| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earth_center_univ_900x450.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:NotDrawnToScale]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"Why Earth of all places? It would have been nice if it decided to hibernate on Neptune or something."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Kyon''', ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Earth is a WeirdnessMagnet for cosmically significant events. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Ancient interstellar evil [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]]? It's sealed on Earth. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [[TheFederation Futuristic, star-spanning alliance with hundreds of member races?]] The capital is Earth. (ColonizedSolarSystem optional.) |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Some alien or another, whether it's one ship or its entire race, crash-lands, with no possible means of control for where they end up. Earth. (More specifically, either [[BigApplesauce Central Park]] or [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse the Budokan]].) |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Are aliens invading some random planet for no adequately explained reason? Earth. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | If against all odds, it's just next on the list for an alien menace that has conquered hundreds of worlds before it, Earth will more often than not be [[UndefeatableLittleVillage that elusive last]] planet they needed to make their conquest of the region/galaxy/universe complete. And almost ''every'' time, it's Earth where resistance to the aliens' evil ways will finally succeed, [[JustForFun/HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet no matter how improbable]]. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Obviously, in a particularly extreme form of CreatorProvincialism, it's easier for [[MostWritersAreHuman Earthling writers]] to come up with sympathetic characters and situations when they're on the same planet as the viewers. But when a series has hundreds of worlds to choose from, it's amazing how often they go back to the same one. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | It could be that the reason we don't hear about the invasions of other planets is that we weren't there, and we don't know about the baddies till they visit us. If that's the case, though, the universe must be teeming with ancient evils, reviving marauder races, and professional invaders to the point where it's amazing any peaceful race has survived for more than five minutes. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | On the other hand, maybe it's because HumansAreSpecial. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Of course, maybe ScienceFiction shows really ''do'' show aliens invading the planet Zog just as often as they do Earth. It's just that those shows are only aired on the planet Zog, where Earth is just one of the countless {{Insignificant Little Blue Planet}}s. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | No aversions or [[Administrivia/NotASubversion kinda-sorta subversions]] here. Earth not being important is InsignificantLittleBluePlanet, Earth no longer existing is EarthThatWas and space settings with no Earth at all are ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway. |
| 28 | Sub-tropes are, of course, TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse and BigApplesauce. Related to TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay and WhatOtherGalaxies For subversions and aversions, see InsignificantLittleBluePlanet and EarthThatWas. For nation- or region-specific examples, see CreatorProvincialism. See also TheExactCenterOfEverything. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | !!Examples: |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 36 | * This seemed to be the first place ''Anime/SailorMoon'''s Galaxia had trouble with, given that TheNineties anime [[AdaptationDistillation never goes too deeply]] into the original [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]]'s premise of there being magical girls elsewhere in the galaxy aside from the [[HumanAliens ridiculously human]] [[SixthRanger alien Senshi]], but then [[ThrowawayCountry the other planets Galaxia has conquered]] are probably just to show us she's an [[RuleOfEscalatingThreat even bigger badass]]. |
| 37 | * ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': |
| 38 | ** In ''"Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan"'', Broly's father wants to turn Earth into the new Saiyan Homeworld. He doesn't use the planet that he previously took over because he says that Earth is the most beautiful planet in the cosmos, and doesn't take the invasion straight to Earth because he doesn't want it to become a desolate and battle-scarred wasteland, which happened to said previously-conquered planet. |
| 39 | ** Especially egregious in [[SealedEvilInACan Buu's]] case. Evil all-powerful djinn thingie goes on an interstellar rampage and kills three of the four most powerful guys in existence. The fourth barely manages to seal him up and hides him away on... Earth. Which seemingly was one of the few planets lucky enough not to be affected by his rampage and has nothing to do with any of this. |
| 40 | ** Averted, however, by Freeza, who pays no special attention to Earth until being defeated on an entirely different planet by someone dumb enough to happen to mention in passing where he was from. |
| 41 | ** A solitary mad scientist is able to create a bunch of androids whose powers dwarfed that of Frieza and even the Super Saiyans of legend, which basically puts them among the most powerful beings in the universe. What planet did this mad scientist come from? Earth. |
| 42 | ** Beerus, the God of Destruction, first came to Earth looking for the Super Saiyan God. When he fights Goku in his Super Saiyan God form, he promises to destroy Earth if Goku loses. Beerus defeats Goku but has since decided to spare Earth for no other reason than because the food on Earth is too delicious to let go to waste. |
| 43 | * ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' -one of the ''Anime/MazingerZ'' sequels- kind of subverted this. The Vegans had conquered many other planets before striking Earth. It is true Duke Fleed landed on Earth -from all places!- when he ran away from the Vegan troops, and the Vegans show a special interest in Earth, but that is because there are not so many habitable worlds ([[FridgeBrilliance which is utterly true!]]). Earth, Fleed, and Vega had a similar atmosphere and environment, so Earth was the kind of planet they were searching for. |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Audio Plays]] |
| 47 | * ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' inherits this tendency from the [[Series/DoctorWho TV show]] it's based on: |
| 48 | ** In "Doctor Who and the Pirates", the Doctor rattles off (to the tune of "I am the very model of a modern Major General") a list of planets he's saved, and Earth is every third entry. |
| 49 | ** Earth literally seems to be a central position in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho030SeasonsOfFear Seasons of Fear]]", where Earth's central position would enable the [[spoiler:Nimon]] to invade millions of worlds. |
| 50 | ** In "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho105TheCondemned The Condemned]]" it's mentioned that because Earth is a high-risk planet the Shinus Government gives out high insurance for working there. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 54 | * In Franchise/TheDCU, Earth is not only the target of most of the weirdness and disasters, but it's also ''literally'' the center of TheMultiverse. So much so that the parallel universes in the multiverse are consistently referred to as "Earths", i.e. Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, etc., even by characters who aren't from Earth, and the battle to decide the fate of the multiverse is referred to as the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and decided almost entirely by beings from their universe's version of Earth. |
| 55 | ** Expanding on that "center of the multiverse" comment: it's what holds the multiverse together. Destroy New Earth (home of the main DC continuity) and it starts a chain reaction that will inevitably destroy all of existence. Imperiex tried to take advantage of this in ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar'' in order to induce a new Big Bang. Needless to say, he failed. |
| 56 | ** Just to drive home the point even more, Earth is the only planet the Monitor even tries to save across the whole multiverse. |
| 57 | ** In fact, Earth 51 being destroyed was what kicked off ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. |
| 58 | ** Averted somewhat in the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' titles, where most of the non-Earthling Lanterns consider Earth to be a primitive backwater planet. The planet Oa also happens to be the physical center of the universe. |
| 59 | ** Justified in the later CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/InvasionDCComics''. The alien alliance planning to take over Earth discussed amongst themselves that the reason our otherwise InsignificantLittleBluePlanet is The Center of the Universe is that [[HumansAreSpecial humans are more genetically varied than any of them are]]. Specifically, [[MetaOrigin some humans have the genetic code to develop a wide variety of superpowers]]. |
| 60 | ** In ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Earth houses the Entity, the "living light" that kickstarted life in EVERY universe, and that the Guardians claim to be the universe's oldest living beings and that Earth is backwater was to cover this fact]]. This also helped explain an earlier bit of "Earth is awesome" canon: it's established that Earth is the most biodiverse planet in existence. Most DCU planets have a hundred or so different species, while Earth has millions. This [[FridgeBrilliance makes sense]] once we find out that [[spoiler:Earth is home to the creator of all life, which causes life on this planet to behave differently]]. |
| 61 | * Justified in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse: the reason so many aliens come to Earth is that a space warp in our solar system is a major Hyperspace nexus. And yes, the Marvel Universe IS filled with alien conquerors and space empires. |
| 62 | ** Averted in recent {{Crisis Crossover}}s set in the cosmic side in that the alien empires and conquerors are too busy warring over each other to care about Earth. The only time the events happening in space impacted Earth resulted in an EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion. The threadbare state of the rest of the universe after the result of [[ComicBook/{{Annihilation}} three]] [[ComicBook/WarOfKings consecutive wars]] [[ComicBook/TheThanosImperative along with an invasion from]] {{Eldritch Abomination}}s has little to no bearing on the events happening on Earth. |
| 63 | ** In ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', Peter Quill's father, Emperor J'Son of Spartax, argues for the destruction of Earth for this very reason. He points out that in a short span of a single generation, humans have managed to defeat Thanos, the Phoenix Force, and even Galactus, all on multiple occasions, each of whom had been responsible for the destruction of countless other worlds. He then suggests that should humans ever leave Earth and begin visiting other worlds, it would lead to untold cosmic disasters. |
| 64 | *** He later tears strips off Gladiator during ''[[ComicBook/XMen The Trial of Jean Grey]]'', because of his boneheaded decision to kidnap Teen Jean, pointing out -- perfectly accurately -- that first, she is quite obviously a frightened teenage girl, ''not'' the Dark Phoenix, second, if she really was the Dark Phoenix, the knowledge that the Shi'ar killed her entire family would set her off and mean that she would kill everyone present, including Gladiator, and third, her friends will come after and they will tear through armies to get her back because that's what humans (particularly mutants) have historically done. He is right on every count, with the O5, Kitty, X-23, and the Guardians of the Galaxy promptly taking on the entire Imperial Guard to get her back. |
| 65 | ** The Stranger made similar remarks in ''ComicBook/{{Beyond}}'', noting the list of feats accomplished by earthlings and the bizarre amount of important beings that reside there or take an interest in it. [[spoiler: The whole miniseries is kickstarted by his attempt to {{invoke|dTrope}} this trope and understand just WHY Earth Is the Center of the Universe by kidnapping several CListFodder superheroes and making them fight, [[ComicBook/SecretWars1985 Beyonder-style]].]] |
| 66 | ** The Builders also wonder why so many great powers and entities have come to call Earth home and, following their invasion and the events of ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}'', Earth is now something of a player on the intergalactic stage -- or, at least, the Avengers are, being described by one young girl as 'heroes, gods', with an official Avengers presence being established in space. |
| 67 | ** Also to be taken into account is the truly obscene number of powerful gods and pantheons that call Earth home. [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]], for instance, just one god (though an extremely powerful one who's actually physically stronger than Thor), cuts loose and matches the Skrull Skyfather in single combat, when said Skyfather has, with his wife, enslaved countless thousands of pantheons and gods. And he's not even half as prominent as Thor. |
| 68 | ** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'', justified by Earth is the place where {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s placed reality-warping machines that fuse parallel timelines together to create superheroes so they could defend the universe from omnicidal cosmic beings. |
| 69 | --->'''ComicBook/SilverSurfer:''' Why is it this world is always the one upon which the fate of everything hinges? Why do the miracles and nightmares always seem to come from here? |
| 70 | ** In ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'', the zombie Galacti (don't ask) manages to destroy every planet in the ''universe'' without significant incident between one issue and the next. When they get back to Earth, they face resistance and the plot changes direction significantly. Justified in that it was said that the inhabitants had forty years to plan a defense if the zombies ever came back. Another thing to remember is that by this time some of the zombies were losing their hunger as [[spoiler:Spider-Man and Luke Cage are the first to help the humans]]. |
| 71 | * Played with in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''. On one hand, we never see any of the Endless interacts with anything that doesn't have its roots in Earth or humanity. On the other hand, Death implies that they are, at the same time, performing the same function to all life in the universe, and CainAndAbel state outright that the story of the first murder predates humanity and that they (as well as Eve, who is implied to be the story of the first mother) weren't/aren't at all human barring through the lens of who they're interacting with. This would make the entire ''comic'' a meta example of AFormYouAreComfortableWith because we as readers would naturally empathize better with (or be at all able to understand) human-centric stories. |
| 72 | [[/folder]] |
| 73 | |
| 74 | [[folder:Fan Fiction]] |
| 75 | * In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', out of all the places mentioned in passing, the Earth ends up being [[spoiler:the flashpoint for the Alicorn-Draconequus War.]] |
| 76 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' goes with this, with Earth beginning to be noticed, thanks to the persistent Asgardian interest in it, the perplexing number of Gods, the repulsion of the Chitauri invasion, and the advent of the Avengers. And then there's the incipient emergence of mutants, likely imminent unveiling of the {{masquerade}} (some characters note that humanity is becoming steadily more accepting of the existence of the supernatural), and the rapid development of human technology. Furthermore, it transpires that some alien races, like the Kryptonians, who visited frequently, and the Kree, who have a sort of Ambassador in Mar-Vell, have been keeping an eye on humanity for a long time. And then, of course, there is the interest that the Phoenix has in it. |
| 77 | ** In addition, Earth is also the keystone of several mystical dimensions, such as the Nevernever and Yggdrasil. |
| 78 | * In general, this is averted in the ''Fanfic/ThereWasOnceAnAvengerFromKrypton'' series, as Earth is a backwater planet in a backwater galaxy that has only recently become relevant on the larger scale. [[spoiler: However, Doctor Doom and the Reed Richards from his timeline reveal that on the Celestials' multiversal level, Earth is vital -- it exists in every universe, with humanity always living on it, and if it's destroyed, the universe as a whole suffers.]] |
| 79 | [[/folder]] |
| 80 | |
| 81 | [[folder:Film — Animated]] |
| 82 | * ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' demonstrates this perfectly. An intergalactic criminal is put on trial and given his sentence. When one of his experiments (626, AKA the eponymous Stitch) escapes containment, the galactic conference watches in awe as his torn-up ship descends on a certain planet in a certain solar system. |
| 83 | [[/folder]] |
| 84 | |
| 85 | [[folder:Film — Live-Action]] |
| 86 | * In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', the SealedEvilInACan pops out every 5000 years to attack Earth. Justified in that an Ancient alien race hid a weapon capable of destroying said evil, which would also have allowed the evil to wipe out all life in creation. |
| 87 | * In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', a supposedly unstoppable race of alien invaders that has conquered dozens of worlds meets its match in Steven Hiller, David Levinson, and a laptop computer. This is repeated in ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'', and, in the end, [[spoiler:the Sphere asks humanity to lead the galaxy-wide rebellion against the Harvesters]]. |
| 88 | * ''Film/MenInBlack'': |
| 89 | ** The movie casts Earth as an intergalactic neutral zone, making it ''the'' hub for galactic travel, intrigue, and fugitives. This handily explains just why TheMenInBlack enforce the {{masquerade}} on humanity specifically: can't risk the neutral zone stop being neutral. |
| 90 | --->'''K:''' Ever seen the movie ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''?\ |
| 91 | '''J:''' Yeah.\ |
| 92 | '''K:''' Same thing, except no Nazis. |
| 93 | ** As K notably points out: "There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!" |
| 94 | * Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: |
| 95 | ** In ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Thor explains that Midgard is at the center of the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil and the focal point of the 5000-year alignment of the realms is on Earth - specifically, it's in Greenwich, which is why the peak of the alignment they get AliensInCardiff. |
| 96 | ** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' discusses this. Captain Marvel says that planets across the universe are handling the snap far worse than Earth because Earth has multiple supers and galactic heroes are limited to pretty much her. They also hang a lampshade on how there were three Infinity Stones in [[BigApplesauce New York]] at the same time and multiple stones on Earth at different times, even before Thanos went gathering them. |
| 97 | * Like the various TV series, the Franchise/StarTrek films do this as well. |
| 98 | ** ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' - a strange alien cloud that can destroy anything in its path is headed straight for Earth and turns out to be [[spoiler: originally a space probe sent by NASA]]. |
| 99 | ** ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' - a strange alien probe that can knock out a starship's power is headed straight for Earth because it hasn't received a call from whales for a couple hundred years. |
| 100 | * ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'': Earth is always where the MacGuffin is hidden. |
| 101 | ** 12,000 years ago, the Allspark crashed and landed in what would eventually become the bottom of the Colorado River in ''Film/Transformers2007''. 19,000 years ago six of the Seven Primes hid the Matrix of Leadership in a tomb made of their very own bodies in what would be Petra in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''. If the Decepticons had gotten either of these artifacts the galaxy would be doomed, first on the list being the Humans and Autobots. |
| 102 | ** ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' also reveals that the Apollo 11 moon landing was a mission for the US to explore the remains of the ''Ark'', an Autobot ship that carried Sentinel Prime, [[spoiler: as well as the Pillars needed to create a Space Bridge large enough to bring Cybertron near Earth's orbit]]. |
| 103 | ** Lampshaded and defied by Lockdown in ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'', where he complains that on every planet he goes to the inhabitants think their planet is the center of the universe. The same movie also reveals that the Quintessons attempted to terraform Earth 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs. Of course, it's possible Earth is just one of ''many'' planets where they tried that. |
| 104 | ** ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' reveals ''why'' Earth is so special. [[spoiler:It formed around '''Unicron'''.]] |
| 105 | [[/folder]] |
| 106 | |
| 107 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 108 | * The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' universe both justifies the trope and plays it straight. |
| 109 | ** In ''Triplanetary'', humanity hasn't even left the Solar System while at the beginning of ''First Lensman'' the number of extrasolar alien civilizations that the Triplanetary League has encountered can be numbered on one human hand (Nevia, Rigel, Palain, Procyon, Vega) and Humanity's scope is small enough that North American politics and industrial power-plays still have a major influence on what happens in the periphery. |
| 110 | ** By the time of ''Galactic Patrol'', the Galactic Council has thousands if not millions of representatives, but Earth is still very much the strategic and political center of the universe for Galactic Civilization (partly because the Galactic Patrol's Prime Base is located there) and the opening chapters of ''Second Stage Lensmen'' feature an all-out effort by the Boskonians to destroy it. |
| 111 | * ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'': The original novel had a tidy explanation for the invaders' choosing Earth - Mars was dying and Earth was the only planet the Martians could reach - but the TV and film adaptations leave that part out. Possibly because we now know for all intents and purposes, Mars is dead. |
| 112 | * Out of the ten Territories in ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'', three of them are Earth. Though recent vague statements by Saint Dane suggest that more than the three Earths (and [[spoiler:Ibara and Veelox]]) might be connected. To elaborate, the three Earths are just Earth in different periods of time. Since [[spoiler:Ibara and Veelox are the same territory in the same way the three Earths are the same territory in different periods of time]], it can be assumed that Earth and [[spoiler:Ibara/Veelox]] count as single territories. Saint Dane targeted the territories in different periods of time. |
| 113 | * In the Creator/RobertAHeinlein novel ''Literature/GloryRoad'', Earth is not the center of the universe. In fact, it is considered a slum. Earth does, however, happen to have many "gates" which makes it a transportation hub for a lot of planets. |
| 114 | * Creator/HPLovecraft |
| 115 | ** In the Franchise/CthulhuMythos the primary reason that so many [[SealedEvilInACan sealed evils]] are concentrated on Earth or otherwise here is precisely that they are ''not'' concentrated on Earth. There are just so damned many of them that Earth ends up having its fair share of octopoid elder gods as a matter of normal statistical distribution. |
| 116 | ** In ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'', young Whateley's diary states that the alien bits of intelligence are interested in Earth as an element in their long-range plans. Organic life, on the other hand, is considered an obstruction, and their real plans can get started once they erase all life on Earth and take it out of three-dimensional space. |
| 117 | * In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the main front of the Yeerk invasion is on Earth, though in several books we see evidence of invasions of other planets in progress, such as the aquatic planet of Leera and the Garatron people. Played straight in ''The Ellimist Chronicles'', where [[spoiler:After Crayak tricks Ellimist into jumping out of Z-space into the event horizon of a Black Hole, resulting in the Ellimist becoming basically a god. The first time he fights Crayak in this form, it takes place in our Solar System, and Crayak is targeting Earth]]. Additionally, the Time Matrix, the most powerful weapon in the Galaxy created by the Ellimist himself, was sealed away on Earth. When it was uncovered by the Skrit Na in ''The Andalite Chronicles'', it was resealed by Elfangor later on [[spoiler:at the construction site where he met the Animorphs]]. |
| 118 | ** Although, to be fair, it was the middle of a large forest when he left it there. Damn you, California logging companies! |
| 119 | ** The main reason the Yeerks are focused on Earth is that it's a perfect world for their needs (lots of [[PuppeteerParasite hosts]] who are highly adaptable). |
| 120 | ** Andalites who have spent time there do recognize the incredible diversity and quantity of life that exists on Earth. For instance: Earth has approximately 10,000 species of bird. The Andalite homeworld has 3. |
| 121 | * The ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' Series plays with this. Earth is the homeworld, the richest planet in all of space, with the capital of Solarian League in Old Chicago. However the economics are stratified; the poor, who don't officially exist, live in ghettos as bad as anywhere. Technology hasn't really progressed in centuries, and really the eldest colonies like Beowulf have been the hubs of innovation and economy since the 'final war' well over a millennium ago. Their political position is now also in threat due to hundreds of years of believing they were impossible to ever be threatened. |
| 122 | * Subverted in Creator/DianeDuane's ''[[Literature/YoungWizards High Wizardry]]'': When Dairine Callahan magically transports herself to the galactic equivalent of [[BigApplesauce Grand Central Station]], she asks a passing "alien" what planet she's on. "Earth," it replies. "Oh. Well, what do other people call it?" "Oh, a whole lot of silly things. There's a directory over there." And then lampshaded and played straight simultaneously in ''Wizards at War'' when Kit tells Carmela that the reason Earth has so many UFO sightings is because humans are convinced they're the center of the universe, but it's not like alien species have so much time to waste kidnapping humans, and Carmela replies that the alien abductions are actually just because Earth is the only planet to have chocolate. There's a logical reason, but the aliens just ''happen'' to love chocolate so much they go thousands of lightyears for it? |
| 123 | * Almost averted in Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series. The first book, ''Nine Princes in Amber'', reveals that Earth is but one of many Shadows of the one true world of Amber, significant mainly because Prince Corwin of Amber was exiled there. By the end of the series, however, it seems like half the royal house of Amber keeps a second home on Earth. Those were really only the ones who were specifically sent there to keep an eye on Corwin, though -- the rest carved out their own private kingdoms. It is also explained away that anyone who is even tangentially involved in Amber casts Shadows as well, meaning that Corwin's long presence would have disrupted nearby Shadows and perhaps increased that "version" of Earth's importance over other Earths. |
| 124 | * In Creator/StephenKing's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower,'' the eponymous tower is the proverbial axle around which the ''entire multiverse'' turns. In [[AfterTheEnd Roland's version]] of Earth it manifests as a tower, but in ours, it appears as a rose in a vacant lot. [[BigApplesauce Guess where]] the lot is located. |
| 125 | * In ''Literature/LegendsOfDune'', Earth used to be the capital of the Old Empire for many millennia before the Time of [[HumongousMecha Titans]]. Even after [[AIIsACrapshoot Omnius's]] coup, Earth is considered to be the core Synchronized World. The [[LaResistance League of Nobles]], however, is based on the outskirts of the former Empire, and their capital is Salusa Secundus. After the rebels [[NukeEm nuke]] Earth, Corrin becomes the center of the Synchronized Worlds. Then the machines are defeated, and the Imperium is formed, making Salusa Secundus the center of the universe. House Tantor nukes Salusa Secundus, and the Corrinos make Kaitain the new center, followed by Arrakis when Paul takes over. |
| 126 | * ''Literature/TimeScout'': {{Time Portal}}s only ever open on the surface of the Earth. |
| 127 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationSeries'' both averts this trope and plays it straight: |
| 128 | ** The original trilogy averts this trope. Not only Earth's location is no longer known to mankind, but few even bother thinking about the concept of the origin planet of mankind. |
| 129 | ** The sequels play this straight: the protagonists believe that Earth houses the [[spoiler:Second Foundation]] (and have a [[JustifiedTrope reason to believe so]]) and start a quest to find the forgotten home planet of mankind. While their original hypothesis turns out incorrect, Earth (or rather, its Moon) is revealed to actually be of great importance, being the home of TheChessMaster [[spoiler:R. Daneel Olivaw]]. |
| 130 | *** While the sequels revolve around the search for Earth, this trope is still averted since the only reason said Chess Master is there is precisely because it's a good place to hide because no one knows about it. |
| 131 | ** The Robot books zigzag it. For the [[Literature/TheCavesOfSteel first]] [[Literature/TheNakedSun three]] [[Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn books]], Earth is an overpopulated slum for the fifty Spacer colonies, with heavy doses of FantasticRacism. However, as of ''Literature/RobotsAndEmpire'', there has been a new wave of colonization for the past two centuries, with the colonists all coming from Earth and playing this trope straight to a literally religious extent. Therefore, the antagonists decide that destroying Earth would be the perfect way to weaken the new colonies enough for Spacers to eliminate them easily... and the heroes allow them to go along with the plan, believing that playing this trope straight holds back humanity. Eventually, this leads to the situation described above. |
| 132 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov: |
| 133 | ** "Literature/InAGoodCause": The alien ambassadors from Diaboli are surprised to learn Earth, the homeworld of humanity, [[SubvertedTrope is not a shrine world]]. While it is the center of the most powerful political unit, it only controls about a dozen worlds out of the one thousand that humanity has colonized. Played straight by the end, when [[OneWorldOrder all of humanity unites into one government]]. |
| 134 | ** ''Literature/PebbleInTheSky'': The Society of Ancients is founded upon the idea that [[EarthThatUsedToBeBetter Earth used to be the only world with human beings on it]], and therefore the most important world in the galaxy. They also teach that Earth will be the most important world again. In recent centuries, Earth has tried to revolt against the Galactic Empire three times, [[spoiler:and rebel elements are currently attempting a mass genocide of other worlds]]. |
| 135 | * [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. As Miles puts it: |
| 136 | -->''Old, romantic, historic Earth, the big blue marble itself. Miles had always expected to travel here someday, although not, surely, under these conditions. Earth was still the largest, richest, most varied, and populous planet in humanity’s entire worm-hole nexus of explored space. Its dearth of good exit points in solar local space and governmental disunity left it militarily and strategically minor from the greater galactic point of view. But Earth still reigned, if it did not rule, culturally supreme. More war-scarred than Barrayar, as technically advanced as Beta Colony, the end-point of all pilgrimages both religious and secular--in light of which, major embassies from every world that could afford one were collected here.'' |
| 137 | [[/folder]] |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 140 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'' plays with a variation of this. Earth is NOT the center of the universe, but, at least for the duration of the show, a space station built by Earth and crewed by Earth humans is. In fact, the DistantFinale has the station decommissioned and blown up after it stops being the center of the universe, which has been moved to Minbar. |
| 141 | * Inverted in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''; rather than ''coming'' from Earth, the entire cast is busily trying to get there. |
| 142 | ** Maybe... [[spoiler:"This has all happened before, and it will all happen again..."]] |
| 143 | ** Turns out that [[spoiler:The Final Five Cylons were fleeing from a devastated Earth to find the mythical Twelve Colonies]]. Ironic, eh? |
| 144 | ** And the epilogue reveals that [[spoiler:that planet wasn't our Earth, but a quite different planet of the same name. The Colonials and their Cylon allies finally find an unnamed planet that is, according to them, filled with more life than all the Twelve Colonies put together, and inexplicably also houses primitive ''Homo sapiens'' in one of its continents. They decide to call it Earth in memory of the dream they pursued for so long. Fast-forward 150,000 years and confirm that it's indeed our very own home planet, in case the continental shapes weren't a dead giveaway, already]]. |
| 145 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' practically defines the trope. Every time there's a rift, a cosmic vortex, a long-dead race returning to conquer, an evil galactic bureaucracy whose schemes require a planet-sized sacrifice, ''anything'', happens to Earth. The 2005 revival is a particular offender: At last count, seven different alien menaces have suffered some kind of catastrophe and, needing a planet on which to convalesce or just crash-land, chose Earth for no adequately explained reason — or they just "fell through time and space" and landed there by coincidence. (Including the Daleks. ''Three times''.) [[spoiler:At least in series 5, this is likely due to the fact that falling through time and space actually meant falling through the cracks in time and space caused by the explosion of the TARDIS on Earth in the penultimate episode.]] During the first series of the revival, no episode was set outside the Solar System. |
| 146 | ** It should be noted that the Doctor himself is a gargantuan WeirdnessMagnet and that his fondness of Earth may be what draws a lot of stuff here. And several aliens display a variant on the InsignificantLittleBluePlanet attitude, in that Earth is invaded/chosen to be blown up/whatever because no one else would miss it. The Doctor says he finds humans fascinating because their adaptability lets them survive right up to the end of time. Other races either see humans as major adversaries or find present-day Earth to be a convenient backwater planet that is populated by a less advanced and easy-to-manipulate species. |
| 147 | ** This actually makes a roundabout sort of sense. The Doctor's race, the Time Lords, are {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s with serious socialization problems. Bizarre events do not happen on Gallifrey because the Time Lords are powerful enough to prevent them and the planet has defenses that are virtually impenetrable to anyone trying to get in without Time Lord assistance. Until the Time War, they were pretty much unassailable. So even though they're quietly running the universe from their planet, only a select few know of it as anything more than a legend. Hence someplace else has to be the center of the action... |
| 148 | ** Lampshaded first in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames "The War Games"]]. As the Doctor is called to task for flouting the PrimeDirective, the Time Lords banish him to 20th-century Earth, which he admits "seems more vulnerable than others". |
| 149 | ** Lampshaded in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace "Spearhead from Space"]] when Liz Shaw asks why Earth is more likely to be attacked now. TheBrigadier tells her they've been sending out probes that draw attention to them. |
| 150 | ** Lampshaded again in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock "Horror of Fang Rock"]] when a Rutan claims Earth is in a good strategic position. This would explain many of the other invasions. |
| 151 | ** In "The Trial of a Time Lord" season, it's pretty much revealed the whole reason for the trial was to prevent the Doctor from finding out that the Time Lord High Council had moved (yes moved) the Earth and renamed it Ravalox because someone managed to steal data from the Matrix and bring it to Earth. |
| 152 | ** And another lampshade is hung in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild "The Empty Child"]]: The Doctor laughs about how you can barely go a week without bumping into Earth. Rose notes that it's every time they run out of milk. |
| 153 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]], they're in the year 4126, and Earth is at the center of a massive multi-galactic empire, one of at least four Great and Bountiful Human Empires. |
| 154 | ** This tendency got a brief LampshadeHanging in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]]. As the Doctor is interrupted while saving worlds left and right from interdimensional doom... |
| 155 | --->'''The Doctor:''' [[{{Technobabble}} We've lost the magnetron]]! And there's only one planet left... oh ''[laughs]'' …guess which one. |
| 156 | ** ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': Ditto. Even more precisely, Cardiff is the center of the universe. Partially {{justified|Trope}}, since the show is set close to a rift, one end of which is fixed on Earth while the other is apparently floating randomly through space-time. While not every alien in the show comes through the rift, it seems to act as a generalized, naturally-occurring WeirdnessMagnet. |
| 157 | ** ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' is also guilty of this, usually having international-scaled disasters that could've killed millions of people (remember the Horoscope Incident? Its lethality was the polar opposite of ''Series/{{FlashForward|2009}}''). |
| 158 | * ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': Discussed; Earth is ''metaphorically'' the center of the universe, and the angels have it on good authority that all the stars and nebulae and whatnot exist for literally no other purpose than for humans to look up into the sky and "wonder at the majesty of God's creation." Before the Beginning, Crowley, one of those angels working on building the stars, was rather put out by this. He also points out that Earth isn't ''literally'' the center of the universe, which just seems like a waste. |
| 159 | -->'''Crowley:''' But that's idiocy! It's the universe, it's not just some fancy wallpaper! Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, oodles of... everything! It's not just put here to twinkle! Most of it won't even be visible from Earth. Why don't you put Earth in the middle of the universe so the view's better? |
| 160 | * In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the Greatest Treasure in the Universe is located, you guessed it, on Earth. |
| 161 | * Just about every single season of ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. Early seasons at least, give lip service to Earth being an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet but it doesn't really work. Justified at times, as the threats are earth-based. However, Aliens have a bad habit of dropping in on the planet to find some intergalactic treasure and conquer some planet during their normal conquests, and each time somehow it's Earth with their legions of power rangers that manage to stop them in their tracks. |
| 162 | ** Justified for ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' as "Earth has become a haven to all manner of species who come from the furthest reaches of the galaxy to live in peace". So while not the center, its reputation has made it a center for the universe. |
| 163 | ** On the other hand, certain series such as [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace In Space]] or [[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Lost Galaxy]] have Earth in a much smaller role or not used at all thanks to its more cosmic focus. |
| 164 | * ''Series/RedDwarf'' also fits this trope to an almost absurd degree. The Earth is long since lost, but there are no alien species; every character is descended from Earth, one way or another (human, robot, Cat, GELF, hologram...). |
| 165 | * The ''Franchise/StargateVerse'' has several occurrences of this trope: |
| 166 | ** The Goa'uld found Earth's native population and abducted and enslaved them. Furthermore, much of ''Series/StargateSG1'' deals with Earth trying to defend itself from the Goa'uld coming back. |
| 167 | ** The trope is lampshaded in "Deadman Switch": |
| 168 | --->'''[[PunchClockVillain Aris Boch]]:''' Contrary to popular human belief, the Earth is ''not'' the center of the universe. |
| 169 | ** According to ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the city was built on Earth before the Ancients left for the Pegasus Galaxy. Likewise, the Wraith are interested in getting to Earth since it would be a richer feeding ground than any that they know about. |
| 170 | ** In ''Series/StargateUniverse'' the point of origin for dialing into ''Destiny'' is not the local Stargate's but Earth's. It is actually kind of justified in that Earth is the homeworld of the Ancients, who built Atlantis and ''Destiny''. Humanity is descended from the Ancients, so that is the reason why we are on the same planet. |
| 171 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Why on Earth would the capital of the Federation be... er, Earth? ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', depending on your point of view, either {{justifie|dTrope}}s this or [[HandWave waves it away]] by saying that other species were out there first, but [[HumansAreDiplomats humans were the diplomats]] of the galaxy and formed the heart of the Federation -- that without {{humans|AreSpecial}}, it would have taken much longer or might never have happened at all. It is also noteworthy that, while the Federation is based on Earth, several presidents have been non-human. |
| 172 | ** The theory that humans are the diplomats of the galaxy can be seen as FridgeBrilliance, considering how every other race is portrayed as a PlanetOfHats, meaning humans would be the only ones with practice overcoming cultural differences. |
| 173 | ** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/{{Star Trek VI|The Undiscovered Country}}'' when a Klingon refers to TheFederation as a "'homo sapiens only' club". Quark the Ferengi expresses many similar sentiments in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' too. |
| 174 | ** While all the 'protagonist' ships have a primarily human crew, other Starfleet ships have been shown and mentioned that are crewed exclusively by aliens, such as several mentions of Vulcan-crewed ones. In one series of novels, the USS Titan, commanded by Riker, is said to have approximately 15% human crew. |
| 175 | *** Justified in at least one case with mention made of a Starfleet ship crewed entirely by [[StarfishAliens Horta]]. Not many other life forms could really expect to survive in the conditions on board. |
| 176 | ** Federation star charts are apparently based on this trope as well. Earth is located in Sector 001. Of course, this is a ''Federation'' identification, with Starfleet headquarters and the most primary Federation facilities on Earth. |
| 177 | *** We are never told exactly how big a "sector" is, but it is at least tens of light-years based on several episodes[[note]]It contains Wolf 359 and 40 Eridani A, which are just under 20 light-years apart[[/note]]. 001 could well contain many other species' homeworlds as well. |
| 178 | ** With Canonicity of the Prime universe up in the air for now, many sources have come around to explain such apparent inconsistencies. ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' has Sector 001 referred to as the "Vulcan Sector", and it contains not only Vulcan and Earth but Andoria as well. Still played straight in that the dividing line between Alpha and Beta quadrants runs EXACTLY through Earth's solar system. One mission also involves escorting a Vulcan, not Federation, medical transport, which shares design similarities to the Vulcan ships seen in the Enterprise era. This would suggest that private or noncombat starships have been independently built by individual member worlds of the Federation from the beginning, which helps to explain a lot. |
| 179 | ** There is at least a brief subversion to this with the Dominion War where Deep Space Nine and the wormhole take over the "center of the universe" position. While the Dominion would love to take Earth, the wormhole and the region around it are far more important real estate. Even Sisko would rather see Deep Space Nine and the wormhole taken back before Earth. |
| 180 | ** The Dominion, and to a greater extent the Borg, tend to describe conquering Earth to be the same thing as conquering the Federation. While, as stated above, [[HumansAreWarriors Federation/Starfleet headquarters]] is on Earth, they seem to consider all the other territory in the Federation, and any opposition they might put forth, to be negligible. |
| 181 | ** This bit of logic is especially weak since humans are shown as having ''far'' more colony worlds than any other Federation race (possibly more than all of them combined). Even if Earth were obliterated, there would still be vast numbers of humans spread out across Federation space and beyond, and Starfleet with its starships and starbases would still exist. Indeed, it is stated repeatedly over the series that interstellar colonization is part of a grand survival strategy for the human race. Thus the trope is played very straight in that ''Earth'' itself is somehow special, not just humanity. |
| 182 | * ''Series/TattooedTeenageAlienFightersFromBeverlyHills'': Earth is the nexus of a network of portals that would make universal domination a lot easier for Emperor Gorganus. It's established in the first episode of the series Gorganus won't explode Earth because the portal network would be destroyed as well. |
| 183 | * Series/{{Ultraman}} and all his successors keep coming to Earth. To be fair, the Ultramen are basically Japanese Franchise/{{Green Lantern}}s. It can be assumed there are thousands of other Ultramen patrolling the rest of the universe. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 187 | * Discussed in [[Music/TheOcean The Ocean]]'s Heliocentric album. "Ptolemy was Wrong" is even about Galileo's heresy in discovering that the Earth revolves around the sun. |
| 188 | * The song Jeremy Messersmith wrote for Minnesota Public Radio's fiftieth anniversary, "Little Blue World": |
| 189 | --> Home, we call home, |
| 190 | --> The only one we've ever known, |
| 191 | --> Home, we call home, |
| 192 | --> Drifting along on this little blue world |
| 193 | --> We call home |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 197 | * Parodied in a ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' scenario from ''Magazine/WhiteDwarf'' magazine a long time ago. The aliens had learned all they knew of us [[AliensStealCable from watching]] ''Series/DoctorWho'', and had come to the conclusion that the goal of all civilizations was to invade Earth. Preferably in the form of pepper-pot-shaped robots who yell "EX-TER-MIN-ATE". |
| 198 | * In the default setting for the {{Animesque}} ''TabletopGame/TeenagersFromOuterSpace'', Earth is the center of the universe because all other cultures are fascinated with its cultural diversity. |
| 199 | ** Plus, it has the Galaxy's richest deposits of precious zinc oxide. |
| 200 | *** And, like, you can get like two hundred pairs of designer jeans for one lousy fusion generator! Like, ''used'', even! |
| 201 | ** Also, humanity is known to be the coolest race in the galaxy. |
| 202 | * Played semi-straight and justified in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Earth/Terra is the psychic beacon known as the Astronomicon, necessary for faster-than-light travel by providing a "landmark" in [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the Warp]]. If the Astronomicon didn't exist, then all ships wishing to travel through the Warp would be eaten by daemons (or worse), rather than there being just a slight chance of such horrors occurring. Terra is also the capital world of the Imperium of Mankind, the single biggest political and military force in the galaxy. Terra is also notably the site of the final and most crucial stage of the Literature/HorusHeresy, and ever since has been the most heavily fortified world in the entire Imperium - between the combined forces on Terra, Mars, and Titan, as well as the GodEmperor's personal psychic might, it's virtually impossible to take over Terra, ever. |
| 203 | ** However it is only important to humans, as other factions don't require the Astronomicon for FTL travel, utilizing other methods, or particularly care about Terra and its supposed holiness. |
| 204 | *** However the Astronomicon is said to be a massive psychic magnet for the Tyranids, the extragalactic hivemind coming to devour the raw biomass of The Milky Way. In addition, the failed plan of the God Emperor of Mankind to tap into the Eldar webway in order to remove mankind's dependence on traveling through [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace Hell Itself]], has left a weak spot in the barrier between the Warp and Realspace, held shut only by the Crippled Emperor's mind. |
| 205 | *** It's also hinted, especially via Tyranid fluff, that while Earth may be the most important world in the galaxy, [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet the universe as a whole is a lot bigger]] - the light-years long hive fleets capable of consuming entire systems may only be the first probing fingers of an organism the size of galaxies which has already consumed far large and more powerful empires. The Earth seems important to humans, but to others, it's just a small part of their next snack. |
| 206 | *** Because of this, the galactic map looks extremely lopsided, with the segmentums surrounding the Segmentum Solar rather small - relatively speaking - due to Sol's position in one spiral arm, and the one in the galactic east utterly enormous. |
| 207 | *** Nothing surprising. Every big state that has both the civilizational center and the frontier has its core administrative units tiny (compare the states of New England) and its frontier units large (compare Texas or Alaska). Russia is an even better example than the USA: Krasnoyarsk Krai and Yakutia are WAY larger than Moscow Oblast. |
| 208 | * You'd think that ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' would avoid this easily, being a fantasy RPG, but no. Two of the oldest D&D game settings, Mystara and Oerth (get it?), have each been described as "parallel Earths" (Mystara's world map even roughly corresponds to prehistoric Earth, circa late Jurassic), and the top-selling ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' was named that because it'd supposedly been visited by medieval Earth folk, giving rise to our own legends of magic, dragons, unicorns and so on. A spin-off of the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' product line was called Gothic Earth, from which at least three of the domains of the Land of Mists and their Darklords (Odiare, Sea of Sorrows, Île de la Tempête) were derived. Several major NPC wizards from the early Greyhawk/Oerth products made a habit of visiting Earth, and when it became necessary to hide the Mace of St. Cuthbert from hostile forces, it was sent off-world and concealed in London's British Museum. The last one ties into legends that St Cuthbert was a mortal from "another reality" - the GeniusBonus being that Cuthburt of Lindisfarne was a real British saint. |
| 209 | * The TabletopGame/StarDrive setting has Earth (or the Sol System) at more or less the geographic center of Known Space. Humans branched out in all directions from there. |
| 210 | * More or less literally true in ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}''. The Coming of the Rifts turned Earth into a [[strike: multi-dimensional]] [[TheMultiverse Megaversal]] focal point. Just about any place in the [[InsistentTerminology Megaverse]] can be reached from Earth, making it a very attractive target for just about every world conqueror/dimensional traveler. The reason it hasn't been taken over by alien forces yet is not due so much to scrappy humans as the fact that it's a [[CrapsackWorld very very very dangerous and unpredictable place]], and there are so many different groups vying for dominance that none have managed to come out on top yet. |
| 211 | * Interestingly used in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' TCG, it is explained that there's a multiverse consisting of several planes (read: universes), in each plane, there is a maximum of one planet able to sustain life, and that planet serves as "earth" for this trope's purposes. This ''was'' played straight for the first part of Magic's history, in which it was established that multiple planes existed, but almost all blocks were set on the same one, called Dominaria. Mirrodin was the first block not set there since Homelands, seven years earlier, and several pre-Homelands blocks were set on Dominaria as well. Some non-Dominaria worlds were seen in the meantime, but they were rarely the center of the action or the homeworlds of the main characters. |
| 212 | * Subverted in ''TabletopGame/FleetsThePleiadConflict''. Earth is currently the center of human civilization by virtue of being the oldest and most developed world, but the resource- and planet-rich Pleiades are likely to overtake it soon. |
| 213 | * Downplayed quite a bit in ''{{TabletopGame/Starfinder}}'', where the Earth-equivalent (Golarion) can't be the center of anything because ''it disappeared entirely'' and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia nobody remembers what happened]]. The closest it gets to this trope is that a lot of races came from Golarion before it disappeared and an adventure module that revolves around trying to figure out what happened to it. |
| 214 | ** The idea was that the disappearance of Golarion set the entire society upside-down and a thirst for adventure and exploration. So Golarion is still the center of the universe. It's just that nobody can find it, anymore! |
| 215 | * ''Creator/{{FASA}}'''s ''Series/DoctorWho'' Role-Playing Game said that Earth (like Gallifrey) was a Temporal Nexus Point, essentially a part of the time stream particularly susceptible to diversion, and thus a WeirdnessMagnet summoning time travelers and would-be conquerors of all stripes. |
| 216 | * The far-future {{HumongousMecha}} RPG ''Beam Saber'' is another downplayed example. The game is mainly focused on a back-water planet that is ''probably'' Earth. The planet is of little strategic value to the galactic powers, but because controlling it would be a great symbolic victory, they all deploy just enough forces to keep the others from taking it. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 220 | * {{Downplayed| trope}} in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': The lore treats Cybertron as the most important planet, with Earth at most being of equal significance. However, no matter how many planets get involved in a given story, the Transformers will ''always'' end up on Earth, where if nothing else they will fight significant battles. |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 224 | * The ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series is absolutely riddled with this trope, as most of the games include [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover quite a few series]] where this sort of thing is going on, all at once - so it's not unusual to have six or seven different alien species invading Earth at the same time. Justified in the [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration OG series]] [[spoiler: Shu Shirakawa reveals in ''Second Original Generation" that his [[GravityMaster gravity warping]] HumongousMecha had, without his knowledge, been generating a Singularity (an alteration of space-time probability within the universe) which was causing these coincidences to occur more often. He cancels the effect at the same time he drops this bombshell, but acknowledges it's probably too late for it to change anything.]] |
| 225 | * Played with in both ''VideoGame/ColonyWars'' and ''VideoGame/ProjectSylpheed'', where Earth is only the center of the universe because it says so, with colonists beginning to chafe under arbitrary rule by the inhabitants of [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet a random dirtball whose genuine relevance in the modern age is questionable at best]]. |
| 226 | * Seems to be implied in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', where Earth isn't the center of the universe... yet. Humanity has been on the galactic stage for a far shorter time than anyone else - less than thirty years - but as the game opens, they're already a major political force, poised to get a representative on the ruling Council in short order. Races that have been at it for far longer without any of the success cannot believe humanity's sheer aptitude for politics. Reaction is split pretty evenly between bitterness and awe, but it's clear that the galaxy has simply never seen a race this intent on running things before. |
| 227 | ** However, the reason for the drive for colonization was because the Earth was once badly overpopulated and polluted, and they needed to in order to prevent the Earth from becoming EarthThatWas. |
| 228 | ** In the actual game there's a total of one mission in the entire game taking place in our solar system, yet the only body you land on is the Moon. It's the quest you have to take in order to open your specialization talents (e.g., a Soldier can become either a Commando or a Shock Trooper). |
| 229 | ** Played straight in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. Shepard's heroics have put their species at the top of the Reapers' hit list, so they focus on humans as soon as they arrive (after making short work of the batarians, who were basically in their way). Earth isn't the only "home world" to fall, but it's where the game begins and ends - the Reapers even [[spoiler: move the Citadel there after capturing it]]. Focusing on Earth ends up biting the Reapers, though; [[spoiler: it means most of their other major offensives are underpowered and ultimately thrown back once the races start working together, freeing forces for the counterattack.]] |
| 230 | * ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}:'' Earth at first seems to be an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet for the Tasen to hide on until they realize that it's [[spoiler:the birthplace of all life they know]]. |
| 231 | * Rather justified in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''. The Forerunners intended for humans to inherit their technology and accordingly programmed all their facilities to recognize all humans (and only humans) to have full system access. It's also the reason the portal to the primary hub of the Halo network is located in East Africa, right in the region inhabited by early hominids during the time it was built. |
| 232 | ** Also notably averted in Halo's backstory. [[spoiler:While humanity originally hailed from Earth (or Erde-Tyrene, as it was called back then, it already ''had'' a spacefaring age 150,000 years ago, in the days of the Forerunners. Back then, the capital of humanity's star empire was the planet of Charum Hakkor, with Earth not being a very significant part of the backstory until humanity (after a long and costly conflict) was exiled back to their homeworld.]] |
| 233 | * Earth doesn't exist in the ''VideoGame/WarCraft'' series, but there, Azeroth is the center of the universe. Only one other planet has ever been visited in the games, and it's a ShatteredWorld, torn apart as a side effect of one of the [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed many conflicts Azeroth has withstood]] ''just within the past generation''. But we know that many other worlds exist, and every named one is a ThrowawayCountry. Argus and probably Xoroth were conquered by the Burning Legion, K'aresh was conquered by a different kind of demon, we're told that the Titans have created or remodeled countless worlds as a matter of course and the Burning Legion, in turn, has destroyed countless, the Old Gods are imprisoned on Azeroth and have some kind of influence on Draenor as well... but the intelligent life on Azeroth has survived attacks by ''all'' of the above and more. It turns out there is a reason Azeroth is so important: [[spoiler:it is the host of the last Titan world-soul, one that is destined to be the most powerful Titan in existence. The Void Gods want to corrupt it, which is why they sent the Old Gods to Azeroth in the first place. Sargeras covets the world-soul for himself since he fell in LoveAtFirstSight with it after it opened its eye towards him in a vision.]] |
| 234 | * The D'ni from the ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' games could have linking-book access to virtually ''any'' sort of world their writers could dream up, with no regard for distances and little even for the laws of physics. Guess which planet they decided to settle down on (well, in) and found their capital city. Subverted in a few ways; first, they didn't actually know if the surface was habitable or not, just their cavern city. Second, the D'ni were actually refugees from the collapse of an earlier civilization, and there were much more successful colonies on other worlds. |
| 235 | * ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'': Even though Heaven and Hell have an entire cosmos to fight over, they focus mainly on Earth and largely treat it as the pivotal battleground for reasons that are unclear to neutrals; Fury openly wonders at one point why they care about humanity so much. [[spoiler:The third game heavily implies they’re being manipulated into doing so by the Charred Council as a way of maintaining the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil; if they’re obsessing over one world, they can’t wreck everything else up with open warfare.]] |
| 236 | * As a whole, ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' and ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' describe the Earth (and the Solar System more generally) becoming the front line of a cosmic struggle between the {{Sentient Cosmic Force}}s of Light and Darkness regarding the fate of the universe. The lynchpin of the matter is the Traveler, the Light's avatar, which the forces of the Darkness have been hunting for billions of years, and which has chosen Earth as the place where it makes its final stand. The planet itself is nothing special -- the Traveler was just TiredOfRunning. Now armies from all over are converging on it for the final battle. |
| 237 | * ''VideoGame/RemnantFromTheAshes'': Earth is unique among the multiverse in that it does not have a world Guardian, and is instead protected from interdimensional threats by "something much greater and more fundamental". It is also the only world directly connected to the interdimensional Labyrinth, which otherwise uses portals to connect to various worlds. [[BigBad The Root]] refers to Earth as "the Core" and pays special attention to trying to conquer it. |
| 238 | [[/folder]] |
| 239 | |
| 240 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 241 | * ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'': It's so subtle that it can be missed, but it's there. When the Vargas arrive at Universe 18, ''the very first thing'' they do is check Earth. The reason? It seems to be a magnet for the most powerful warriors across many different universes. Six different universes (3, 9, 12, 14, 16, and 18) had at least one of its members coming from Earth. |
| 242 | * In ''Webcomic/JupiterMen'', the planet known today as Earth was once known as "Prime", a planet overflowing with cosmic energies. The denizens of Prime, the Primari, left for other dimensions in search of new and powerful ways to utilize their connection to Prime's energies. But in time, this separation severed their ability to connect to Prime, resulting in these ex-Primari trying their best to return to Prime by force, starting a Great War that threatened to destroy Prime. During this time, a powerful Primari known as Mother Nature created the Star Seed to control Prime's cosmic energies, free her captured Primari brethren and beat back the foreign invaders. |
| 243 | * In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Earth's problem is that its solar system is right ''next'' [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/441 to the capital world of the local space empire]], leaving us smack in the middle of a vast nation we're not even aware of. |
| 244 | [[/folder]] |
| 245 | |
| 246 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 247 | * It became such a problem in the ''Roleplay/LeagueOfIntergalacticCosmicChampions'' that various authors started complaining about it. |
| 248 | * Played somewhat straight early on in the backstory of ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'', due to its origins as a fan-made expansion pack for the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' games. Since reality is shaped and created by the collective conscious and unconscious beliefs of humankind, Earth is in a very real sense the central, most important place in the universe. Later in the game story, however, Earth is repeatedly devastated and eventually effectively [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroyed]] and becomes an uninhabited backwater system, even for humans. |
| 249 | * In ''Literature/DominionAndDuchy'' it looks like Earth is extremely minor, but then it is discovered that Earth was the source of the extremely nasty Imperium of Humanity that was engaged in a universe-wide war. |
| 250 | * In ''Website/OrionsArm'' Earth is the physical center of the Terragen Bubble (what with interstellar exploration being limited by lightspeed) but otherwise little more than a historical landmark. |
| 251 | [[/folder]] |
| 252 | |
| 253 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 254 | * The reason for so many aliens coming to Earth in ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' is the franchise's MacGuffin: the Omnitrix, a powerful TransformationTrinket that ended up on our planet after a space battle passed through our solar system. In the original continuity, the device being on Earth was the result of its creators trying to hide it on our backwater planet and properly place it under the protection of an ex-SpaceCop, but being forced aimlessly jettison the thing to the planet's surface after being discovered to and hope for best. The television film "Secret of the Omnitrix" also gave another, more morbid reason for some aliens to visit Earth: [[ToServeMan humans are quite tasty]]. |
| 255 | * Even though interstellar travel is commonplace and it's known that there are colonies and settlements throughout the galaxy, the Earth is still treated as the whole world in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. When it's conquered and/or destroyed, the characters treat it as if the whole universe has ended, such as in "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela", when Leela's shown an image of Earth exploding, she laments that she and Zapp are "the last humans left in the Universe," despite knowing, for instance, that Amy Wong's parents and others live on Mars. |
| 256 | ** Dr. Zoidberg allegedly doesn't know anything about humans because he "specializes" in ''alien'' biology. "Alien" means anything from the bazillions of other populated planets that aren't Earth. This is especially bizarre considering Zoidberg is himself an alien from the planet Decapod, so humans should be aliens to him. |
| 257 | *** The thing with Zoidberg is that when they say he specializes in BizarreAlienBiology, it's likely that human biology ''not'' being bizarre is why he's so terrible at it. |
| 258 | ** ''Futurama'' often plays with this. While Earth itself and humanity in general are treated as special and significant, Earth's ''government'' is generally depicted as the future version of [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly fascist Italy]]: a minuscule nigh-dictatorial power that declares war on entities that can't fight back and runs with its tail between its legs when confronted by anything stronger than the local SpaceJews. |
| 259 | * Lots in the [[WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006 Legion of Super Heroes]] cartoon. Zix shows up there, with no reason as to why. The most glaring example is when Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad are all aboard the same ship headed for Earth. When they suddenly decide to set up the Legion, they put HQ on Earth - with ''no'' explanation as to the original reason they were headed there. Presumably, Earth really is the center of the universe or at least a really popular place for fortune-seekers. |
| 260 | ** In the original version and some others, the Legion's financier, R.J. Brande, had his corporate headquarters on Earth and was believed by most to be a native. |
| 261 | ** While most worlds have a single Legion member due to their powers being native abilities and Legion having a rule against power duplication, a disproportionate are from Earth since humans seem to have more power-inducing accidents. |
| 262 | [[/folder]] |
| 263 | |
| 264 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 265 | * Earth is the center of the ''visible'' universe. This is not a reflection of its cosmic status, however. It's just the point the observation is being done ''from''. Beyond the visible universe is just too far to see, limited by the speed of light. Confusingly, despite the universe being ~13 billion(?) years old the observable universe has a radius closer to ~45 billion light-years, and the radius of the actual universe is even bigger. Something to do with how the expansion of space-time isn't limited by the speed of light. It's a consequence of Hubble's Law, that the further two bodies in the expanding universe are from each other the faster they are moving away from each other (or, more precisely, the faster the amount of space in between them is expanding). The horizon of the observable universe is the distance at which that point in space is moving away from us faster than the speed of light so that no light originating beyond that point can ever reach us. |
| 266 | * The official system of galactic coordinates used by NASA uses the Sun as its center point. |
| 267 | * Are the planetary systems beyond our own ''called'' planetary systems or stellar systems? Nope, they're most often called ''solar'' systems, after Sol. Similar to how moons are named after ''the'' Moon. This is actually a consequence of neither the Sun nor the Moon having been named. Even the terms Sol and Luna just mean the Sun and the Moon in Latin. Calling other bodies solar systems is just as valid as calling them sun systems or calling their closest stellar neighbor a sun. |
| 268 | * The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model literal interpretation]] of this trope was the accepted scientific view of the universe up until the 16th century when people started thinking [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism the Sun was the center of the universe]], and that was discredited over time when people started realizing that the stars were also suns in their own right and no star had a privileged position, about the 20th century or so, and after ''that'' we had better telescopes that let us see that many of the structures we called nebulae were actually other galaxies, so even our own Milky Way isn't such a privileged place in particular. Note that this is not as egocentric as it sounds and is often made out to be. In the old geocentric cosmology, gravity pointed to the center of the universe and there only. Earth was the "off-scourings of creation," at the ''bottom'' of the universe, sort of like a cellar or dungeon. |
| 269 | * Then there's the really bad joke that "if the universe is infinite in all directions, then I am the center of the universe". Once upon a time, a king asked a wise man to tell him where the center of the world was. The wise man pointed to a spot on the floor and said, "It's right here. If you don't believe me, go ahead and measure it." |
| 270 | * There is an entire subset of astronomers that actually use this as a valid explanation for everything they can. Be it the lack of quasars in a large radius around us, or the fact that the galaxy is contracting inward, they jump to the conclusion it must be we're in a special spot. Of course, [[SubvertedTrope then other astronomers come up with more logical explanations]], often the "point of observation" effect mentioned above. One theory even posited that we were the center of the universe until another proposed that ''everything'' was. This may have an interesting message. |
| 271 | * Quick, name every planet in the universe known to have intelligent life. Done already? The operative words of course being, once again, "known to be" -- and then specifically known as such ''by'' all of one single species among the diverse inhabitants of said planet, at that. Of course, [[MostWritersAreHuman most humans being human]]... |
| 272 | [[/folder]] |
| 273 |
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