History Main / MasterRace

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', [[DesignerBabies Clan trueborns]] of the [[FantasticCasteSystem warrior caste]] hold this opinion of themselves and look down on the 'naturally born' freeborns of both their own and other castes, though the degree varies from clan to clan. Clan Smoke Jaguar was infamous for its internal racism of warriors over all, while Clans [[SoldierVsWarrior Hell Horses]], [[ThickerThanWater Ghost Bear]] and [[CombatPragmatist Star Adder]] had almost no inter-caste friction and other Clans like [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy Diamond Shark]] and [[TheSmartGuy Coyote]] gave other castes like merchants or scientist almost as much regard as the warriors. The Clans also looked down on the Inner Sphere as inferior, seeing [[TotalitarianUtilitarian Clan society]] as innately superior to the Inner Sphere's FeudalFuture and believing that conquering the Inner Sphere and resurrecting the Star League [[HomeByChristmas would be contemptibly easy]] -- needless to say, they were proven very, very wrong.

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the Clans society revolves around the belief that vat born Trueborns are superior to natural born Freeborns. However Clan warfare is often limited by honor based combat called zellbrigen, the few resource used in battle, the greater the honor. This limited their success in their invasion of Inner Sphere, they have conquered hundreds of worlds due to their technological superiority, but lacked the numbers and resources to push further into Terra. They Successor States later gain the edge against the Clans by reverse engineering captured Clan tech, and superior numbers.

See also ScaryDogmaticAliens, and there will likely be in- or out-of universe comparisons made to ThoseWackyNazis. If said comparisons are explicitly in-universe, they'll likely be [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazis By Any Other Name]] who go round PuttingOnTheReich. May show up as a central teaching of the ReligionOfEvil or PathOfInspiration. Contrast SuperiorSpecies, where the work itself presents a race as inherently better. They're almost always bad guys (as you can't play them as heroes without getting into a motherlode of UnfortunateImplications, though individual members can be sympathetic, especially if MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch is in force) and they'll often show up as villains in works that are preaching AnAesop against racism.

* In ''{{TabletopGame/Exalted}}'', the [[ElementalPowers Dragonblooded]] of [[TheEmpire The Realm]] often get this treatment, especially when used as the main antagonists of a campaign.

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[[caption-width-right:350:"Required: Blonde hair; blue eyes.\\
Jewish persons need not apply."]]

* Literature/TheDraka, who [[{{Ubermensch}} talk the talk]] and [[TakeOvertheWorld walk the walk]], [[MadeASlave enslaving]] the rest of [[SlaveRace humanity]]. Things only get worse once they [[EvilutionaryBiologist map the human genome]].

* Alesiter Crowley of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' believes that Espers are the better race than normal humans and that normal humans need to be destroyed.

* Despite their nation only dating back to the colonization of Mars some three decades back, the people of the [[TheEmpire Vers Empire]] in ''Anime/AldnoahZero'' see themselves as superior to Earth's "Old Humanity". According to Martian doctrine, the immensely powerful LostTechnology, [[AppliedPhlebotinum Aldnoah]], that they discovered on their planet is a sign of the gods' favor. Meanwhile, Terrans are disdained and viewed as unworthy of the bountiful planet they inhabit. (Mars' agriculture being unable to fully support its population, Earth's plentiful resources are a cause of serious resentment.) This attitude was heavily encouraged by the Martian leaders, who finally used it to start an {{Inverted}} [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression War of Earthly Aggression]] with the goal of conquering the planet.

* The Wasp-kinden from ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'' are hardly shy about declaring their supposed superiority, and the Empire they control is a militaristic powerhouse bent on conquering the rest of the known world. Non-Wasps are referred to as "Auxillians", and though it's theoretically possible for them to rise to positions of power, most are little better than slaves (one Auxillian, Drephos, reached the rank of colonel, but only because he was an indispensable mechanical genius the high-ups wanted to keep loyal, and even so most Wasps found "Colonel-Auxillian" an absurd title).
* ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'''s [[TheEmpire Tribus Elves]] run a despotic empire where the lesser races are enslaved.

* In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', the Daksha legacy is built on a philosophical foundation that melds the viewpoint of "Mages are the MasterRace" with the viewpoint that [[TheMagocracy Mages therefor should be running the world]]. Their legacy even transforms them into {{ambiguous gender}}ed {{hermaphrodite}} {{genderbender}}s, with third eyes in the backs of their heads that can read the AkashicRecords, to further prove their "point" about being superior to ordinary humans. Other Mages consider them ''very'' creepy, and would do even if they weren't working with the [[FantasticRacism Jnanamukti legacy]], who want to basically destroy all Sleeper civilization and technology in hopes of restoring Mages to their former power.
* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the Clans society revolves around the belief that vat born Trueborns are superior to natural born Freeborns. However Clan warfare is often limited by honor based combat called zellbrigen, the few resource used in battle, the greater the honor. This limited their success in their invasion of Inner Sphere, they have conquered hundreds of worlds due to their technological superiority, but lacked the numbers and resources to push further into Terra. They Successor States later gain the edge against the Clans by reverse engineering captured Clan tech, and superior numbers.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' episode "Baby, It's Cold Outside", King Charlatan declared penguins were the superior race and attempted to exterminate all others by triggering an EndlessWinter.

* Everything in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' that's intelligent enough to be political and isn't straight up omnicidal AlwaysChaoticEvil either belongs to or is subjected by one of these.

* Some factions of [[ComicBook/XMen 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.

** Startlingly, mostly averted in [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} the source material]], where humans and High Elves have managed to swallow their pride enough to work together against the forces of Chaos, and humans and dwarves at least respect each other. The Dark Elves are still convinced of their superiority, though. The Skaven also consider themselves superior to other races they deemed as inferior(which is all of them).

** One of the underlying philosophies of TheEmpire in the original movies was that of human supremacy (termed "High Human Culture" in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''). 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.

* In ''TableTopGame/MageTheAwakening'', the Daksha legacy is built on a philosophical foundation that melds the viewpoint of "Mages are the MasterRace" with the viewpoint that [[TheMagocracy Mages therefor should be running the world]]. Their legacy even transforms them into {{ambiguous gender}}ed {{hermaphrodite}} {{genderbender}}s, with third eyes in the backs of their heads that can read the AkashicRecords, to further prove their "point" about being superior to ordinary humans. Other Mages consider them ''very'' creepy, and would do even if they weren't working with the [[FantasticRacism Jnanamukti legacy]], who want to basically destroy all Sleeper civilization and technology in hopes of restoring Mages to their former power.

[[folder:Multiple media]]
* [[Literature/NewJediOrder The Yuuzhan Vong]] see all other species as scum to be forcibly converted to [[ReligionOfEvil the Great Doctrine]] or exterminated.
** One of the underlying philosophies of TheEmpire in the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies was that of High Human Culture- the idea that ''humans'' were the superior species. It's unclear how much Palpatine really bought into this, and how much of it was to entice the ambitions of his subordinates.
*** This seems to be a bit of a running theme in ''Franchise/StarWars'': the Rakata's Infinite Empire, first mentioned in [[KnightsOfTheOldRepublic KOTOR]] seemed to feel like this (It's hard to tell since their Empire collapsed long before the time period of that game, even), as they conquered many planets with their extensive technology and used the natives they found on many worlds as slaves.
* Elves in many settings have a habit of [[OurElvesAreBetter seeing themselves as superior]], but most would rather [[HiddenElfVillage hide from the world]] rather than conquer it. There are exceptions, however, including most flavors of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Dark Elf]] and ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'''s [[TheEmpire Tribus Elves]].
** And the elves of [[MagicTheGathering Lorwyn]].
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*** On the other side, the Stormcloak uprising believe that humans - particularly [[HornyVikings Nords]], who are big, blonde, and [[FantasyCounterpartCulture north-western European]] - are the supreme race. In the Stormcloaks' home city, Windhelm, Dark Elves and [[LizardFolk Argonians]] are forced to live in ghettos.

** This is a racial belief of the [[OurElvesAreBetter Altmer (High Elves)]]. While they are indeed responsible for much of Tamriel's [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas art, science, philosophy, language, and religion]], and ([[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch while there are exceptions]]) they [[CulturalPosturing have no issue letting the other races know]] just how superior they believe they are. They are the direct descendants of the [[{{Precursors}} Aldmer]] and consider the other races of Mer as [[TheSocialDarwinist a result of "degeneration" over the ages]]. (And [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence don't even bother]] trying to bring up the [[HumansAreBastards races of Men]]...) Their religious beliefs state that they are the true descendants of [[OurGodsAreDifferent the Aedra]], and actively try to breed themselves back into their ideal, including killing undesirable progeny. (They believe that doing so releases the spirit so that it has a chance to be [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]] in a better form.) Thrice in history they've formed and led the Aldmeri Dominion, an AntiHumanAlliance to oppose the expansion of the various Cyrodiilic Empires of the races of Men. It took [[TheConqueror Tiber]] [[GodEmperor Septim]] using the Numidium, a [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] HumongousMecha of [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] design, to bring the Altmer under the dominion of men for the first (and to date, only) time in history.

*** The term "Aryan" in fact originates from the UsefulNotes/{{India}}n and UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian cultures ("Aryan" is a popular male name in the Indian subcontinent and Iranian plateau). Linguists used the term to refer to the Indo-Iranian languages (a branch of the Indo-European languages), before white supremacists began applying the term to all Indo-European peoples and assumed the original Aryans to be white. In Nazi Germany, this led to the "Gypsy Question" since the Roma ("Gypsies") originated from the "Aryans" of India, but they were still killed in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust for lacking the "racial purity" of white Germans. The Finns and Japanese were declared "Honorary Aryans" and Nazi party ideologues went to great pains to explain this label.

** Nazis, while the TropeNamer, did not have a real concept of "white" (they felt most non-Nordic Europeans to be almost as inferior as blacks), so there were non-Europeans who they considered Aryan ("Aryan" being an umbrella grouping which included the aforementioned Nordics). These included East Asians (referred to as ''Culture Preservers'', and the Nazis were particularly fond of the Japanese's perfectionist ideals of [[HonorBeforeReason Bushido]]), Iranians and Indian brahmins (natch), Tibetans (according to Theosophy, the Aryan homeland), and the Sioux (due to Hitler's love of Creator/KarlMay novels). Only the Sioux were really hostile to the "Aryan" label, because it challenged ''their'' mythic phylogeny. Not that the Nazis cared what the actual definition of "Aryan" was (tip: the actual Aryans don't include anyone north or west of Iraq).

* Most infamously, this was the whole basis of Nazi (TropeNamer) and white supremacist ideology, and racial supremacist ideology in general.
** They believed that Nordic Europeans were superior to everyone else...and then claimed Ancient Greece and Rome as [[CriticalResearchFailure "Nordic"]].

** Nazis, while the TropeNamer, did have a few peoples we don't consider "white" who they considered Aryans. These included East Asians (referred to as ''Culture Preservers'', and the Nazis were particularly fond of the Japanese's perfectionist ideals of [[HonorBeforeReason Bushido]]), Iranians and Indian brahmins (natch), Tibetans (according to Theosophy, the Aryan homeland), and the Sioux (due to Hitler's love of Creator/KarlMay novels). Only the Sioux were really hostile to the "Aryan" label, because it challenged ''their'' mythic phylogeny. Not that the Nazis cared what the actual definition of "Aryan" was (tip: the actual Aryans don't include anyone north or west of Iraq).

* Some factions of [[ComicBook/XMen 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.

* Some factions of [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} 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.

* ''Fanfic/MyLittleUnicorn'': The [[MarySue winged unicorns]] of [[MarySuetopia Unicornicopia]] and their [[GodModeSue "god"]] known as Grand Ruler are seen as this. They themselves have no problem to call others out, on how inferior they are to them, because they live on the ground alone.

* Deconstructed with the Dúnedain in the backstory for ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' (adapted from the Atlantis myth)-- in many ways they ''are'' superior to other races of men, which leads them to ultimately turn themselves into TheEmpire, as well as arrogant and corrupt. Then their king makes [[BigBad Sauron]] his [[EvilChancellor chief advisor]], and he plays on these factors to lead the Dúnedain to ruin. By the time of ''Lord of the Rings'' there are very few pureblood Dúnedain left, and their culture exists in an AfterTheEnd of their own making.
** Yet for some reason nobody has a problem with putting another one of them on the throne with no fear that the same pattern might repeat itself after a few generations...
** Considering there are so few of them ''left'', and the survivors give no indication of still buying into the whole MasterRace thing, this seems unlikely, though Tolkien's unfinished sequel to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' ''does'' indicate that in a few generations all won't be well in Gondor... (See Discussion page for overflowing Natter.)

* In the very first original ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel, ''[-STAR TREK-] Mission to Horatius'' by Mack Reynolds, 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

-->"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."

* Both Ghiren 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 Coordinators and Space that need to be eliminated.
** It's worth noting that Gihren may not really believe this, but is instead using it's propaganda effect to keep Zeon behind him and in the war.
*** It's doubly worth nothing, that his own father [[GodwinsLaw compared him to Adolf Hitler]] and Gihren was rather happy about that label and generally behaved like an unholy union of Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo.