History Main / MasterRace

* ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'': The New Bloodline consist of people who consider themselves a new species of humanity, [[LamarckIsRight formed through the "evil intent" building up from one generation to another throughout centuries.]] Sicks, the leader of the group, seeks to wipe out humankind so his brethren will flourish in its place, citing it as just a natural process in which a superior race exterminates the presiding race to assert its dominance over the ecosystem.

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation regarding control schemes. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often]], and it has become the tongue-in-cheek slogan for those who prefer creating their own powerful [=PCs=][[note]]Which ''[[AceCustom absolutely]]'' blow consoles out of the water, [[CrackIsCheaper at the cost of a small fortune]][[/note]] or the freedom of choice that comes with not being on a [[MyWayOrTheHighway closed system]].

** The ''AD&D'' 2[[superscript:nd]] Edition splatbook ''The Complete Book of Elves'' often gets jokingly called "The Complete Book of the Master Race" for how it's basically just a long book ([[DeliberateValuesDissonance written from an elven perspective]]) about how elves are so much better than everyone else, with a truckload of overpowered mechanics for elf characters. The book is SnarkBait and the author [[OldShame actually issued a public apology for it]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The Saiyans of the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franchise fully see themselves as the strongest race in the universe bar none. They're not too far off the mark given how powerful Goku, Vegeta, and their descendants become throughout the series. There were stronger fighters in Frieza's force but these were all unusual {{mutants}}.

* Both Gihren Zabi of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and Patrick Zala of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' believe that because of who their factions are (spacenoids - humans born in space - for Zeon, and Coordinators - genetically modified humans - for ZAFT), that they are already the better race and that those on Earth (Earthnoids and Naturals respectively) need to be destroyed. Those within Blue Cosmos and Titans and, by extension, the Earth Alliance and the Earth Federation who feel that Naturals and Earthnoids-Earth race are the truly superior ones and that it's the Spacenoid and Coordinators that need to be eliminated respectively.
** It's worth noting that Gihren may not really believe this, but is instead using its propaganda effect to keep Zeon behind him and in the war.
*** It's doubly worth nothing, that Gihren's own father [[GodwinsLaw compared him to Adolf Hitler]] and he was [[InsultBackfire rather happy about that label]] and generally behaved like an unholy union of Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo.

** The Fishmen, most notably of the Arlong Pirates. In a world mostly made-up of water, being able to breath on both land AND water, and also just naturally be strong, is admittedly a very positive trait. Doesn't stop the Straw Hats for too long, though.
*** However, several hundred chapters later, it was revealed that this was actually an attempt to undermine humans pulling this on ''them'', due to the humans's superior numbers and the presence of {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}'d humans who can mop the floor with any fishman, regardless of greater natural strength.

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

[[folder:FanFics]]

-->''"A Pokémon, my Emmisary, is but a tool. Just as we stand above humans with our superior strength of power, we stand above such miserable creatures with our superior strength of mind. As the bearers of both intelligence and might, it is our natural place to rule and do with each as we please."''

[[folder:Film]]

* From ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'', the Holy Therns (white Martians) and the First Born (Black Martians) both see themselves as being the Master Race (the First Born take this to the extreme of considering it beneath them to do any kind of work but fighting- ''lesser'' beings work, and the First Born take what they need from them). Needless to say, the two races hate each other's guts, though in the third book the Thern PriestKing and a First Born nobleman pull a (very tense) VillainTeamUp against the eponymous hero.
** Subverted from the very first book, where Burroughs explicitly tells the reader that the Red Martians are a blend of the best of the White, Black, and Yellow Martians. (The Green Martians are different -- they're not even humanoid, can't interbreed with the other Martian races ''or'' with humans, and are subtly implied at one point to be descended from carnivorous '''plants.''' But John Carter treats them as equals too, finding his best friend in one of them.)

* The [[AbsoluteXenophobe Itorloo]] from [[Creator/RaymondZGallun Raymond Z. Gallun]]'s "Seeds of the Dusk" (1938) who consider themselves this (despite being confined to a single dying planet), cruelly treat the numerous other sapient races inhabiting the Earth and plan to invade Venus and exterminate its inhabitants for no better reason than that they want a younger, warmer world. This story was written in 1938, when the real [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]] were already well embarked on the career of aggression which would result in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII global cataclysm]].

* In the very first original ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel, ''[-STAR TREK-] Mission to Horatius'' by Creator/MackReynolds, the inhabitants of the planet Bavarya (''sic!'') are divided into artificially replicated people called "doppelgangers" (again, ''sic'') and biologically engendered people called the "Herr-Elite" (''sic, sic, sic'') -- obvious stand-ins for Nazi ''Untermenschen'' and ''Herrenvolk''. The "Herr-Elite" plan to invade the planets [[OneMillionBC Neolithia]] and [[CorruptChurch Mythra]] and enslave their inhabitants. It turns out that the dictator, "Nummer Ein," is himself a doppelganger. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything
** [[Recap/StarTrekS1E22SpaceSeed Khan Noonien Singh]] was considered the "ubermensch" ("superman" in German), mentally and physically superior to normal humans. Interestingly, this "ubermensch" was portrayed as an UsefulNotes/{{India}}n male rather than a white male. This might have something to do with the term "Aryan" having Indian (and UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian) roots, before the term was adopted by white supremacists like the {{Nazi}}s.
*** And yet, on screen, the actor portraying him is either a Mexican or a Brit. See RaceLift.

-->'''Bombastic Alien''': "We are the supreme race!"
-->'''Tom Servo''': "We make the supreme pizzas!"
* The White Martians in ''Series/Supergirl2015'' possess various Gestapo-esq tendencies, mercilessly capturing, torturing and killing as many of the more peaceful Green Martian race. Armek, M'gann’s ex-husband and particularly fanatical member of their race, even admits that they exterminated them out of pride for their own race.
--> '''Armek:''' With the eradication of the vermin, Mars is a paradise. The way it was intended to be. The greens have been silenced… the ones who thought they were better than us. We’re now one pure hive.\\

[[folder:Multiple media]]
* A running theme throughout ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** One of the underlying philosophies of TheEmpire in the original movies was that of human supremacy (termed "High Human Culture" in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''), with most non-humans relegated to menial labor, slavery, or outright extermination. It's implied Emperor Palpatine himself never personally bought into this, but encouraged it to solidify the support of his subordinates and create useful scapegoats to distract the populace with. Nonetheless, a handful of particularly capable or well-connected non-humans did manage to hold positions of real power within the Empire.
** The Yuuzhan Vong of ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' see all other species as scum to be forcibly converted to [[ReligionOfEvil the Great Doctrine]] or exterminated.
** The Rakata's Infinite Empire, first mentioned in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', is implied to be this, as they conquered many planets with their extensive technology and used the natives as slaves.
[[/folder]]

* In ''{{TabletopGame/Exalted}}'', the [[ElementalPowers Dragonblooded]] of [[TheEmpire The Realm]] often get this treatment, especially when used as the main antagonists of a campaign. Their religion goes so far as to state that especially worthy mortals might get the chance to be reborn as a Dragon-Blood in their next life.
* Dark elves don't get this nearly as often as [[OurElvesAreBetter the regular sort of elf]], but the ones in ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' have never met a species they don't have some reason to look down upon. R.A. Salvatore's novels repeatedly and blatantly contrast this with the dark elves' [[AlwaysChaoticEvil inability to maintain a functioning culture]] without direct and ''repeated'' DivineIntervention.
** The drow grudgingly acknowledge illithids and beholders (and, in space, the neogi) as approximate equals...which mostly just makes them want to wipe out those races even more than they want to kill the surface-dwellers.
** Over in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', aboleths view most of the rest of the universe as thralls, to the point where one of their species rules is that they're supposed to be controlling others.
** The AD&D 2nd Edition splatbook "The Complete Book of Elves" often gets jokingly called "The Complete Book of the Master Race" for how it's basically just a long book ([[DeliberateValuesDissonance written from an elven perspective]]) about how elves are so much better than everyone else, with a truckload of overpowered mechanics for elf characters. The book is SnarkBait and the author [[OldShame actually issued a public apology for it]].

[[folder:Videogames]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

** The New Loka syndicate consider unaugmented humanity, before and {{Transhuman}} enhancements, to be the only "pure" race. It's to the point that they lionize the Tenno while hating the warframes that they use exclusively. The problem is ''everyone'' in the Origin System is transhuman at this point, including New Loka. They nearly have a breakdown when they discover that [[spoiler:the Silver Grove, their most sacred site, was actually created artificially by an Orokin]]. However, [[CharacterDevelopment they eventually calm down and decide that artificially created life can still be worth saving]].

** Taken to its illogical conclusion: The Grineer are a race of clones, grown in industrial quantities, based off a few "perfect" genetic templates. Except the genetic templates have degraded significantly, leaving the clones as [[CloneDegredation sickly mutants who can only live a decade or two]] [[{{Cyborg}} and need constant cybernetic enhancements to survive]]. Not to mention it's doubtful that the original genetic templates were that great either, since the Grineer were designed as a SlaveRace. The Grineer ignore all this and constantly rant about their genetic superiority, and deem all other races as fit only to be ruled.

* The Zuul from ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' are an artificially created race of {{Super Soldier}}s who believe in a divine purpose for their race, which is to enslave and kill off every other species but their own and their own creators, whom they dub the "Great Masters". WordOfGod says this is partially due to culture and partially built-in instinct; the Zuul were bred by a race of AbusivePrecursors as a living bio-weapon to exterminate other civilizations. In-game, making [=NAP=]s and alliances with Zuul is all but impossible: Their default state towards everyone is war.
** Slightly subverted in the sequel, where a faction of the Zuul breaks away and allies itself with the Liir. This is partly due to the Liir using their own PsychicPowers to imprint their views into their minds.
** Said "Great Masters" show up in the sequel. As can be expected from someone who would create the Zuul for use as tools, every last one of them (there are only seven left, but that's not about to stop them) have a slightly inflated sense of their importance ''vis a vis'' everything else in the galaxy and want to kill or enslave everything else.

* The ruling class of [[AncientGreece ancient Sparta]] had a major case of this going on, thus becoming the trope namer for TheSpartanWay. They practiced strict eugenic breeding and mass infanticide in order to weed out the weak. Then they made the attainment of full citizenship conditional on completing an incredibly brutal military training regimen. Ultimately the system became self-defeating however. Since the citizens of the most ideal fitness were the warrior class, attrition took its toll on them over time. Combined with a comparatively low birth rate and deliberately high infant mortality, the population of "superior" Spartans eventually declined below the point where they could sustain their master race.

* [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent The homunculi]] in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''.

* The Fishmen, most notably of the Arlong Pirates, in ''Manga/OnePiece.'' In a world mostly made-up of water, being able to breath on both land AND water, and also just naturally be strong, is admittedly a very positive trait. Doesn't stop the Straw Hats for too long, though.
** However, several hundred chapters later, it was revealed that this was actually an attempt to undermine humans pulling this on ''them'', due to the humans's superior numbers and the presence of {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}'d humans who can mop the floor with any fishman, regardless of greater natural strength.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} ThunderCats (2011)]]'' the {{Catfolk}} of TheEmpire of Thundera are a ProudWarriorRace who are [[CatsAreSuperior genuinely excellent]] fighters, have an [[TheOrder order]] of KungFuWizard[=/=]{{Magic Knight}}s and possess powerful {{Ancient Artifact}}s. As a result, they do much CulturalPosturing around believing their own press, that they were and are the great civilizers of their planet, who "brought law and order to a [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals world of warring animals]]," convieniently justifying [[AnimalJingoism jingoistic]] FantasticRacism against other [[PettingZooPeople Animals]]. They place minorities like [[{{Dogfaces}} Dogs]] in a FantasticGhetto to be victimized by "Alley Cats," while in their war with enemy the [[LizardFolk Lizards]], the Cats [[MadeASlave enslave]] the hungry Lizards they catch raiding crops (due to the Cats' monopolization of arable land) even [[VigilanteExecution lynching]] them, if they feel like it. A FantasticCasteSystem is also in effect, with tailed Cats confined to a life of poverty in the slums, while tailless BlueBlood live lives of privilege, and only Lions have [[KingOfBeasts right-to-rule]].

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation regarding control schemes. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often]], and it has become the tongue-in-cheek slogan for those who prefer creating their own powerful PCs[[note]]Which ''[[AceCustom absolutely]]'' blow consoles out of the water, [[CrackIsCheaper at the cost of a small fortune]][[/note]] or the freedom of choice that comes with not being on a [[MyWayOrTheHighway closed system]].

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often, and it has become the slogan for those who prefer customizing PCs or the freedom of choice that comes with not being on a closed system]].

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often, and it has become the slogan for those persons who prefer customizing PCs]], while PC gamers agree that those who ''can'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint customize their desktop and laptops to play games better]] have every right to feel themselves superior, while [[JustJokingJustification joking]] about the 'race' bit.

* The people of [[AncientGreece ancient Sparta]] had a major case of this going on, thus becoming the trope namer for TheSpartanWay. They practiced strict eugenic breeding and mass infanticide in order to weed out the weak. Then they made the attainment of full citizenship conditional on completing an incredibly brutal military training regimen. Ultimately the system became self-defeating however. Since the citizens of the most ideal fitness were the warrior class, attrition took its toll on them over time. Combined with a comparatively low birth rate and deliberately high infant mortality, the population of "superior" Spartans eventually declined below the point where they could sustain their master race.

-->'''Logan:''' "Mmmrr... these were the good guys. They didn't mean it like that."
-->'''Xavier:''' "Yes, they never do. At first."

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often, and it has become the slogan for those persons who prefer customizing PCs]], while PC gamers agree that those who ''can'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint customize their desktop and laptops to play games better]] have every right to feel themselves superior, while [[JustJokingJustification joking]] about the 'race' bit.

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists [[SeriousBusiness who look down on people for using consoles]] instead of [[SeriousBusiness blowing more than necessary cash on high-end gaming computers]]. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/9/98500/2445038-4694434071-PC_Ga.jpg '[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech joke]]']] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation. These days [[InsultBackfire PC gamers themselves use this title quite often, and it has become the slogan for those persons who prefer customizing PCs]], while PC gamers agree that those who ''can'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint customize their desktop and laptops to play games better]] have every right to feel themselves superior, while [[JustJokingJustification joking]] about the 'race' bit.

* The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars are ''widely'' based on subjective measures of quality and superiority, [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that's all we'd like to say on the matter]]; but one thing fans of any platform tend to agree on is that many PC gamers are supremacists who look down on people for using consoles instead of blowing large sums of disposable income on high-end gaming computers. So much so, in fact, that PC gamers are often explicitly referred to tongue-in-cheek as [[GodwinsLaw "the glorious PC gaming Master Race"]], which originated as a [[http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/9/98500/2445038-4694434071-PC_Ga.jpg joke]] from WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation. These days PC gamers themselves use this title quite often, and whether they're joking or not tends to vary by person.

** Dremora are an intelligent race of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]] who are most commonly found in the service of [[DestroyerDeity Mehrunes Dagon]] as his LegionsOfHell. Dremora believe themselves to be superior to other lesser Daedra, even go so far as to refer to themselves as "The Kyn" ("The People" in the Daedric tongue). Seeing as most lesser Daedra aren't civilized or sentient, they do have a point. However, it is unknown what their view is on the other lesser Daedra that are sentient, such as the Mazken and Aureal, despite interacting with both races to some extent in ''Battlespire'' and ''Morrowind'', respectively. [[PunyEarthlings And don't even get them started on mortals]]...

*** The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] are an Altmeri religious extremist faction which takes the aforementioned Altmer beliefs UpToEleven. Following the [[VideoGames/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion Crisis]], they managed to take over key positions in the government of the re-formed Aldmeri Dominion and seek not just Altmeri dominance, but quite possibly ''[[OmnicidalManiac undoing creation itself]]'' in order to, as they believe, return their spirits to a state of pre-creation divinity, free from the limits of mortality.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Some factions of {{Mutants}} believe they are a superior breed of humans and came up with the name ''homo sapiens superior'' to describe themselves. Magneto was one of the strongest proponents of this idea, though he has moved past it after realizing his actions ultimately hurt mutantkind instead of saving it. The fact that he, a Holocaust survivor, was spouting the same rhetoric as the Nazis probably helped.

* Considering that European imperialism targeted literally ''every'' country outside Europe[[note]]the British even used the N-word to refer to all nonwhites and the Irish[[/note]], it’s just as much an example as the Nazis. The only non-Western countries to avoid colonization were those lucky enough to fight them off, but [[ApeShallNeverKillApe no European power targeted another]]. Once [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne they did]], the system fell apart.