History Main / Muggles

Expect the {{Red Shirt}}s to be muggles since non-muggles are usually too plot-valuable to waste. Even muggles with characterization need to watch it: they could be {{Mauve Shirt}}s. More rarely, MugglesDoItBetter comes in to play: mundane people with mundane technology have a real fighting chance in works featuring this trope (often the reason ''why'' TheMasquerade exists, otherwise the supernatural would get its butt handed over by BadassNormal hunters).

* In ''[[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension Mage: the Ascension]]'' and ''[[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Mage: the Awakening]]'', the {{Muggles}} are called "Sleepers", and actually make magic more dangerous when present ''because'' of their normality. The reason ''why'' differs between the two games:
** In ''Ascension'', belief defines reality, and Sleepers are the majority. While "coincidental magick" can be passed off as luck or accident, using "vulgar magick" -- magic that obviously defies the consensus definition of "reality" -- causes dangerous Paradox as reality tries to snap back to obeying physics. Meanwhile, in ''Awakening'', when Atlantis fell and the Abyss was formed, [[ExtraStrengthMasquerade Quiescence]] worked its way into the minds of mortals. Unless one is directly confronted with the true nature of the universe, any faint evidence of magic will feed the Lie, and thus the Abyss. And Paradox is how the Abyss enforces the Lie.
*** ''[[TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' used a similar concept though the ''Banality'' mechanic. It is apparently not enough to just be a mundane, non-magical muggle in a {{Crapsack World}} filled with monsters that view you as commodity as best and speed bump at worst, your muggleness itself ensures nothing could ever be done to possibly make things better.
*** In the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness game ''[[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Promethean: The Created]]'', Prometheans (golem/Frankenstein/artificial creations) possess a life force that ... annoys Muggles. Stay in one place too long, and the Muggles get out the pitchforks and torches. So the Promethean has to hide and move a lot to keep all the normals around him from erupting into riots.

They're the "normal" for those [[IJustWantToBeNormal who crave it]] and those who would hate it [[BroughtDownToNormal if it happened]]. Ironically, Muggles often treat these extraordinary people like crap, because Muggles are AllOfTheOtherReindeer -- although sometimes this happens the [[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper other way around]], more cynical [[SmugSuper super-people]] looking down on them as [[InnocentBystander Innocent Bystanders]] -- a pathetically bland, underdeveloped species.

* In ''Film/MenInBlack'' and [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlack its animated series]], any person not part of the MIB is called a "Neutral". Those that are accidentally exposed to the knowledge of the existence of alien life [[LaserGuidedAmnesia are quickly neuralized]].

[[caption-width-right:313: [- Why shouldn't they be happy? They're just like AllOfTheOtherReindeer.-] ]]

* In ''Film/MenInBlack'' and [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlack its animated series]], people that are not part of the MIB are called "Neutrals". Those that are accidentally exposed to the knowledge of the existence of alien life [[LaserGuidedAmnesia are quickly neuralized]].

* Sociopaths, psychopaths and [[{{Narcissist}} narcissists]] see themselves as much better and important than everyone else who they see as useless pawns, and might refer to as Empaths.

** Strangely there doesn't seem to be anything actually ''stopping'' commoners from learning magic, they just don't get picked for training (which makes sense, since those picked must have very high IQs and parents willing to give up all parental rights).

** With the plots for [[spoiler:Sons of Empire]] and [[spoiler:War and Pieces]], the tricks Fabletown has learned from the Mundy world show that [[MugglesDoItBetter Muggles simply do it better]].

* Marissa Meyer's TheLunarChronicles deconstructs this tropes with the "Shells," Lunars without powers, who are either euthanized or used as slaves. It is explained that while they lack powers, they are immune to Lunar mind-games, which is likely why they are persecuted.

* {{The Kingfisher}}: A vampire webcomic that has no truly important human characters. Fortunately for these muggles, they are often seduced and left alive.

* OrionsArm: Depending on whether you except Clarke's third law all people who have not breached the singularity barrier can be counted, because they are all muggles compared to the Machine gods.
* The students and faculty of MonsterHigh refer to ordinary humans as "normies". The term also comes into use for shapeshifting monsters while they're in human form.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' takes an approach almost opposite the Franchise/HarryPotter universe's: while most people are either unwilling or unaware of magic, a surprising number of them have actually dealt with it (werewolves running amok, hiring a wizard, cops shooting vampires). And many of the Muggles (or "straights" or "vanillas" as Harry calls them) are almost as formidable as the supernaturals. Marcone, Murphy and Hendricks are among the Muggles who nevertheless are smart, savvy, and can hold their own among wizards and other such. Most notably, at the end of ''White Night'' [[spoiler: John Marcone and a small squad of human mercenaries take on a horde of uber-ghouls with nothing but assault rifles and discipline, and ''more'' than hold their own.]] though [[spoiler: as of ''Changes'' the most if not all of the squad of mercenaries are revealed in to be Einherjar. This would make them a) already dead and b) potentially quasi-immortal thereafter.]] In fact, one of the reasons there's a masquerade going on is because any conflict between generic humans and supernaturals favoured the humans, if only because of sheer numbers, though nowadays the numbers are supplemented by guns and other nasty weapons.

* Normal humans in Darkstalkers are called "C-Class Entities". "C-Class" also refers to the slave underclass of Makai/
* The OSA recording in {{System Shock}} 2 uses the term "Mundane" to refer to the non-psi talented.

* Non-Military, also known as "Civilians."

* Used occasionally in Creator/DCComics. Those who aren't "in the know" with the superhero community are often referred to as "civilians". It's not really a derogatory term, simply describes those who don't know any superheroes/villains or secrets.

* In ''TheHollows'', There are no muggles. Magic came out of the closet before the books started, when 4 species weren't affected by a disease that killed 2/3 people on the planet, and scarred the rest. This removed enough humans that revealing magic became a viable option, as the levels were around equal now.

* Literature/{{Twilight}}: A lot of strange things happened around Forks and Phoenix (Vampires, werewolves, vampire's wars...) and the humans in the book never realized anything out of the ordinary, the worst they thought it was just normal daily murders. Neither of them gets to do anything special or contributes to the plot not even by accident. Till this day if you ask any of them about Bella Swan they will say something along the lines: "Bella? The daughter of Chief Swan, Nice girl, a little weird, lived here short time, liked to hang around the Quilletes make good friends with the weird Cullen kids and married right out of high school to one of them...she was probably pregnant." If they actually remember her at all.

* Mundanes in the ''{{Mortal Instruments}}'' series. Anyone who has no knowledge of Downworlders or Shaddowhunters is a mundane or a "mundie". Clary is included in this because even though she is a Shaddowhunter, she knows nothing about their world.

* Normal people often referred to like this in ''Series/DoctorWho''. An example, in the 1996 movie when a newscast explains away recent strange events occurring because of the Doctor's adventure as "normal" weather events, the Doctor remarks something close to "I love humans, always seeing patterns that aren't there"

* In the WhiteWolf roleplaying game ''[[TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse Aberrant]],'' regular humans (those without superpowers) are referred to as "baselines," often in a derogatory fashion by the more arrogant of the superpowered Novas.

** In ''Trinity'', Aberrant's sequel, people without psychic powers are known as "neutrals".

* In ''TheHollows'', There are no muggles. Magic came out of the closet before the books started, when 4 species weren't affected by a disease that killed 2/3 people on the planet, and scarred the rest. This removed enough humans that revealing magic became a viable option, as the levels were around equal now

* Although they're not an integral part of ''[[{{FEAR}} F.E.A.R.]]'''s plot, and the game itself makes no distinction, they're of note... for this being perhaps the only time their AllOfTheOtherReindeer status works to the hero's advantage. The main character is the member of a special ops team devoted to response to paranormal incidents. He's teamed with a normal special ops squad that don't take this seriously, and thus send him off on a meaningless errand to open the gate, something which it would've made more sense for one of them to handle... because of this, he's not in the area when the killer ghost hiding on the other side of the gate decides to liquefy the entire squad, leaving only charred skeletons.

* Played with in Margaret Weis ''DeathgateCycle'' series. [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Mensch]] is a derogatory term used by the two demigod races to refer to humans, elves and dwarves who used to live on Earth before it was [[WorldSundering sundered]] into its four classical elements. Played straight on the worlds of fire and water where they're tormented and slaughtered by ancient monstrosities, averted on the world of air where humans regularly charm dragons into doing their bidding. The demigods themselves look down on them for being lessers and are in turn scorned for being tyrants and jerkasses.

* ''LiteratureHarryPotter'' fans will sometimes call ''LiteratureHarryPotter'' haters Muggles.

They are the ones who the {{Masquerade}} is used to hide from. Who nobody (not even the heroes) mind if they get their [[LaserGuidedAmnesia memories wiped of supernatural events.]] Sometimes reality itself conspires to hide the plot from their minds, in ways like theBystanderSyndrome, WeirdnessCensor, and InvisibleToNormals. Then again, they may just not want to know because ApathyKilledTheCat.

** Vampires in ''[[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and ''[[VampireTheRequiem Vampire: The Requiem]]'' tend to refer to mortals as "kine", an archaic word meaning "cattle". ''Masquerade'' vampires sometimes used the phrase "Children of Seth" if they were feeling poetic (in that setting, vampires descended from Caine, humans from Seth).

* In the series ''Bewitched'', neighbor Gladys Kravitz is a type of muggle. She witnesses odd goings-on at the Stephens' house, but her husband doesn't believe her. She typically treats Samantha with coolness and suspicion because she knows there's something off about her but can't figure out what. Though Samantha is friendly to her, she has learned to be careful around the nosy Mrs. Kravitz.

* In UC Continuity ''MobileSuitGundam'', regular humans are sometimes referred to as "Oldtypes", as distinct from the "Newtypes" that represent [[EvolutionaryLevels the next stage of humanity's evolution]]. Rather to the point, some people who believe Newtypes ''are'' the next stage of evolution will use "Oldtype" as a [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Slur]] against those who would get in the way of that evolution.
** In ''GundamSEED'' we have Coordinators (those with genetic modifications) and Naturals (those without). What starts of as AnAesop about racial equality quickly becomes a BrokenAesop, as the only characters to ever do anything of merit in the show are Coordinators. Reinforced by the fact that only one Natural ever exhibits the show's SuperMode, but this scene was quietly [[RetCon retconned]] out of existence in the compilation movies.

** Played with in ''{{Gundam 00}}'', where [[LaResistance Celestial Being]]'s Tieria Erde and ManipulativeBastard Ribbons Almarck are revealed to be Innovators, artificial humans who Ribbons claims were intended by Aeolia Schenberg to rule over humankind. [[spoiler: The classic scenario is ''[[InvertedTrope inverted]]'', however, when Tieria discovers the truth: the "Innovators" are in fact nothing of the sort, and were meant instead to help humankind reach its potential as the ''true'' Innovators.]]

* Gamu of ''Kokoro'', who lacks GenreBlindness, calls out the mage society on their use of "norm", as well as their championing of the {{Masquerade}} and LaserGuidedAmnesia. Admirable if not for the fact that the formerly cool-headed spy girl is [[{{Determinator}} willing]] to take on TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness to try and change the world. (Then again, if you had a couple million people out for your head, you might figure that there's nothing to lose, too.)

* All humans (save for the few who can actually use their chi) in ''DragonBallZ'' are muggles, all with a very strong WeirdnessCensor.

* In ''JoJosBizarreAdventure'', only people who have a Stand are capable of seeing others' Stands. Ordinary people cannot see Stands, but can see how they effect the world around them, giving off the appearance of paranormal phenomena.

* Used occasionally in DC comics. Those who aren't "in the know" with the superhero community are often referred to as "civilians". It's not really a derogatory term, simply describes those who don't know any superheroes/villains or secrets.

** Let’s not forget that Twilight Sparke will visit the world of the humans in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls an up-coming movie]].

-->-- '''Arthur Weasley''', ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''

* The TropeNamer (with a capital M) comes from the name for non-magical people in the ''HarryPotter'' universe. Some notable ones include: The Dursleys, Tom Riddle Sr, Hermione's parents, and Frank Bryce. Muggles in Harry Potter tend to not play very big roles in the series, and wizards such as the Death Eaters tend to abuse them.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' takes an approach almost opposite the HarryPotter universe's: while most people are either unwilling or unaware of magic, a surprising number of them have actually dealt with it (werewolves running amok, hiring a wizard, cops shooting vampires). And many of the Muggles (or "straights" or "vanillas" as Harry calls them) are almost as formidable as the supernaturals. Marcone, Murphy and Hendricks are among the Muggles who nevertheless are smart, savvy, and can hold their own among wizards and other such. Most notably, at the end of ''White Night'' [[spoiler: John Marcone and a small squad of human mercenaries take on a horde of uber-ghouls with nothing but assault rifles and discipline, and ''more'' than hold their own.]] though [[spoiler: as of ''Changes'' the most if not all of the squad of mercenaries are revealed in to be Einherjar. This would make them a) already dead and b) potentially quasi-immortal thereafter.]] In fact, one of the reasons there's a masquerade going on is because any conflict between generic humans and supernaturals favoured the humans, if only because of sheer numbers, though nowadays the numbers are supplemented by guns and other nasty weapons.

* ''HarryPotter'' fans will sometimes call ''HarryPotter'' haters Muggles.