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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"The [[Professional Butt-Kisser|jackal may follow the tiger]], but Cub, when thy whiskers are grown, remember; the Wolf is a hunter. Go forth, and get food of thine own!"''|'''[[Rudyard Kipling]]''', ''[[The Jungle Book (
Sleek predators, with cunning pack hunting behaviors, impressively menacing doglike appearances, and, of course, the ever-frightful howl. As one of the top predators in the Northern Hemisphere, wolves were feared as rivals for people of the past, who had to compete with wolves when hunting, and, in times of famine, lost livestock to lupine predation.
Perhaps for this reason the Wolf occupies a singular place in Western folklore and fiction. Among all the predators of folklore, few have been as demonized as wolves, who almost inevitably appear as savage, cunning, endlessly rapacious and irredeemably evil. It is the Big Bad Wolf who devours [[Little Red Riding Hood]]'s grandmother and the boy who cried wolf; wolf packs that haunt the dark forests. Indeed, in fiction, the wolf almost seems to function as an entire species of [[Evil Twin|evil twins]] to the tamer, more noble dog. Even when they are good, they are by [[Good Is Not Nice|no means nice]]. In many aspects, wolves are [[Not So Different|more similar]] to humans than any other animal. And well, [[Humans Are
But as industrialization progressed across the globe and wolves no longer posed as much of a threat, people came to understand wolves differently. The primary reason people disliked wolves - their predation of livestock - was largely forgotten as most people no longer had any experience of livestock themselves. In reality, pure-blooded wild wolves almost ''never'' prey upon humans (wolf-dog hybrids and feral dogs are more likely to attack), and display many positive attributes - cunning, cooperation, and great beauty - that gradually elevated them from wicked monsters to [[Worthy Opponent|respected, even admired predators]]. It helps that they are devoted to their cubs, who are fall-down cute (they look like dogs; or, more accurately, [[wikipedia:Neoteny|dogs look like them]]). For good reason too. After all, dogs are descended from wolves that decided that [[Rivals Team Up|Man made a better partner than rival]].
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One of the examples of [[Animal Stereotypes]]. Wolves' image is commonly transferred to the faction of [[Petting Zoo People]] styled after them.
Compare [[The Big Bad Wolf]], [[Canis Major]], [[Animals Not to Scale]], [[Our Werewolves Are Different]], [[Everything's Worse
{{examples|Examples of Big Bad Wolves}}▼
▲{{examples|Examples of Big Bad Wolves}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* The Wolf in ''[[Chirin no Suzu]]''. Ruthless and vicious, he kills whatever he can sink his fangs
** {{spoiler|Subverted because Chirin soon grew fond of the Wolf, seeing him as a father. In fact, near the end, after killing Wolf, he soon felt sad and realized that revenge wasn't satisfying.}}
* Coyote Stark from ''[[Bleach]]'' can summon an army of wolves from fragments of his own soul...{{spoiler|that [[Action Bomb|explode]].}}
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== Comic Books ==
* The wolf shown in the beginning of the film/comic ''[[
* Bigby Wolf from ''[[
** Not the mention that he's the original Big Bad Wolf upon whom all the legends are based.
*** Also EXTREMELY big, standing up to about seven feet at the shoulder.
* The latest ''[[Promethea]]'' encounters the original Big Bad Wolf concept on her first jaunt into the Immateria. It's probably the only thing in the entire series that's really capable of killing her. By nature, the Big Bad Wolf can only be killed in its own story, by its own plot characters. Anyone else- ANYONE else- just falls into the role of "hundreds of victims."
** Promethea also points out that part of why he can kill her is because he's a much older concept than her. Being one of the primal fears of mankind makes you a special kind of deadly.
* Fenris from the Lucifer comics manages to take revenge for his fellow mythologies by [[Hijacked
* One of these guards the Roark family farm in ''[[Sin City]]'', as seen in The Hard Goodbye. Marv has two encounters with it. He first meets it when investigating Goldie's death. The wolf attacks him and he knocks it unconscious, then pets it and explains that he would never kill him, it's his owner he's after. The second encounter involves Marv {{spoiler|sawing Kevin's arms and legs off, tying the wounds off with turnequets to keep him alive but letting enough blood to get in the air to attract the wolf, which comes and starts eating Kevin to Marv's approval.}}
* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|Snake-Eyes]] from [[G.I. Joe]] has a pet wolf called Timber [[Multiple Choice Past|depending on which comic you read]].
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== Film ==
* ''[[The Grey]]'' runs on this trope, with wolves being the film's primary antagonists, especially the Alpha. The wolves are shown as cunning and brutal, often attacking from stealth or when the humans are otherwise compromised. The film ''does'' mention several times that the only reason the wolves are so vicious is because the crash victims have wandered too close to their den.
* ''[[Snow White:
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** [[Little Red Riding Hood]]
** The Boy Who Cried Wolf
** [[Beast and Beauty|Beauty and the Beast]] ([[Beauty and
** The [[Three Little Pigs]]
** [[Peter and The Wolf]]
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== Literature ==
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[
* The mutant wolves in ''[[Gone (novel)]]'' by Michael Grant.
* Maugrim the talking wolf in [[
** An evil werewolf appears in ''Prince Caspian'', as well.
* In William King's [[Warhammer
* In ''[[
** {{spoiler|Bran is a warg or skinchanger, too...}}
* The werewolf Fenrir Greyback from ''[[Harry Potter (
** Of course, the other werewolf from Harry Potter was caring, intelligent and friendly, except for his 'furry little problem'.
* The Wargs and werewolves of [[
** In ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', there is a wide chasm between the noble and intelligent dog Huan and the evil, bestial monster-wolf Carcharoth, who was bred by Morgoth specifically to slay Huan.
* Gmork from the book (and movie) ''[[The Neverending Story (
* Matthew from ''[[Bones of Faerie]]'' when he changes into {{spoiler|or is forced into}} his wolf form.
* [[Genius Bruiser]] [[Werewolf]] Derek from the [[Darkest Powers]] series. His wolf form reflects his human form in that he is ''massive'', muscular, and weighs over ''two hundred pounds''. He's pitch-black from nose to tail, with very green eyes that have a tendency to appear as if they glow, and it's mentioned by [[Necromancer|Chloe]] that his canines are as long as her thumb.
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* The Cadge Lupus in ''[[Terok Nor]]''.
* The beast Harley Mac Finn turns into in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' when his family curse comes on him. Murphy describes it as an "Ice Age looking thing" and it sounds very much like the direwolves of [[Genetic Memory|our racial nightmares]]...
{{quote|
* [[Deconstructed]] in ''[[
== Live-Action TV ==
* All over the place in ''[[Teen Wolf (TV series)|Teen Wolf]]'', naturally. Especially in the case of the Alpha.
* ''[[
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons
== Video Games ==
* The final boss of ''[[Suikoden II]]'', the beast rune, which is shown to be the embodiment of feral and murderous evil, is presented in the form of a massive, two-headed wolf.
* [[Mega Man (
** And his [[Expy]] Velguarder, Sigma's pet, from ''[[
* Oh, yes. [[Star Fox (
* The wolves in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' will attack you (but not Meryl, they seem to like women) on sight, unless you have Sniper Wolf's handkerchief or use a trick that involves Meryl.
** Or sitting in your cardboard box until a Wolf ''[[Urine Trouble|walks up and pisses on it]]'', allowing you to walk around inside your box... smelling like a wolf. Nobody ever said Snake's methods weren't unorthodox but they get the job done.
* Madfang Ragewolf from Patapon 3. Although, he's more of a comedic badass (to lighten the mood after a serious event)
* Great Grey Wolf Sif from ''[[
* Some of the wolves in ''[[The Path]]'' are bad, some may be and some are left for interpretation.
==
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (
* Big Bad Wolf from ''[[Ever After (
* [[Bob and George]] [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/031101c at least, he wants to be]
* In ''[[Goblin Hollow]]'', a story arc involved Ben Bruin and Lily Feldspar having a run-in with jewel thief [[Werewolf Theme Naming|Ookami Lobo]].
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* Koga from ''[[Inuyasha]]''.
** [[Fragile Speedster|Not that big, actually.]]
* Garurumon/WereGarurumon/MetalGarurumon in ''[[
** His spiritual successor in ''[[
*** Well, Gaomon and his evolution feels more dog-like than wolfish. "Gao" is Cantonese for "dog".
** A better example might be Kouji from ''[[
** [[Digimon Xros Wars
* The wolves portrayed in the film ''[[Princess Mononoke]]''. Wolves in that movie were enormous, the size of quarterhorses, could run unbelievably fast, and leap enormous heights. They were portrayed both as noble creatures who just want to protect their own and even saving a little child and raising her as [[Jerkass|huge bastards]] who [[Kill All Humans|kill indescriminately]] and apparently like to eat the people they killed. The movie is actually a subversion of the trope that [[Science Is Bad|nature and animals are inherently good and humans and technology are bad]]. Actually, neither the animal spirits nor the people of the Ironworks are any better or worse than the other.
* The entire premise of the anime ''[[
* Zakuro Fujiwara from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', a [[Petting Zoo People|wolfgirl]], is a [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[Broken Bird]] and one of the strongest [[Magical Girl
* Holo from ''[[Spice and Wolf]]''. Both extremes exist here; Holo is seen as a gentle and playful trickster, but when she takes her full wolf form everyone is frightened by her. At the end of the first season there's also a pack of wild wolves, led by a bus-sized wolf deity that even unnerves Holo.
* Sajin Komamura from ''[[Bleach]]'' is revealed an anthropomorphic wolf ([[All There in the Manual|The Guide Book]] confirms this, but his red fur causes some to mistake him for a fox) with a huge sense of personal loyalty, [[I Owe You My Life|particularly directed towards Yamamoto]]. One of the [[Made of Iron|toughest characters in the series]], he has blocked both [[Blood Knight|Kenpachi Zaraki]] and {{spoiler|Kaname Tousen}}'s swords with just his forearm. [[Curb Stomp Battle|Curb stomped]] Poww Choe Neng in his released form [[Single-Stroke Battle|with a single strike]], which {{spoiler|Tousen reveals is his normal way of fighting}} after being punched across Karakura with no damage.
** Even when defeated, Komamura demonstrates huge resilience having refusing medical treatment after taking a Level 90 offensive kidou from Sosuke Aizen, returning to the fight mere minutes after {{spoiler|Tousen's released form's ultimate attack appeared to cave in most of his chest}}, and counter-attacking {{spoiler|Aizen twice despite having had his hand cut off and slashed through the waist}}. Komamura does all of this while arguably jobbing more than Renji.
** It should be noted when Komamura's not in battle, he's basically a [[Gentle Giant]], who cares deeply for his dog Goro and is well liked by children despite his supposedly frightening appearance.
* Duran from ''[[
* Arf and Zafila of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. Wolf familiars whose fangs and claws can rip through steel.
* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Kotaro's summoned spirits, the [[wikipedia:Inugami|Inugami]], are usually fierce and relentless in their hunting during combat, but even during - [[Heel Face Turn|depending on Kotaro's team alignment]] (or mood) - they can be depicted as almost majestic and beautiful. That still doesn't stop them from acting puppy-like on occasion (they are technically dogs). {{spoiler|Kotaro later shows an ability to [[One-Winged Angel|become a monsterous wolf at full power]].}}
* Free from ''[[Soul Eater]]'', calling him a "werewolf" is somewhat an understatement; his ''specific'' power is [[Nigh Invulnerability]].
* War Wolf from ''[[
* The Captain from ''[[Hellsing]]'' is a [[Made of Iron]] werewolf who is one of the strongest characters in his series. In ''Hellsing: The Dawn'', he fought Walter and Alucard (Hellsing's resident [[God Mode Sue]]) at the same time ''and won''. And despite being a member of an evil Nazi organization bent on starting [[World War Three|World War 3]], he seems to have an incredibly strong sense of honor, refusing to fight any humans he doesn't have orders to kill, and has a sense of chivalry for fellow warriors (he even decided to spare Heinkel, against orders). He also is incredibly loyal to the Major.
** And if it counts as a "wolf", there's Alucard's [[Hell Hound]] transformation/familiar as the inverse of the Captain. It's a vicious killing machine that only serves Alucard because it was enslaved to do so. It actually turns on its master when Walter releases it from him (or was being controlled by him).
* The God-form of [[Magic Knight Rayearth|Rayearth]].
* Hatsune from ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'', although she doesn't have to transform to be feral.
* Jyabura, from ''[[
* Everyone imagines Sakaki as one of these in ''[[
* Sasami finds a wolf in one of the ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' manga volumes, an escapee from a zoo transport. Notably, all the girls (being not from around
* Snarl in ''[[Transformers Cybertron]]'' has a wolf for an altmode.
* Subverted by the player-character Ohka the Werewolf in ''[[.hack|.hack://Legend of the Twilight]]''. She's only really badass when she's in human form, although she retains her wolf ears and [[Cute Little Fangs]]. Despite her protestations to the contrary, when she's in 100% wolf form she acts like a big, lazy dog.
* The Battle Wolf in ''[[Toriko]]''
* Gabu from ''[[Arashi no Yoru
* ''[[
* Fenrir in ''[[Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok]]''.
== Comic Books ==
* John Talbain from the ''[[
* In the ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' comics continuity originated by [[Marvel Comics]], Snake-Eyes has a wolf named Timber who is his on-again, off-again pet. He and the wolf both spook the nearby townspeople so bad that it's rumored he's a werewolf. When he's reactivated and brought into [[G.I. Joe]], he leaves Timber behind. One of the two characters who came to get him asks the other about his leaving "that poor animal" without any support. The other points out it's a ''wolf'', not a dog, and it "doesn't eat Alpo".
* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'' the reader is repeatedly reminded how badass the wolves are. {{spoiler|Even the elves (well, some of them) are part-wolf.}}
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== Fairy Tales ==
* In ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060523212750/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/firebird/index.html Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird, and the Gray Wolf]'', the wolf introduces himself by eating Ivan's horse. After that, however, it serves as Ivan's steed and gives him advice on [[The Quest|his quest]]. (Even if Ivan [[Idiot Hero|can not be relied on to follow it]].)
** Similarly in ''[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/392.htm The Golden Mermaid]'', although there the prince ''offered'' it his horse for a meal.
* In ''[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/038.htm The Grateful Beasts]'', one beast was a wolf. The king's last [[Impossible Task]] is for Ferko to summon all the wolves in the kingdom together. It's the last because the wolves are hungry. Only the princess escapes because she was [[Girl in
* The Grey Wolf in general in Russian Folklore is an aristocrat of the forest.
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== Literature ==
* The varg (this is what the wolves call themselves) from ''[[The Sight]]'', especially the {{spoiler|ghost wolves.}}
* Remus Lupin from ''[[Harry Potter (
* The werewolves from ''[[Blood and Chocolate]]''.
* In ''[[White Fang]]'', wolves are presented as harsh and savage, but the hero, being part dog, eventually rises above his instincts to become "tamed"... After being forced into dog-fighting along the way, although "fight" is perhaps not entirely accurate - "execution" comes closer. It got to the point where they had to tie him up for the start of the fight, otherwise he'd kill the other dog before it had finished its preliminary snarl-and-threaten routine.
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* Another Jack London novel, ''[[The Call of the Wild]]'', has a dog doing the opposite: after being forcefully taken from his comfortable life on a large estate and then forced into becoming a sled-dog in the Yukon, he eventually joins a pack of wolves and becomes the leader.
** This also plays out like an animal version of [[Mighty Whitey]].
* The Canim from Jim Butcher's ''[[Codex Alera]]'' are ''anthropomorphic'' Big Badass Wolves. They actually fit this trope both ways - most of the Alerans hate and fear them because of their great skill and physical power and ruthless raiding habits, but [[The Hero|Tavi]] learns to have a great deal of respect for their culture. The Canim generally are treated as the Alerans' [[Worthy Opponent
* The wolves of David Eddings' ''[[Belgariad|The Belgariad]]'' are, if not totally idealized, still treated as clever and admirable predators rather than ravening monsters.
** The fact that one of them, {{spoiler|The Woman Who Watches}}, is a protagonist and {{spoiler|Belgarath's wife (and Polgara's mother!)}} probably plays a part in this. {{spoiler|Poledra's being a wolf doesn't come up much, even in ''Polgara'' or ''Belgarath''. Belgarath mentions that he just tries not to think about it much - even deliberately overlooking things that he really should have noticed - and Polgara just comments that her mother "doesn't think the same way humans do" and muses that her heritage probably plays a part in how she reacts when she has to hide the last surviving member of the Rivan monarchy.}}
* Brophy in Terry Goodkind's ''[[Sword of Truth|Wizard's First Rule]]'', a former soldier who was turned into a big wolf by magic.
* The wolves of [[Robert Jordan]]'s ''[[
* The wolves in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''original'' ''[[The Jungle Book (
** Special mention to Raksha (Mother Wolf) for going [[Mama Bear]] and standing up to Shere Khan to protect Mowgli.
* The wolves of ''[[Discworld]]'', as described by Angua, are seen as Big Bad but are really Big Badass wolves.
** Angua is a very biased source of information on wolves.
** ''[[
* Most of the Royal Wolves in the ''[[Firekeeper]]'' series, particularly Blind Seer, although there is the occasional [[Jerkass]]. Cousin Wolves, by comparison, are just animals.
* Owing to their status as emblems of House Stark (arguably the "protagonist" house), the direwolves in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' fit this to a tee.
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* If short story "''Dracula's Guest''" is anything to go by, [[Dracula]] can turn into one of these, or at least cause them to do his bidding. It's mostly an excuse to [[Foe Yay|snuggle a hurt, scared Jonathan for warmth]].
* In the children's book, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" (no prizes guessing what it parodies), three young wolves are sent out into the world by their mother and are promptly harassed by a big bad pig. The wolves are far smarter than their porcine counterparts and bricks are their starting point-unfortunately, their antagonist is also quite a bit cleverer than his counterpart, and uses heavy demolitions to bring down their ever-heavier fortifications. Finally one of the wolves gets the bright idea to make the house out of flowers, and the pig is [[Heel Face Turn|converted to the side of good]] by the pleasant aroma.
* The Avalik River Pack in ''[[
* The trellwolves in ''A Companion to Wolves'' make a good example.
* [[Non-Human Sidekick|Grimya]] in Louise Cooper's ''Indigo'' series. {{spoiler|Indigo herself in shapeshift form may also count.}}
* [[Spell My Name
* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' has several Big Badass Werewolves, some Big Bad Werewolves, and one Big Badass... anti-werewolf? {{spoiler|Tera West}} is a real wolf who turns into a human, and is disgusted by how some evil werewolves are acting, because animals ''don't'' kill for fun, only to get food or to protect themselves or territory.
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''The Hour of the Dragon'', [[Conan the Barbarian]]'s rescue of an old woman is assisted by a wolf, which turns out to be tame.
* The entirety of ''[[The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]'' - the first book is called "Wolf Brother", and its all about [[A Boy and His X|a boy and his wolf]].
* Although the accuracy of Farley Mowat's ''Never Cry Wolf'' has been disputed, it cannot be denied that the book helped change a lot of minds about the true, and far less threatening, ways of the North American wolf.
* A regular battle morph in ''[[
* The wolves in ''[[Guardians of
== Live-Action TV ==
* Both ''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury]]'' - the two seasons devoted to animal themes - have wolf-themed [[Sixth Ranger
** Merrick's alter ego, [[Anti-Villain|Zen-Aku]], also qualifies.
** Also, [[The Dragon]] of ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'' is Koragg the [[Black Knight|Knight Wolf]], who drew the [[Wolf Man]] straw when it came to the villains' [[Monster Mash]] theme. {{spoiler|He does a [[Heel Face Turn]] into Leanbow the Wolf Warrior at the very end.}}
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** ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' had Dillon, the Black Ranger. Another "lone wolf".
* ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'' has Jiro, a Big Badass [[Werewolf]] who is badass enough normally, but briefly gets to use the IXA Rider System in 1986.
* Diefenbaker from ''[[Due South]]''. Granted, he's only part wolf, but he is still a complete bad
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* On the flip side from Fenris are the wolves Geri and Freki who sit at the base of Odin's throne and accompany him on the Wild Hunt. They're described as being able to devour all that is put in front of them.
** If you go back far enough the Valkyries rode wolves the size of war horses, which is infinitely more badass than the way that you see them in art and popular media.
* One of the symbols of Ancient Rome, before being supplanted by the [[Big Badass Bird of Prey|eagle]], was the wolf. This grew out of legends that Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, were literally [[Raised
** Its worth to note that, contrary to modern perceptions, the romans didn't adopted the wolf because of any inherent "specialness" atributed - they hated the animal just as much as everyone else around them. Rather, the story is symbolic of how vicious the romans saw themselves to be.
* In old [[Slavic Mythology]], some gods were said to take wolves as their avatars, and the animal is a potent symbol of otherworldly power. The animal was so respected that the neighboring nations were said to believe Slavs sometimes turn into wolves themselves.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* Since 3rd edition ''[[Dungeons
** The [[
* Fenrisian Wolves from ''[[Warhammer
** According to the background, the only way for a Space Wolves Marine to get a pack to follow him is [[Challenging the Chief|to become the pack leader- by killing the previous one]] (as part of that ritual of manliness, usually. Doing it with a gun doesn't work.).
*** Presumably wolves, with their acute sense of smell, are able to smell the old pack leader on those who have gone head-to-head with them, and Fenrisian ones are smart enough to know that anyone who can take out the old top dog is not one to be trifled with.
** In the latest codex, certain champions can ''[[Horse of a Different Color|ride]]'' especially large wolves.
** The Space Wolves' Primarch was actually ''[[Raised
** There are no wolves on Fenris...
** What??! When did this happen? Yes there are.
*** The [[Horus Heresy]] {{spoiler|establishes that the wolves on Fenris aren't actually wolves. It becomes a sub-plot in the Thousand Sons vs Space Wolves books.}}
* There are a number of wolf-based cards in ''[[Magic:
* Essentially the point of ''[[
** There's even a trait that drives home the 'big' part of Big Badass Wolf. The book's numbers indicate that it causes the werewolf to weigh anywhere between 1500 to 2500 pounds in their Crinos war-form.
* The Vargr in ''[[Traveller]]'' who are wolves and other canines genetically engineered by the [[Precursors]] . They are great merchants and pirates. But they are incapable of organizing and so aren't as effective in a straight fight as [[Humans Are Warriors|guess who]].
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* In ''Skyrim'', you can become a werewolf and any nearby wolves will fight for you.
* Ain MacDougal in [[FEDA|FEDA: Emblem of Justice]].
* The Rawulf race from ''[[
** The thought of a race made up of wolflike beings who are exceptionally pious (and therefore presumably exceptionally obedient) really evokes the idea of dogs more than wolves.
* ''[[
** Amaterasu, the sun goddess who takes the form of a white wolf.
** There's also the entire Oina tribe. And Oki. [[Especially Zoidberg|Especially Oki]].
** {{spoiler|Shinranui probably deserves her own mention as well, considering she travels from the past to help Amaterasu, and is the previous incarnation of Amaterasu at peak power. She looks pretty badass too, with the Solar Flare and alternate design. All in all, Shinranui is probably the only person in the game who should inspire more terror than Amaterasu. Who regains her former strength as an [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower]]. Sucks to be Yami.}}
** Subverted in the sequel ''[[
* Wolf O'Donnell of the ''[[Star Fox (
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'', Link turns into a Big Badass Wolf in the Twilight Realm. Later in the game, he gains the ability to turn into the wolf at will.
* Tiger of the Wind from ''[[Monster Rancher (
* Blanca from ''Shadow Hearts: Covenant''. Not someone's wolf pet/companion, not a talking wolf (Though we do get to hear his thoughts and communications with other wolves), not a side character. A white wolf, on its own, as a member of your party. If that isn't Badass, this Troper doesn't know what is.
* Luceid, the Guardian of Desire from the ''[[
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Radiant Dawn'' has a pair of wolves, Volug and Nailah. Nailah is especially badass as she is one of the laguz royals that can stay in animal form indefinitely, but Volug also remains in wolf form for all of Part I.
* Shamans in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' have the ability to turn into a Ghost Wolf for faster travel as well as summon Spirit Wolves that tend to tear up anything they can.
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** With a few exceptions, the portrayal of any wolf that isn't a Random mob is a noble creature/spirit to be respected.
*** And in one case, even a wolf you ''do'' kill [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=3056 is also respected and revered by the local natives], even if none truly mourn Ghost Howl's death due to his unfortunate insanity. Still, one of three particular spawn points of said mob puts it in a good spot to eat newbie characters without any chance for retaliation.
** There's also [[
*** Heck, one such Gilnean Worgen picks up a STAGECOACH and starts BEATING PLAYERS WITH IT.
** Goldrinn...goddamn, Goldrinn. The guy is best known for possessing King Varian Wrynn, being utterly wrathful, being the source of the Worgen curse, and [[One-Man Army|tearing out the throats of legions of]] [[Department of Redundancy Department|Burning Legion]] demons.
*** Goldrinn ''is'' revered as a minor god for good reason. Even the Orcs respect the Wolf-God (though they call him Lo'Gosh).
* Wolf pets are available in ''Lineage2'' at a very low level, and are accordingly weak and squishy. However, once they reach a high enough level, they can be evolved into a Great Wolf, which is considerably more useful and very Badass in appearance.
* Mightyena in ''[[
** Arcanine, Suicune and Manectric. These are Big Badass [[Kill It
*** While Manectric could probably pass as a wolf, Arcanine and Suicune are foo dogs.
* The Fenris Wolf Brood in ''[[
** Ornlu appears in ''[[
** And Tyr's god power, Fimbulwinter, causes the sky to go dark and snow to fall as packs of wolves attack enemy town centers with surprising effectiveness.
* One of the earliest characters you can recruit in ''[[Suikoden II]]'' is Shiro, who can basically pass off as a white baddass wolf. If you get a Double Beat rune early on (Killer Rabbits on the way to Highland and around the Rebel Fort drop them frequently), he absolutely mutilates the first half of the game, gaining ludicrous stats at level-up and attacking twice every turn. It's only after you start sharpening your weapons above level 10 and gain rare armor that Shiro's dominance starts to wane, but he's still a viable ally to the very end. And he fits the big part, as well, being that Kobolds can ride on him and he's bigger than the main character. Big Badass Wolf, indeed.
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** ''Shining Tears'' has Volg, a [[Retired Badass|former Beastman Commander who now runs a tavern]], who raised Mao away from the Beastman city to prevent her for being shamed. Despite being old, he fights quite well.
** ''Shining Wind'' has Rouen, a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|pirate king of a Chinese-inspired town]] who went AWOL to investigate the happenings on the world. He's also voiced by [[Tetsu Inada]] so that makes him more badass.
** ''Shining Force Neo'' has Baron, who takes the next logical step after Rouen by being a
** ''Shining Force EXA'' has Duga, [[Brainwashed and Crazy|captive turned feral]] but then rescued by the main characters. He is large and fights using ice attacks.
* Lang-Gong of ''[[
* Z.W.E.I. from ''[[Soul Calibur]] V'' fights using an arming sword and a werewolf spirit called E.I.N. that he can summon at will.
* While he's not technically a wolf, Shi-Long Lang in ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' seems to actively be trying to be one. He refers to his team as his 'pack', uses wolf metaphors constantly, and howls when he's in distress. Even his appearance is vaguely lupine, with hair perked into ear shapes and what appear to be fangs.
* In Diablo 2 is introduced a new class, named Druid who can turn into a Werewolf. Which makes the character a monster when it comes to hit-and-run tactics. Run to a massive group of enemies, wipe out one third, run, heal, wipe out.
* Mabari War Dogs from ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins'' are...well, [[Exactly What It Says
** Rogues who take the sub-class of Ranger can summon wild animals; guess which is the first available?
* Yugo from ''[[Bloody Roar]]'' transforms into an anthropomorphic
* Shadow, [[Cowboy Cop|Jack Slate]]'s massive husky from ''[[Dead to Rights]]'' is able to kill mooks with incredibly ease as well as drag back whatever they've got on them for Jack, to the point where in [[Slowbeef]] [[Retsupurae|and Diabetus']] [[Let's Play]] of the game they portray Shadow as the real [[Marty Stu]] of the game.
** It also doesn't help that most of the art work that features Shadow makes him look like a big grey wolf.
* [[Norse Mythology|Fenrir]] in ''[[
* ''[[Alien Soldier]]'' has "Wolfgunblood & Garopa". It's an [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|anthropomorphic cyborg cowboy wolf]] with a [[Gatling Good|rapid-fire]] [[Arm Cannon]], riding a [[Mechanical Horse]] that chases the player character down a tunnel for [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|no apparent reason]]. You wouldn't believe until you see it for yourself [https://web.archive.org/web/20140822124804/http://www.bogleech.com/aliensoldier/as-horseman.gif here.]
* Sylvan from [[Romancing
* Brad Fang, a wolf-like humanoid in ''[[Contra]]: Hard Corps''.
* Great Grey Wolf Sif from ''[[
* Volk from Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits was a humanoid wolf species of the Deimos (monsters) that wielded an axe. He starts the game with a hatred of the humans, but he ends up fighting alongside some in the last half of the game for the greater good.
* ''[[
* In ''[[Solatorobo]]'', the [[Precursors]] to the Caninu were the Wolves, who were both highly skilled in the magical arts (unlike their decedents) ''and'' [[Magitek|good with technology]], first providing robots to Shepherd during the Hundred Lilies War five hundred years ago. Sadly, they never appear in the game proper and are only mentioned in lore.
== Webcomics ==
* The main enemy of Chapter Three in ''[[Supernormal Step]]'' is an [[Eldritch Abomination]] named Fenris, whose form is a
* ''[[
** Reynardine falls under this indirectly, even though he's actually a fox.
* ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'' has Syris Akaelae, who has been so badass during several wars that the artists among his enemies depict him as a god of war! Thankfully, he's also got a heart of gold.
* A paladin in ''[[
** [[The Chessmaster|Or he planned it all along]].
** And according to the backstory in ''[[Start of Darkness]]'', the goblin deity the Dark One rode one of these as his mount when he was still mortal.
* Vorg from Cwen's Quest is literally a big badass wolf...guy. Of course personality wise [https://web.archive.org/web/20090126013335/http://www.drunkduck.com/Cwens_Quest/index.php?p=494901 he seems to have more in common with corperate sharks] then common wolves, plus is pretty [[Ax Crazy]].
* The Sarghress clan from ''[[
* The wolf in ''[[Saijiki Stories|Autumnside]]''
* In ''[[Gold Coin Comics]]'', [http://www.goldcoincomics.com/?id=44 Lycaon], a boss
* Milov Danovich of ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' has had his moments of badassery, especially during his [[A Day in
* Somehow ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'' fell through here? One's in the title.
** See also her boss, R.L. In a recent comic, a polar bear attemted a hostile takeover of the company in the middle of a slide presentation. By the time the presentation was over, it was being shown on his ''skin''.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Cry Havoc]]
* Rule in ''[[Ten Percent Plus|10%+]]'' arguably manages to be both Bad ''and'' Badass - he's a crazy [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], a [[Determinator]] who wouldn't even let death stop him, and a very experienced fighter who developed some of his own fighting styles.
* Florence Ambrose in ''[[
* Black Fang is a creatively-named wolf puppy who can grow bigger at his own will in ''[[Quest of Camelittle]]''.
* Most of the wolves from ''[[Off White]]''.
* Mitzi from ''[[Rhapsodies]]'' is 300 pounds of [[Big Friendly Dog|unstoppable canine affection]] who thinks she's a [http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/?p=146 lapdog.]
== Web Original ==
* [[Image Boards|Courage]] [[media:
* [[EPICMEALTIME
* King Altador and Jeran in ''[[Neopets]]''
== Western Animation ==
* The wolves portrayed in ''[[
** And also in the sequel, particularly Balto's mother and the shaman Nava.
* Silverbolt of ''[[
** Noble in ''[[
** Snarl of ''[[Transformers Cybertron]]'' turns into a robotic wolf.
* Tiger from ''[[Monster Rancher]]'', acting as the [[Aloof Big Brother]] to the gang and an [[Ineffectual Loner]], though [[Jerk
* The [[Big Bad]] in ''[[
* This may not count, but in the episode of The Simpsons called Cape Feare, grandpa Simpson is in front of the Simpson house and says "I'm cold and there are wolves after me" (cue scary howl... in the middle of the day). Also, in one epside, Groundskeeper Willy goes mano-a-wolf-o with an escaped Alaskan timberwolf, "Whose jaws can bite through a parking meter."
* Young Justice has [[A Dog Named "Dog"|Wolf]], a big white wolf and one of many wild animals injected with the Kobra venom (a combination of Bane's steroids and the blockbuster formula). Starts off as a Big Bad Wolf that Superboy fights, but fights alongside him after Superboy removes the mind control collar, and decides to stay with Superboy instead of return to the wild. The Super Strength granted by the venom makes him a very useful fighter.
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* [[wikipedia:The Beast Of Gévaudan|The Beast of Gévaudan]] a wolf-like beast (or several of them) terrorized the area of Gévaudan (now called Lozère) in the Auvergne region of France for several years during the 1760s, killing over a hundered people. The speculations of what the beast really was range from a ordinary wolf or wolfdog to a [[Hell Hound]] or [[Werewolf]]. These later theories are in line with the legend that claims it was killed by a silver bullet.
* Can we just say that the ''entire species'' counts? They have been an apex predator of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere for 300,000 years, and even when domesticated, they prove to ''still'' be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA9pw53WaKQ&feature=related quite badass.]
** Also, American wolves may not be considered really dangerous, but in Eurasia the story is very different. In Russia alone there were 169 children and 7 adults killed by wolves between 1840 and 1861, and 122 children were killed in India between 1980 and 1986. Througout Europe and Asia, even today, wolves are considered a major threat to people and livestock alike. Also single wolves are known for killing adult [https://web.archive.org/web/20121116085707/http://www.de5stora.com/illustrationer/fil_20041123132025.pdf moose]. MOOSE. ALONE. One can imagine what they can do in packs. By the way, they also [
*** Many Eurasian wolves have partial dog ancestry, and hence are genetically less prone to be frightened of humans, this may help account for this disparity in aggression towards people.
** Oh well we get along so well together. We both have a [[Undying Loyalty|social instinct]], [[My Master, Right or Wrong|both revere]] the [[Team Dad]], and hunt in teams. And they are also one of the few animals that can keep up with humans during long trips. [[Not So Different|We have been essentially occupying the same ecologial niche]].
** "[[The Simpsons (animation)|Smithers, find me that dog! I'm making him my Executive Vice President]]!"
** Not to mention the [[Australian Wildlife|Australian]] subspecies, the dingo. It might ''look'' like your family Labrador Retriever, but it sure as hell isn't, as you will painfully learn if you try to pet one.
* The Prehistoric ancestors and relatives of modern gray wolves tend to be overall smaller, aside from a few notable exeptions.
** The Dire Wolf, (which co-existed alongside modern Gray Wolves) which hunted megafauna (mammoths and the like). Averaging 1.5 metres in length and weighing about 57 to 87 kilogrammes. They looked like a larger, stockier Gray Wolf (which vary in size geographically. The heaviest gray wolf on record was of equal size: 86 kilogrammes, but the gray wolf average weight is closer to 33 kilogrammes).
*** There are reports of wolves hunted in Russia and even Northern America reaching over
*** And now, to the Fridge: If there are outlier wolves even in the modern era that weigh over
** [[Everything's Worse
* Numerous names (mostly masculine, many of Celtic or Germanic origin) derive from local words for wolf
** The aforementioned Adolf and its cognate Adolphe and Adolphus (noble wolf).
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** Surnames include Wolfson, Lopez and Volkov, (all meaning son of the wolf) Farkas, Lupei, Lupino, Ochoa, Vovk and Vukotić.
** Wolf itself is also a name.
* The Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team, especially their previous superstar, Kevin Garnett, and their current superstar Kevin Love.{{context|reason=How is this an example of the trope as written?}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Native American Mythology]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Just for Pun]]
[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
[[Category:Badass]]
▲[[Category:Big Badass Wolf]]
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