Homo superior

Not to be confused with Superhuman or Mutant (Marvel Comics).

Homo superior is a term used in speculative fiction and philosophy to describe a hypothetical evolutionary successor to Homo sapiens .

The expression was first popularised by the British writer Olaf Stapledon in his novel Odd John (1935), where it referred to a mutant child prodigy whose abilities marked him as a new species beyond ordinary humanity. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The idea is distinct from Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch ("superman"), which was philosophical rather than biological, though the two are often compared. ^[4]

The term has since appeared in popular culture, notably in the 1970s British television series The Tomorrow People and in David Bowie’s song " Oh! You Pretty Things " (1971). ^[5]

See also

• Posthuman
• Transhumanism
• Übermensch

References

1. "Homo superior." Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Accessed 26 September 2025.
2. Rabkin, Eric S. "The Composite Fiction of Olaf Stapledon." Science Fiction Studies, vol. 1, no. 4 (1974), pp. 308–315. JSTOR.
3. Rajasekaran, S. "Exploring Critical Posthumanism in Olaf Stapledon’s Odd John." International Journal of English Research, vol. 6, no. 2, 2024, pp. 557–561.
4. Roberts, Adam. The History of Science Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp. 142–145.
5. Sandford, Christopher. Bowie: Loving the Alien. Da Capo Press, 1998, p. 105.