You've heard of the Alien Princess, but you're probably less familiar with her Spear Counterpart, the Alien Prince.
While the Alien Princess is often an adorable klutz with a side of Innocent Fanservice Girl or Planetary Romance, the Alien Prince often takes on a more antagonistic role, as he's often a warrior or an villain who serves an evil Emperor.
Basically, while most examples of an Alien Princess focus on the "Princess", most examples of the Alien Prince focus on the "Alien" part. He's often a fighter highly nationalistic of his homeworlds. He'll likely come from an environment where violence and warfare is the norm, and in some cases, seen as honourable. Oftentimes he'll want to dominate the planet, or already has by the time the story begins.
Expect him to be The Dragon, with tragic qualities underneath the facade. Usually, he'll fight for his superiors no matter how poorly he's treated, which is usually his abusive dad. In cases of the abuse being too much to bear, the Alien Prince may commit Patricide, or rebel in some way or another. He also may undergo a Heel–Face Turn once he's realized the error of his ways.
The Alien Prince may also be a Pretty Boy who dresses in exquisite furs or shows a lot of skin; in that case, expect him to have a lot of fangirls who find him appealing.
May overlap with Aliens Are Bastards, Planet Looters, Abusive Alien Parents, Fantastic Racism, Warrior Prince, Evil Prince, Aristocrats Are Evil, Alien Invasion, and Inhumanly Beautiful Race. If you're referring to an Empire/race of Aliens that conquer other planets, see Galactic Conqueror.
For whatever reason, this trope was the craze in mecha anime of The '70s and '80s. Most of these examples are from there. Though, mecha anime are known to frequently copy off and reference one another.
Of course, this can also apply to the Alien Princess, but it's rather rare.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Dairugger XV: Supreme Commander Caponero of the Galvestons. While he's a supreme commander, not a Prince, he's Emperor Corsair's bloodthirsty second-in-command, war-loving to the T, and enjoys watching fights with a good Glass Of Chianti.
- Dragon Ball Z: Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans. He was once the prince of Planet Vegeta, but Frieza's forces vanquished the planet and most of the Saiyans, while allowing a few of them to survive so they could serve in his ranks. Vegeta feigns loyalty to Frieza, but his true goals are to use the Dragon Balls to usurp Frieza and become immortal. He serves as the Big Bad for most of the Namekian Arc, which is notably marked by his inferiority complex to Goku.
- Even before Frieza, Vegeta was this. It's been mentioned that he was conquering planets left and right since the age of five (as such was a common practice for Saiyans), and even Planet Vegeta itself belonged to a different race of aliens until King Vegeta slaughtered them all and declared it the Saiyan homeland.
- Future Robot Daltanious: Prince Kloppen of the Zaal. Emperor Dolmen slaughtered his original homeworld, Helios, but he still pridefully serves him because he believes that might makes right. Having already conquered Earth (and many other planets) by the time the story starts, he repatedly crushes La Résistance's efforts against him until it's found out that he's actually a clone and his "father" never really cared about him.
- GEAR Fighter Dendoh: Prince Altair of Galfa. He is an emotionless, ruthless Warrior Prince who's great skill has led to him conquering many planets. His current objective is to conquer Earth. Believe it or not, he was actually born a peaceful person who cared for his people, but Emperor Galfa brainwashed him. Despite this, Altair actually starts to regain fragments of his old memories, and slowly returning to the gentle man he once was.
- Gigantor: Prince Gura of the Demon Empire. Originally a happy kid until his planet was destroyed, he joined his father's mission to conquer Earth. He blindly follows his Galactic Conquerer father no matter what, even after the humans cared for him after he was temporarily amnesiac, and proudly proclaims that they'll overtake Earth one day. For all his flaws, he does have some Villain Respect for his rival Shotaro.
Gura: "He's a noble guy. But he should have thought twice before resisting me. I'll fight anyone that gets in my way!"
- GoLion: Prince Sincline of the Galrans. He shares his father's cruelty towards anyone unfortunate enough to cross the Galran Empire, and singlehandedly caused the destriction of Planet Earth and Arus, following his father's footsteps of falling Planet Altea. His conquest of multiple other planets is why Team Voltron is dedicated to stopping him. Unbeknownst to Sincline, he himself is half-Altean, as his father raped an Altean woman to conceive him. Once Sincline finds this out, he undergoes a Sanity Slippage and kills Honerva for telling him.
- Macross: Do You Remember Love?: Quamzin Kravshera of the Zentradi. While he's not a Prince, he is an ill-tempered General who loves war, has a reputation for being a violent drunkard, and is The Dreaded because he treats all his minions as disposable when it comes to his conquest of Earth. Don't be fooled by that Pretty Boy face, his In-Series Nickname is actually "Comrade Killer Quamzin" and he's considered Axe-Crazy by Zentradi standards.
- Majestic Prince: Prince Ziart of Wulgaru. He doubles as this and Politically-Active Princess, as not only does he conquer planets, but he's also skilled at pushing politicans to his side. He lives for the thrill of fighting and cuts down his own allies if they get in the way of his fun, and is amused by Planet Earth because he notes the humans put up a better fight than most races he's fought. Many characters say he's one of the strongest men in their entire planet's history.
- Raideen: Prince Charkin of the Demon Empire. Utterly ruthless in battle and a brilliant commander/strategist, the Demon Empire place their hopes in him of conquering the Earth, just like how his ancestor Barao conquered many planets before him. Charkin unfortunately defies expectations because his Fossil Beasts keep getting defeated by Raideen. After he fails to take down Raideen one too many times, he him goes One-Winged Angel form and fighting Raideen one-on-one. With his loss, he commits Seppuku.
- Robot Romance Trilogy:
- Combattler V: Garuda of the Campbellians. When Oleana's group awakens, he is sent to conquer Earth and make it habitable for his race. In spite of priding himself for being a "pure" blooded Campbellian (in contrast to robots like Miia and Dungele), Garuda suffers a Break the Haughty moment when Combattler V repels his attacks and he's turned into a laughing stock for constantly losing to them, and broken further when he learns that "pure blooded" Campbellians don't exist - he's actually an android Oleana created for her own means and imbued with fake memories to believe he's her son. Garuda abandons his Fantastic Racism for good, before choosing to die alongside Miia so they can be Together in Death.
- Voltes V: Years before the story took place, the father of Prince Heinel stood up to the Boazanian slave system and called it cruel. For this, he was disgraced, tortured, and then sentenced to Execution. When Prince Heinel was born, he was exiled from the Palace, shunned by his fellow nobles, and subjected to constant abuse for being "the traitor's child". Heinel himself never knew the specifics of his father's crimes, as his mother died in childbirth and his maternal grandparents, who raised him refused to tell him. Knowing that he had very little chance among the ruling class, Heinel decided to earn others' respect through military. He graduated as the top cadet at the Boazanian Institute of Military Sciences and Warfare and became a proud warrior. Noting this accomplishment, his uncle, Emperor Zambajil, sends him on a conquest to invade the Earth. note
- Daimos: Prince Richter of the Baam. Strictly committed to the Baam's culture of might and violence after his father dies, Richter plots an Alien Invasion of the Earth. When he finds out that Erika has fallen for a human, he can't bring himself to look at her and states that he has no sister.
- Sailor Moon: Prince Diamond of the Black Moon Clan. When he was a boy, he tried to take over the Earth and was banished as a result, leaving him with a desire for Revenge. He tries to take over Crystal Tokyo again with the help of his followers. With The Reveal that he was being used all along by Wiseman, Diamond went mad, stealing the two Silver Crystals from Black Lady and nearly causing the destruction of space-time continuum.
Comic Books
- Teen Titans: Blackfire is a rare female example of this. She is the villainous, vengeful older sister of Starfire who attempted to murder her, and then have her married off against her will, because she envies the fact that Starfire was showered in love and praise while Blackfire was unfairly hated for being born the day the Citadel attacked Tamaran and having an illness she couldn't control. Blackfire even lampoons Starfire's sweet-naturedness in one of their face-to-face battles.
Blackfire: You've always been the caring one, sister, the one who tended to the wounded creatures — who searched for love instead of hate to urge her on. You were the one everyone cared for. I was the one everyone feared... but I learned to take that fear and use it as my strength. And that, dear sister, is why I'm better.
Fan Works
- Cool Cat and the Beauty of War and Destruction: Defied by Prince Heinel. While he initially plans to invade the Earth, he later decides not to when Butch the bully becomes the ruler of the world.
Film — Live-Action
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show subverts this with Frank N. Furter. According to Word of God for the original stage show, he was meant to be on Earth as part of a plan to conquer it, and while the stage show and film only confirm that he is high-ranking enough to have servants, the unfilmed script for a sequel to the film reveals him to be a prince... but he quickly got distracted from his official goal because he liked having sex with humans too much, and spends the whole story being The Hedonist.
Live-Action TV
- Super Sentai:
- Dengeki Sentai Changeman: Subverted by Prince Icarus. He happily committed several Planetary Alien Invasions to help the expansion of the Gozma Empire. While launching an attack on the Earth, he saw the face of the Change Mermaid Sayaka Nagisa, and became fascinated by how much she looked like his late mother. Calling off the attack, he kidnapped Sayaka and took her to his palace, where he proposed that she marry him and help him repopulate his race. Sayaka stated she could not love him as he invaded planets for the Gozma. It was then that Bazeu himself intervened and demanded that Icarus kill Sayaka as she was part of the Changemen. Icarus refused and was killed by Bazeu for his defiance.
- Kagaku Sentai Dynaman: Prince Megiddo of the Jashinka Empire is hell-bent on overtaking the Earth to appease his father. However, due to his repeated failures, his father dismisses him from service. In response, an enraged Megiddo commits Patricide and then takes the throne.
- Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger: Warz Gill is the mercurial, bratty prince of the Zangyack Empire who initially leads their invasion of Earth. In spite of having competent lieutenants at his side, Warz Gill's Manchild attitude leads the Zangyack to defeat after defeat at the hands of the Gokaigers, eventually falling in battle when his Great Warz mecha is destroyed by Kanzen GokaiOh.
- Voltes V: Legacy: Prince Zardoznote is constantly abused by his uncle, the Emperor, who never loved him and viewed him as a pawn. He indoctrinated Zardoz from a young age to be hateful and cruel, when he came of age, assigned him to lead the Earthern Invasion. Out of a desire to please his uncle, Zardoz commits atrocity after atrocity on the planet, including killing Steve Armstrong's mother for trying to intervene between one of his attacks. This incident cemented Steve's view of Zardoz as an Arch-Enemy, and he tries to murder him when they battle one-on-one.
Video Games
- Galaxy Angel: Prince Eonia Transbaal believes that he's entitled to a Utopia, going as far as to murder his entire family, including his father, Emperor Gerald, so he can achieve it. Had the heroes not intervened, he would have subjugated other worlds to his rule thanks to Lost Technology.
- Kirby's Return to Dream Land: Before his Heel–Face Turn, Magolor was this as he aimed to use the Master Crown so he could gain immense power and control the universe.
Magolor: Anyway... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The time has come for your planet... No! The time has come for the ENTIRE UNIVERSE to bow down to me. And for being such a big help in all of this, your planet gets to go first! Prepare to bow, Popstar! Welcome your new overlord!
- The Wonderful 101: Prince Vorkken, crown prince of the comet kingdom of Rhullo, is a powerful, preening, and arrogant space pirate whose modus operandi is to travel from world to world defeating other powerful warriors and conscripting them into his crew, keeping them in line by threatening their homeworlds with destruction. In gameplay he's a Recurring Boss and Evil Counterpart to the Wonderful 100, having set his sights on Earth, and combatting the team using his own variations of their Unite-Morphs. However, it turns out he's not in his right mind — after Rhullo was destroyed by the GEATHJERK Federation, they infected Vorkken with a Puppeteer Parasite that's been influencing his actions the whole time. When the parasite is defeated, Vorkken soon pulls a Heel–Face Turn.
Web Animation
- Nijisanji: Ren Zotto used to fit this mold, having been the prince of a Proud Warrior Race that had invaded many planets in the past. However, as soon as he arrived on Earth, he fell in love with what the planet had to offer, such as the native wildlife and music, leading him to settle there and leave his world-conquering days behind him.
Webcomics
- Homestuck: Eridan Ampora is a violet-blooded troll, a form of high-class noble on the planet of Alternia. He hates landdwelling trolls for their litter and seeks to kill them all. He's passionate about the glory that comes with the conquest expected of his caste, and as such is seen as a "bit of a tool" by most of his friend group, eventually killing the two trolls closest to him. He could be argued as a Prince, considering his god-tier role is the Prince of Hope.
Western Animation
- Parodied in Dexter's Laboratory, with the episode "Jeepers, Creepers, Where Is Peepers": a blue-skinned Bishōnen prince named Hookocho, "The Prince of Pain and Misery", somehow captures the ruler of a Dream Land and imprisons him in his spaceship to drain his powers and energize an ultimate weapon, allowing him to conquer the galaxy. While he tortures Dexter and Dee Dee's Imaginary Friend Koosalagoopagoop, his captive turns into a dragon and squishes Hookocho with little fanfare, ending the threat.
- The Fairly OddParents!: Princess Mandie (name pronounced Man-die) is an Ax-Crazy Warrior Princess whose goal is to conquer the entire galaxy. She cares about power and hoped to marry Mark so that she could use him to further increase her influence over his planet. Her preferred choice of weapon is a Flaming Sword.
- Steven Universe: Pink Diamond was intended to be this, having been assigned Earth by the Great Diamond Authority as what would have been her first of many colony planets to be stripped of resources for the Gem Empire. However, she grew to love Earth and its inhabitants, and ended up fending off Homeworld's forces as Rose Quartz.
- Wander over Yonder: "The Epic Quest of Unfathomable Difficulty!!!" sees Wander searching for the owner of a lost sock. It turns out to belong to Destructor, the one-time prince of a planet, until his father took away his beloved sock puppet, causing him to turn into a cruel, despotic leader who imprisoned most of the citizenry and his own father. The return of the sock causes Destructor to turn gold, and become a kind, benevolent ruler, bestowing the title of duke on the prisoners as they're released, save for one who is made an archduke. The entire planet turns into a shimmering paradise soon after.
