	** This trope is outright exploited by the Founders in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'': One reveals himself to [[TheCaptain Sisko]] to gleefuly reveal that there are only four Founder infiltrators on the ''entire'' planet Earth, center of TheFederation, and look what they've accomplished! [[spoiler: In fear of the possibility of Founder infiltrators amongst them, Earth declares martial law, and a series of events nearly leads to an outright military coup of the civilian government, and two Starfleet ships [[FriendOrFoe firing on each other]].]]
116	* Parodied (with particular nods to ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}'') in a sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''. In the midst of a RobotWar, a rumour spreads that robots have infiltrated the space station, and are supposedly indistinguishable from humans. Cut to a particularly clunky TinCanRobot, talking to several other people (in textbook RoboSpeak) who seem to be under the impression he's human. Even when a slice of toast pops out of him.
117	* Every alien except Cole and Zin on ''Series/Tracker2001''.
118	* ''V'' (both [[Series/{{V2009}} 2009]] and [[Series/{{V1983}} the original]]) has reptilian aliens.
119	** Played both ways, as not only have the Vs infiltrated human society, there is a [[LaResistance rebel faction]] which sympathizes with humankind and seeks to thwart their leader's plot. It's revealed that these rebels have even infiltrated the upper echelons of the V command structure.
120	* This is by far the most significant difference between the ''Franchise/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' film/radio show/whatever and the later [[Series/WarOfTheWorlds1988 TV show]] -- in the latter, the Martians are able to [[KillAndReplace posess human bodies at will]].
121	** The second season implements the same trope, but in a radically different way: the second wave of aliens have altered their biology to the point that they now look outwardly human (albeit with luminous blood).
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
125	* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'':
126	** The Mi-Go can surgically modify themselves to fit inside a "human suit" and masquerade as people. Said 'suits' are made by hollowing out a human body, by the way.
127	** Serpent People can use spells (such as Body Warping of Gorgoroth) to take human shape.
128	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' there is an interesting twist. When the Terrans meet the Vilani they learn that they actually ''are'' human. Of course that does [[HumansAreBastards not necessarily make the meeting pleasant]].
129	* This trope is why, according to [[TheMenInBlack Task Force: Valkyrie]] from ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', werewolves and other shifters are a much greater national security threat than other supernatural creatures. Vampires have [[WeakenedByTheLight known limitations]], and mages have difficulty using spells in public, but the Uratha look completely normal until they walk into a secure area and turn into eight-foot-tall killing machines.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Toys]]
133	* The ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}' Pretenders'' line of toys involved transformers who were able to turn into androids by way of an exoskeleton. This locked down their signature TransformingMecha abilities, however, turning people off.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Video Games]]
137	* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'': [[spoiler:The very final upgrade lets the Creature shapeshift into a human, which it uses to escape the facility and onto society.]]
138	* In ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' you can contact Kelly Uqua, who is working for [[MegaCorp Crey Industries]]. There's a nasty rumor floating around that the real Uqua is dead, and a Rikti alien can alter its form to match hers. Kelly wants you to enter one of Crey's warehouses and delete this report. Kelly also occasionally slips into the Rikti's VerbalTic while talking to you. A separate ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' mission has you finding a Rikti who was posing as Kelly, whose [[GlamourFailure transformation machinery has broken down]].
139	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the Institute has reached a point in its work on autonomous androids that their current Generation Three Synths are functionally human, to the point the only way you can tell if someone is a Synth is to kill them.
140	* Midway through ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'', the Pfhor begin fielding ActionBomb simulacra that blend in with the [[RedShirt Green Shirts]]... Except for their (mostly) [[WordSaladHorror strange exclamations]] and AlienBlood.
141	* ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' adds a (multiplayer-only) Zerg unit called the Changeling, which upon entering sight range of an enemy unit automatically changes its color and transforms into that enemy's tier 1 unit (Terran marine, Protoss zealot, or zergling). Since it can't attack and has no other abilities, this is only useful for scouting.
142	* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', during the [[RobotWar Contingency endgame crisis]] your affected Synthetic citizens will discover a way to upgrade themselves into RidiculouslyHumanRobots nearly indistinguishable from normal people, forcing you to find a way to detect them through their disguises before it's too late.
143	* A recurring theme in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration''. Even when not deliberately trying to disguise themselves, most of the alien monsters they fight seem to get [[BishonenLine progressively more humanoid]] [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil as the game goes on]]. Actually inverted with the two main alien factions, though, similar to the Nadesico example. One turned out to be human abductees brainwashed by an alien MasterComputer, the others (& by extension the creators of the aforementioned computer) were actually descendants of a lost starfaring civilization from Earth. Played straight by the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s known as the Einst, however, who can create copies of people they've encountered & whose supposed Ultimate Lifeform is an enhanced clone of one of the main characters.
144	* ''VideoGame/TheThing2002'' has this as a gameplay mechanic. By using a syringe and a chemical that reacts to blood by releasing heat, you can test your party members for infection. If the syringe changes from red to brown, they're A-O-K, but if the syringe breaks, fry him, he's an alien, and mutating into a beastie as we speak.
145	* ''VideoGame/XCom'':
146	** In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' the Thin Man alien units would count as this. Their disguise is pulled off pretty good as well... thin men! Until they pull out their alien weaponry and start doing back-flips in business suits that is. Also their eyes if studied are reptilian in nature, which would explain why they wear dark glasses. The bases of their necks are also scaled, implying that only the always visible parts are human in appearance, although this isn't stated ingame.
147	** In ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'':
148	*** The aforementioned neck scales and dark glasses hint that the ADVENT speaker is an improved Thin Man.
149	*** ADVENT troopers look like Robocop until you remove their faceplate (as happens during a cutscene and during any AlienAutopsy you perform on them). Then again, ADVENT troopers are peacekeeping forces and only need to look human enough to not be scary to the human populace while still being armored and armed well enough to keep order in the VichyEarth regime.
150	*** Faceless, on the other hand, are straight up ShapeShifter that pose as civilians to ambush your troops while they are trying to rescue them (if they are aligned with LaResistance), or avoid them (if they are aligned with ADVENT, since the GullibleLemmings they are will alert the authority if they see heavily armed [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters terrorists]] walking around, but usually aren't attentive enough to pose a threat to the squad).
151	** Averted in ''[[VideoGame/XCOMChimeraSquad Chimera Squad]]'', where all Faceless encountered in the game are untransformed. One line of dialogue suggests impersonating people had deleterious effects on their psyche, so they won't do it without the Elders forcing them to.
152	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': For the most part, the city of New Los Angeles is a safe haven for the player where nothing bad happens during the early game. As the game gets more serious and darker, though, it's revealed that the Ganglion have an alien race known as the Definians on their side... who can perfectly and instantly shapeshift to look like anyone they please. Cue large amounts of paranoia among the characters after several Definian spies are revealed within the city... including one who has been there ''since before the start of the game''.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Webcomics]]
156	* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[BrainwashedAndCrazy "revenants"]] were initially known to the ''characters'' by obvious mindlessness and a ZombieGait. The ''readers'' have known almost since meeting the first one that some act perfectly normal until they receive an order, which came as a nasty shock when they were found out.
157	* ''Webcomic/PartiallyClips'' parodied this [[http://www.partiallyclips.com/index.php?id=1633 once]].
158	* Instrumen from ''Webcomic/TheSanityCircus'' are capable of taking on the form of (empowered) humans, although MorphicResonance applies in terms of clothing. [[EldritchAbomination The Scarecrows]] also appear as humans, with their black eyes and stitched mouths only appearing at certain (suitably dramatic) moments. Additional series art has suggested that these forms are nowhere close to being their true ones.
159	* In ''Webcomic/StickInTheMud'' monsters usually take human forms when visiting human world, Rod's bar in particular.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder: Western Animation]]
163	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': "Ten Little Flintstones" has an alien ship landing in Bedrock and creating a series of Fred clones to learn about Earth prior to a pending invasion. The clones simply march around smiling vacantly and saying [[CharacterCatchPhrase "Yabba-Dabba-Doo"]] ad infinitum, and everyone thinks each is actually Fred.
164	* Doubly Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', in which the titular alien wears a PaperThinDisguise consisting of a pair of contact lenses and a wig. Of course, except for a few people, [[HumansAreMorons it works just fine]].[[spoiler: Tak's disguise, on the other hand, is near flawless, and even fools Dib.]]
165	* ''WesternAnimation/RoughnecksStarshipTroopersChronicles'' had the Imposter Bugs (a subspecies that could fit inside the Mobile Infantry's PoweredArmor to evade detection), and later the Infiltrator Bugs (full-on shapeshifting in and out of human form).
166	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons: WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E1TreehouseOfHorrorVII VII]]'' (during the short "Citizen Kang"), the evil aliens Kang and Kodos [[AlienAbduction kidnap]] US President UsefulNotes/BillClinton and Senator Bob Dole, both of whom were the top candidates for the then-current 1996 presidential election. Kang and Kodos use a machine which disguises them as the two politicians, allowing them to run in the election and take over the USA (and soon the whole world). For some strange reason, [[HumansAreMorons nobody really notices]] how "Clinton" and "Dole" are behaving so weirdly and unearthly, and it's only until when Homer Simpson rips off their disguises in public does everyone see that they're actually aliens. [[RuleOfFunny Though this doesn't stop Kang and Kodos from telling the voters that they still had to pick one of them]].
167	* ''WesternAnimation/TomTerrific'': The story arc "Million Manfred Mystery" dealt with some impressionable aliens who mistake Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog to be Tom (he's wearing Tom's funnel cap while he's off at the store), so they make a plan sheet of Manfred and the entire alien race duplicate themselves as Manfred. The base reason is that Tom is so likeable that the aliens want to be just like him so Earth people will like them as well.
168	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' in general is clearly in the same spirit. While most Transformers disguise themselves as vehicles rather than people, the principle is the same... Any car on the road or plane in the sky could be a robot in disguise. One of them could be in your driveway ''right now''. And that's just the rank and file; it's been shown that they've branched out and there are Transformers who are capable of becoming all sorts of things you might have ''inside'' the house as well, like a camera, a microscope, a wristwatch, or a computer not terribly different from the one you're looking at right now. That monitor you're staring into? It could be ''staring back''.
169	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheyLookLikeUsNow